Probably a dumb RAM question

[lan101]

Inspiron 7506 2-in-1​

I need some new ram chips for this particular model. Because in these days we barely ever need to buy much ram I'm a little rusty with that lol.

I found what appears to be identical ram as in the unit but the ending number is at the very end 2210 in this picture.

In the actual unit the ending number is 2032. Everything else is identical.

Is that ending number just like a lot number? Wasn't sure. I figured this would work but maybe that was something I didn't know.

Thank you for any insight.

 

[backwoodsman]

That's the manufacture date, 2-digit year & week. The part number is the string starting with HMA.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Crucial.com, pop in the machine detes, crap a part number... order it.

Better if you can match with what's in the unit, but Crucial.com is rarely wrong.

 

[britechguy]

Better if you can match with what's in the unit, but Crucial.com is rarely wrong.

That's been my experience, and I can't count the number of times I've used it to determine the correct type of RAM to buy.

 

[lan101]

Perfect. I appreciate it. Manufacturing date makes sense lol.

 

[HCHTech]

but Crucial.com is rarely wrong.

I've had a few instances recently where their database just doesn't include the model I'm looking for. Also Synology listings seem out of date as well. I still use them, but I'm starting to see chinks in their armor.

 

[ThatPlace928]

I've had a few instances recently where their database just doesn't include the model I'm looking for. Also Synology listings seem out of date as well. I still use them, but I'm starting to see chinks in their armor.

I use memorystock.com. I rarely get good info from Crucial.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I've had a few instances recently where their database just doesn't include the model I'm looking for. Also Synology listings seem out of date as well. I still use them, but I'm starting to see chinks in their armor.

Synology actively sabotages that effort, as far as they are concerned you buy RAM from them or it's not supported. Same for SSD cache drives, and to some extent drives. Every year it creeps in the wrong direction.

But for the edge cases that's why you have to decode the part number and match manually.

But if I buy it from Crucial.com and it doesn't work, it's a free return. If I buy it from Amazon Prime and it doesn't work... it's a free return. What do I care? Sometimes it takes a couple tries.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Crucial.com for over 20 maybe over 25 years....our "go to source".

 

[britechguy]

What's funny is that for my LG Gram, neither the Crucial System Scanner nor Memorystock.com's scanner comes up with a match.

Crucial gives me a message of the class, "Oops, we've got nothing, check back later," and Memorystock's scanner tells me I have 8 RAM slots (I do not) with no useful information about what's already installed beyond noting that it's very close to 16 GB, which is, effectively, accurate.

 

[sapphirescales]

It's just standard DDR4 RAM. Any random RAM will do. If you're trying to match the stick you have in there that's fine but RAM is cheap as dirt. You can get 32GB of DDR4 RAM for $70 on Amazon or $40 for 16GB. I have drawers full of RAM I've taken from dead computers. I would just pop in a couple of matching sticks I have on hand, run Memtest86 overnight and call it a day. I do keep a few brand new kits on hand though in the instances where the client needs the computer back ASAP and doesn't want to wait for an overnight RAM test.

Amazon.com

 

[lan101]

It's just standard DDR4 RAM. Any random RAM will do. If you're trying to match the stick you have in there that's fine but RAM is cheap as dirt. You can get 32GB of DDR4 RAM for $70 on Amazon or $40 for 16GB. I have drawers full of RAM I've taken from dead computers. I would just pop in a couple of matching sticks I have on hand, run Memtest86 overnight and call it a day. I do keep a few brand new kits on hand though in the instances where the client needs the computer back ASAP and doesn't want to wait for an overnight RAM test.

Amazon.com

Yeah dells always seemed so picky with ram in the past...maybe not so much these days. Seems like crucial has always been solid...but with dells I've always just tried to get exact much if possible.

 

[sapphirescales]

Yeah dells always seemed so picky with ram in the past

I don't know what you mean by "the past" but if you're talking like back in the 90's and early 2000's then yeah they could be a little picky. I have no idea if they're still as picky as they used to be but that's why I always run an overnight RAM test to make sure the RAM isn't defective and that the machine is stable with the RAM I put into it. As for the generic Crucial kits I very rarely run into a compatibility problem with them and I've been buying them since before DDR. The only time I seem to have problems with RAM was when I tried to mix high and low density RAM. Oh and Rambus RAM. That stuff was terrible. And of course trying to put regular RAM into a system that requires ECC RAM.

Oh and I also tend to have problems with the high clocked low latency RAM meant for gaming computers if I try to put them into a regular Dell or whatever. Crucial is very conservative when it comes to their speed and timings so they tend to be compatible with almost every computer. The exception would be Crucial's "Ballistic" gaming RAM but the standard ugly Crucial RAM with an exposed green PCB is meant for the highest level of compatibility, not the highest performance. You can put that ugly RAM in almost any computer without issue.

 

[Sky-Knight]

If the Dell is being picky on the RAM it needs a BIOS update. For the most part, things just work these days unless you do something goofy like try to install DDR5 in a board that does DDR4.

You do still need to pair things up if you want to dual channel though.

 

[fincoder]

Crucial.com is rarely wrong.

But it occasionally is, or doesn't list the PC model.

Kingston.com search is never wrong, and is more likely to list the PC model.