i'm in a real jam here [comp prob]

[redbone]

tc, & all,
here's how it went. i located the heat sink but is attached to an air plenum. the heat sink cannot be rmvd from the plenum until it is rmvd from the MB and turned upside down to access the screws. now, i assumed that the heatsink is just resting on the cpu [not pasted with compound] so when i lifted the heatsink the cpu came with it. the locking bar was still locked.

no i did not add new heatsink compound cause i didn't have any, but there was a good bit left on there. i will get some today.

now here is my next question. the ram card in there now is a 512mb. if i add a 1gb ram card do i now have 1.5 gb, or does the 512 card drag down the speed of the 1.5 card??
in other words, should i just add the 1gb card and toss the 512 card or add another 512 card?
a 1gb card is $40
a 512 card is $24

thanks again,
this is hopefully the last question
redbone

[DiverRay]

If you have two slots for memory, and only one has a card, you should be able to just add the 1GB and have 1.5GB. If you only have one slot, then you remove the card you have, install the new card, and you now have 1GB.
Hope this helps!

[redbone]

thanks ray, that's what i needed to know. there are actually 4 ram slots near as i can tell.
redbone

[cywelchjr]

That said, on an E521 you will get better performance by not doing that. You should either get another 512 stick, or two 1 gig sticks, as the motherboard in that machine runs in a crippled 32 bit mode with either 1 stick or mismatched sticks. All my kids have E521's and I use a C521 at work (low profile version, uses the same motherboard, but in a 1/2 size case, so it's REALLY hard to find cards that work in it).

I would recommend putting 2 1 gig sticks in, you will be much happier with the results.

[redbone]

o.k. here's what i just got from the 'tech' person at staples when i asked about adding more mem [1gb]. he said pretty much what cy said in the post above.
then he proceeded to give me a pitch about upgrading to win7. i left.

i believe i read that the e521 i have is 64 bit capable. i am not sure what this means or how to go about making it 64 bit capable.

i may have mentioned before that i think there are 4 memory slots total, 3 left. should i just fill them all with 512mb cards??
any input appreciated. again.

[Guy_b_g]

Here is a link to the manuals for the Dell Dimension E521. They have some interesting things to say about how memory can and cannot be paired in your machine.

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...1/en/index.htm

[cywelchjr]

o.k. here's what i just got from the 'tech' person at staples when i asked about adding more mem [1gb]. he said pretty much what cy said in the post above.
then he proceeded to give me a pitch about upgrading to win7. i left.

i believe i read that the e521 i have is 64 bit capable. i am not sure what this means or how to go about making it 64 bit capable.

i may have mentioned before that i think there are 4 memory slots total, 3 left. should i just fill them all with 512mb cards??
any input appreciated. again.

That might be the least expensive and give the most bang for the buck.

As for the 64 bit thing, you want at LEAST 3 gig for 64 bit, and your computer will run Win 7 very well and quite fast (actually I've seen 7 run faster than XP, and definitely faster than Vista. All said and done, once you have the drivers right, Vista and 7 are far more stable than XP. I never reboot my computers anymore, just when updates come out that require a reboot. In some cases I have gone as much as 3 months without rebooting or turning off the computer, and it actually runs faster the longer it's on. Now that said, if you don't get the drivers right, and there are a LOT of bad ones out there for most machines, you'll be lucky to make it a day or so. I used drivermax to check and find the best most recent drivers for my hardware and went from a semi-stable computer to one that never gives me even a slight hiccup.

Now, to go to 64 bit, you just have to get and install the 64 bit version of the OS, which requires a complete re-install, and I found the XP 64 was not very good at compatibility, Vista was much better compatibility and performance wise as far as 64 bit and 7 is supposed to be better, BUT you can't run drivers for 64 bit that are not certified, which means no tweaked drivers for games and such (video is the most common here and your Nvidia card built into the MB really needs that to perform at it's best). So, unless your doing stuff that REALLY needs to unlock the speed of the hardware, I would stay with 32 bit, you will have less compatibility problems and things will work better.

PS, I am a programmer and Network Admin by trade, and before that I was a computer tech and electronic instructor, so this IS my area of expertise.

[redbone]

o.k. here's what i just got from the 'tech' person at staples when i asked about adding more mem [1gb]. he said pretty much what cy said in the post above.
then he proceeded to give me a pitch about upgrading to win7. i left.

i believe i read that the e521 i have is 64 bit capable. i am not sure what this means or how to go about making it 64 bit capable.

i may have mentioned before that i think there are 4 memory slots total, 3 left. should i just fill them all with 512mb cards??
any input appreciated. again.

guy, thanks a ton for that link. after reading it, sure seems i can't just load it up with 512 cards. seems i can't even just add another 512 card, both must be new. wtf. maybe i'll look into two 1gb cards. probly still ain't enuff for vista?!?
thnaks again
redbone

[Guy_b_g]

Glad I could be of help.

[cywelchjr]

guy, thanks a ton for that link. after reading it, sure seems i can't just load it up with 512 cards. seems i can't even just add another 512 card, both must be new. wtf. maybe i'll look into two 1gb cards. probly still ain't enuff for vista?!?
thnaks again
redbone

I would take that with a grain of salt. I have put mismatched sticks in 3 of them and they work just fine and are totally stable. The important thing is to match the speed of the one that's in there and it will be fine, doesn't matter what dell says, I mean who are they, they just built the thing (well, paid someone offshore to build it for them).

No, really, you could, but frankly I would actually recommend that you go with 2 1 gig sticks, and 2 gig works pretty well with Vista, and very well with 7. Windows 7 is what Vista should have been.

[Ivan]

I have done the same as Cy. Even with mismatched speeds. Most MOBOs will just declock the faster ram to match. But, "Dude, You're gettin' a Dell" which means that damn near everything in it is going to be proprietary. It wouldn't surprise me if Dell electronically marks their ram so you can only use Dell ram on their board. I have been through it on their powersuplies having a different pinout, their hard drives not interchanging and other stupid crap.

Thank God Cessna and Boeing don't make PCs.

[cywelchjr]

I have done the same as Cy. Even with mismatched speeds. Most MOBOs will just declock the faster ram to match. But, "Dude, You're gettin' a Dell" which means that damn near everything in it is going to be proprietary. It wouldn't surprise me if Dell electronically marks their ram so you can only use Dell ram on their board. I have been through it on their powersuplies having a different pinout, their hard drives not interchanging and other stupid crap.

Thank God Cessna and Boeing don't make PCs.

While sometimes true, in this case I am talking about things I have done with the same model Dell he has. I maintain 3 E521's and a C521 and have never put a single dell branded part in them after they arrive. Just put a 1.25 TB drive in the C521, man that thing is fast. And room to burn now!

[Crazcnuk]

The whole ram thing is that with DDR (double date rate) ram, it runs at twice the speed of the main bus speed.

If you mismatch ram sticks, ie: 1x1gb and 1x512mb, (or any two mismatched size) it WILL work, but only at single data rate speeds. So you could double the ram but at 1/2 speed, etc.

This isn't always bad, if you have too little ram, such as 512MB, going with 1.5GB at 1/2 speed will still be an improvement.

You can mix different speed cards, too, the computer will run them at whatever speed it wants to anyway (usully the slower speed of the two cards), unless you hard set the RAM parameters in the CMOS. Just always put ram sticks in pairs, if you can (ie: 2x 1gb +2 x512mb for a total of 3GB).

The RAM slots are often staggered, 1+3, and 2+4. Look for color coded ram slots. Install pairs of ram in 1+3, first, then 2+4 if this is the case.

When you boot the system up you SHOULD see a message saying 'DDR enabled' or something to that effect if all is installed properly.

The 64 bit part can only be 'activated' by installing a 64-bit version of your operating system (as stated previously) However 64-bit only speeds up the system about 5%, and can cause compatibility problems with older programs and some hardware.

32-bit operating systems can only use a maximum of 4GB of RAM, and, even then, don't let you use all of it. Putting more than 4GB in is a waste of RAM.

64-bit allows up to 16GB of RAM, IF your mainboard has the capability to use that much.

I am assuming you don't do heavy gaming or anything that requires lots of RAM, but would recommend 2GB (2x1GB) as being a good all around bang for the buck.

Keep in mind that you could probably change the processor, too, if your freinds have faster ones they are no longer using. Also may be a good source for some more RAM.

I straighten pins on processors (and now the new mainboards) all the time. Unless the pin breaks off, it doesn't hurt anything. A round toothpick works well to straighten entire rows at once.

Heat sink compound helps cool the processor, and should be replaced when ever you remove the heatsink. DELL uses really cheap compound that hardens like rock. Isopropyl alcohol removes it easily. it's not 100% necessary but DO NOT run the system w/o the heatsink fully installed. AMD processors can burn out before the CMOS screen appears w/o the heatsink. Intel are a bit more rugged, but not a lot.

If you put it together w/o compound you may notice your fan(s) running faster than usual.

[redbone]

jsut an update all, ordered two 1gig cards off the www. rcvd them yesterday, put them in [after removing the 512 card] and it's like a whole new machine. runs great. still have 2 open slots for more if needed.
thanks again for all the info.
redbone

[TopCatGr58]

Congrats, and glad to hear you didn't COOK your CPU! Good luck with your continued studies, learn much grasshopper!
T.C.