Here's Hoping NewEgg Comes Through for Me!

Published on May 3, 2007 By Gideon MacLeish In Personal Computing

I've heard a lot about Dells and proprietary hardware. Enough so that when looking for more memory for my computer that badly needs upgrading from its 256 MB state, I went to the Dell site first. They wanted $90 for a 512mb stick of RAM, $150 for 1 GB.

Well, I know I can beat that price. The question is, will Dell take it? So i hunted it down on Newegg, which is kind enough to feature a memory configuration checker of some sort...something that TigerDirect doesn't do, to my knowledge. My machine was in there (an Optiplex GX260, for anyone who might want to share their personal experiences with other memory sticks), and I was able to find 2 512MB sticks for about $60...with a pretty solid rating. One of the few negative comments mentioned Dell, but it mentioned a different model, one that takes PC2700 memory (mine is PC2100), so it would not be unlikely that these particular memory sticks didn't meet their criteria.

I also picked up a 1 gb flash drive (I admit to being a flash drive junkie...especially since 1 gb drives go for under $10 now if you don't go to (gag!) Wally World. Between the memory and the flash drive, my total bill came to just under the $90 I'd have paid for Dell memory.

And my dinosaur PC should be flying if the new memory works as advertised!

Comments (Page 1)

MasonM

on May 03, 2007

NewEgg is pretty reliable. I've made a few purchases from them and been pleased,

I bought a 1G memory stick for my Dell laptop at Office Max of all places. More expensive than ordering, but I was on the road and wanted it right away.

Gideon MacLeish

on May 03, 2007

Yeah, they're reliable. It's DELL I'm worried about...lol!

I bought my 480 watt PSU off of NewEgg, and I love it. Just hoping the memory on the Dell isn't proprietary!

But if it is, I'll recoup what I can by selling the memory and find some sticks that were pulled from this same model on eBay. The good thing about Dell is, they're common enough that parts aren't a worry.

MasonM

on May 03, 2007

If NewEgg says it'll work then it probably will. I've never run into any real issues buying parts for Dell machines.

boss0190

on May 03, 2007

Dell memory isn't proprietary, nor much else in them either. I've had about 6 of them.....no problems upgrading anything. Just added 2 gb ram, a second hard drive and a new graphics card to mine...all from Newegg, and all work great.

seldomseen

on May 03, 2007

my dinosaur PC should be flying if the new memory works

Timely post, GM. Just received my RAMBUS RAM upgrade from NewEgg via UPS, only three business days after ordering. Right to the door. Cross-checked system requirements with Crucial's Memory Configurator to see if it's the same, as I don't want to fry anything or create an idiot savant. System was built in school as a project, when RAMBUS was the big news for a few months, and wanted to see how well it'll run with maxed memory. So far, NewEgg's come through competitively, with the lowest price for Samsung RAM, which is what I wanted. (As it's RAMBUS RAM, I'm not going to quote a cost so as not to cause cardiac arrest among the faint of heart...suffice to say, it's not in the $90 bracket for two sticks of 512!)

Gideon MacLeish

on May 03, 2007

That's what I figured. Our work machines (also Dell machines) are not listed in NewEgg's directory, leading me to believe they excluded models for which they did not have supported memory. That's a good thing.

I'm looking forward to it. My shipment should get here Monday, and, while I won't upgrade, the machine will be a video card short of being Vista ready (I'm gonna upgrade the video card anyway just because I have my eye on a DVI LCD monitor).

boss0190

on May 03, 2007

You'll love the DVI monitor I'm sure..I got a 24" Dell refurbished....still expensive, but the DVI makes a huge difference. I tried it with the standard VGA connection first just to convince myself it was worth the money.....and it was.

terpfan1980

on May 03, 2007

Dell memory isn't proprietary, nor much else in them either.

You must have missed the funt that was RAMBUS, RIMM memory. Expensive as hell. Dimension 8200 series. About 4 - 5 times the price of the more standard stuff.

Not proprietary by Dell, but definitely proprietary stuff, expensive, hard to find, etc.

Another good place to get memory from though is: http://www.coastmemory.com Same type memory configurator, pick the system maker, model, etc. Normally very competitive prices.

Gideon MacLeish

on May 03, 2007

will keep them in mind, terp.

At the moment, I'm very happy with a gig for $60. It gave me a good excuse to buy the flash drive.

Fun, CHEAP little toys those things are!

boss0190

on May 03, 2007

Fun CHEAP is always nice...Newegg had 2gb Corsair ram for $103...I couldn't resist. It may not be considered the best but it works great for me!

Gideon MacLeish

on May 03, 2007

boss,

I don't know if you're aware of it, but 19" widescreen DVI monitors have dropped below the $200 mark. We purchased one for a build that has me thinking about it. And my kids will love it as it will mean I'd be passing my 17" LCD screen onto them.

19" DVI monitor: $170
Nice 256mb graphics card: $70
Watching YouTube videos in High Def: priceless!

pjdark

on May 03, 2007

yeah i have dealt with newegg a few times and have always been happy. bought my 19' widescreen from them[ it's absolutely sweet] and they have a pretty fast delivery time. their pretty darn good. but for memory i'll go with crucial. good prices.

Dr Guy

on May 04, 2007

Dell memory isn't proprietary, nor much else in them either. I've had about 6 of them.....no problems upgrading anything.

That's what I love about Dell (and others hate).

And New Egg is one of my favorite places to buy - both for price and service.

But $10! I am sick now! My wife paid $40 for mine.

warreni

on May 04, 2007

Personally, I've had nothing but good experiences buying from Newegg; they have good prices on hardware upgrades and the shipping times are very fast. I don't know that I've ever dealt with TigerDirect, mostly because their prices seem ludicrously high on many items. Boss is right--most Dell machines don't use proprietary architecture--that's probably Gateway you're thinking about. So you shouldn't have any problem with the memory as long as you have checked that it's the right chip type (ex:SIMM,DIMM), memory type (ex:RDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM), speed (ex:PC2700, 3200), and CAS latency voltage (ex:2.5V, 3V). Just match it up with the specs on your preinstalled memory and it should be fine.

Gideon MacLeish

on May 04, 2007

Boss is right--most Dell machines don't use proprietary architecture--that's probably Gateway you're thinking about

No, I'm well aware of Gateway's proprietary issues (though, in my opinion, Sony Vaio desktops are worse, there's just not as many of 'em), but it's definitely Dell I was thinking of. I think most of their "proprietary" machines are actually business class machines that use more advanced memory, etc. The ones that I was told (cannot absolutely confirm, but Newegg seems to concur) that the memory was proprietary in are our work machines, which are 5-6 years old (built for Windows2K Pro with Xeon procs. As for my machine, the only problems I can absolutely confirm are that most memory I've gotten out of parts computers is either too old or too new (can't complain TOO much, though...the result is my Windows 2K Server machine got a 256 mb upgrade as a result). If there are any problems with it, though, I don't see it as being a problem...Optiplex GX260's are about as common as mid 80's GM sedans are in the car world.

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