Dell XPS 420

Discussion in 'hardware' started by The Hammer, Jun 18, 2008.

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  1. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    I'm considering a Dell XPS 420 a multi media system. However you can install a max of only 4 Meg of ram. Iv'e seen other systems where you can go higher. Should I be concerned regarding future proofing?
     
  2. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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    Gigabytes or megabytes?
     
  3. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    Sorry Gigabytes.
     
  4. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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    Scared me for a minute. :D That amount of memory seems adequate to me.
     
  5. farmerlee

    farmerlee Registered Member

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    4 gigs of ram should serve you well for quite a while imo.
    Be aware if it comes with a 32bit operating system you will only be able to use 3gb of it. You will need a 64bit operating system if you want to be able to access more memory.
     
  6. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    i would say its pretty limited. i didnt buy that same system because of that reason.
    ddr2 ram is so cheap theese days.
    that said by the time you will want to upgrade you will probaly need a new computer anyway.
     
  7. Dogbiscuit

    Dogbiscuit Guest

    All of Dell's systems support 4GB maximum, when I last checked recently. HP, for one, is selling 64bit systems with 8MB maximum.
     
  8. innerpeace

    innerpeace Registered Member

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    I'm using XP 32bit with 4 Gigs of Ram and only 3.25 shows in My Computer which is normal for a 32 bit OS. It's plenty for me but I guess it all depends on what you plan on doing with your machine. It looks like the 420's are quad cores and by the time most software is quad compatible, it would be time to upgrade your machine anyways.

    FWIW, I just built a Q6600 machine and have it overclocked 25% @ 3.0GHz with stock voltages. If you get one of those machines, it should be nice.

    What do you plan on doing with the machine?
     
  9. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    Watch and record Tv, movies, play some games maybe get one of those new Zune's. Surf sore my photos etc.
     
  10. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    Any idea as to how much more memory a 64 bit OS will give you access to?
     
  11. chris2busy

    chris2busy Registered Member

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    more than even servers need...do not worry...over 6Gb is considered money overkill these days...
     
  12. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    well 64bit vista business versions around 64GB
    so it will be ages and ages until you need that much.
     
  13. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    Actually I meant if I had 4 GB how much more would a 64 bit Vista OS give me over and above what a 32 bit version would give me? From what innerpeace said in his post a 32 bit XP would show 3.25 GB.
     
  14. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    hello The Hammer,
    woops sorry misunderstood.
    well you would get the full 4gb of ram using a 64bit bit operating systems. dont forget thou you would need to make sure all the applications you run would work on a 64bit OS
     
  15. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    innerpeace,

    Does that mean 0.75 GB of RAM is "wasted" or is 3.25 GB a false RAM indication?
     
  16. innerpeace

    innerpeace Registered Member

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  17. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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