EDO RAM notch mod?

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January 22nd, 2003, 07:42 PM
JeffO93

EDO RAM notch mod?

My customer has one of those irritating 200MHz Dell GXPros with 168-pin EDO RAM.

Here's the Dell requirement specs:
Architecture 64-bit, noninterleaved
DIMM capacities 16-, 32-, 64-, and 128-MB EDO
ECC
Standard 16 MB
Maximum 512 MB
buffered or unbuffered
2 or 4 clock cycles not applicable
3.3 V

What I got was two:
(16X72)
128 MB DIMM EDO
E.C.C
BUFFERED
MICRON
3.3 V

I'm out 64$ because one of the notches is off by a tiny amount, meaning the RAM is for some other obscure made-for-half-a-year proprietary PC (Compaq?).
My question is, since the RAM is both the same voltage, both ECC, both EDO, both buffered, and all metal contacts line up perfectly, is there any chance that taking a fine Dremel tool to the offending notch and then inserting it will damage the RAM slots? From what I read, most of these notches were mis-aligned to keep people from mis-matching voltages and blowing RAM.
At this point, I have to swallow a $64 loss. I don't believe the motherboard slots are in danger. I'm willing to risk blowing the RAM. Otherwise I have to spend another chunk of cash for more risky RAM.
Has anyone done this?
Will this blow things up?
Any chance in he11 this might work?
:sad:
January 22nd, 2003, 07:59 PM
tha 4NiK8R

200mhz!? And you spent $64 on memory for it?! You can goto Walmart and get a $199PC with more memory and an 800mhz processor...true it is a via processor, but still...200mhz?

btw I just threw out 5 P2-300mhz machines that have have been sitting in my closet for 2yrs because, fankly you can buy a better machine at a flea market for $25.

As for memory you can get boxes of it on ebay for practically nothing. I bout 100 64mb sticks of memory for IBM 300GL's a few months back for the insanely high cost of: $40 for the entire box.

**As to your question...you will probably short the board if you use that memory.
January 22nd, 2003, 10:38 PM
Stalemate

Quote:

Originally posted by tha 4NiK8R
...btw I just threw out 5 P2-300mhz machines that have have been sitting in my closet for 2yrs because, fankly you can buy a better machine at a flea market for $25...

Tssk, tssk...

I just sold my PII 350 system for 350$ CAN (witout monitor) :p

As for the RAM, could it be that this motherboard is using PC66 while you're holding onto PC100?

As I recall, that's what was in use when I had my 166MMX and I just threw out an Asus motherboard (233MHz CPU with 440 chipset) because of that.
January 23rd, 2003, 05:29 AM
NooNoo

What's the problem with just returning the ram? Or putting it on Ebay?
January 23rd, 2003, 10:12 AM
JeffO93

Customer bought the PC, not me.
He said it was "the last PC he'll ever own". And he wanted to know how to make it run.
So I told him how to do it.
You cracks don't help the situation.
The question was about RAM mod. My theory is, if the voltage it right and the type is correct, then the notch is probably a proprietary trick to force you to buy direct from the big boy (Compaq,IBM,HP,etc.).
$200 Walmart PCs aren't PCs. They are cases with motherboards in them. I can get better cases/motherboards for the same money buying online.
If any of you are throwing away 300+MHz PCs, you are filthy rich. I got into the PC business from diving into trash and pulling out PCs. But since the economy sank, the trash died.
January 23rd, 2003, 10:23 AM
DocPC

It won't work. The pins are also one off and if I remember correctly, those were 5.5v instead of 3.3v.

There are also CAS and RAS issues involved.
January 23rd, 2003, 10:29 AM
Ya_know

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffO93
Customer bought the PC, not me.
He said it was "the last PC he'll ever own". And he wanted to know how to make it run.
So I told him how to do it.
You cracks don't help the situation.
The question was about RAM mod. My theory is, if the voltage it right and the type is correct, then the notch is probably a proprietary trick to force you to buy direct from the big boy (Compaq,IBM,HP,etc.).
.

If you really think that it is a conspiracy, why not just try to elongate the notch and plug it in? Or are you afraid to burn up the customers last ever PC?

Take everything here with a grain of salt. People are making fun because it sounds like you are wasting your time for a cheap customer. If he is that concerned about upgrading his PC, check www.crucial.com for his model PC, and see if you can get the RAM there. The consensus here is that EDO memory costs way too much, unless you have spares left over from older systems that have gone to pasture. And to modify proprietary RAM to fit in a slot that it was not designed for is futile; but if you must, then try it.

Honestly, when you have a customer that makes a statement like “this is the last PC I will ever own” either he is dying soon, or he is cheap. You don’t need his business if he is afraid to spend money practically, but willing to throw it away on a dinosaur. And if he is dying soon, he doesn’t need the RAM.
January 23rd, 2003, 12:11 PM
Shard92

First off no matter what the memory cost if that is what the customer wanted then that is what you do. Now to clarify that a little you SHOULD explain to him why you don't think it is worth it and then leave it up to them. Also for future reference Jeff if I were you I'd also tell him that it is proprietary memory and that he has to pay up front and either no refund or at least a restock fee. Now if you ordered and recieved the wrong thing they should take it back. if that is not possible ( and I wouldn't modify the module the notches were to differentiate voltage as doc said ) then at least get something back by sticking them on e-bay as NooNoo suggested. If the customer is the one who bought them then HE is the one that would have to eat them.

Second, those $199 computers from walmart have gone up the last time I checked they were almost $300 ( 298 or something ) and they aren't much more than a workstation or e-mail box.

Third, he came here for help, if you don't want to help don't. No reason to ridicule him. But at the same time Jeff don't be too sensitive either, I've learned to let comments like that slide off, not worth the hastel of it.

Adept the Ram he is talking about it EDO it's not SDRAM so if I'm not mistaken there is no PC number to go with that at all.

And by the way it all depends on were you are we still sell P200's here alot. A 200 can do fine with what a lot of people want a computer for and in this area's depressed economy everyone wants cheap. And since OS can be a pretty big chunk of change we can sell these either as bare bones no os or with some of the old licences we still have.
January 23rd, 2003, 01:07 PM
Ya_know

First off, Shard92, all in all you are correct. Second, it is a simple matter of opinion as to the lifespan of a PC, correct again. If it is still running with no problems, cool. But you can’t justify anything over $50 for a situation like this; lets not forget that there is going to be a labor charge as well. If the PC is running with its current memory count, there is no need to add more, unless it can be done for less than what is expected, perhaps $25 for 64 MB would be practical, but hard to find.

The customer is not always right. If he came in to my store I would suggest that he save his money and look for a replacement computer in a few more months with the money he saved by listening to me. Then again, I was fired from retail sales/services for that very mentality; but that was the best thing that ever happened to me.
January 23rd, 2003, 01:20 PM
Shard92

No argument from me ya_know. BUT we don't know the situation. From experience, I know some customers who INSIST they know better and want you to do something anyway. Maybe that is the case and maybe not. If so do what the customer wants and collect your money. Even if it is not, that is no reason to ridicule someone. Tell him you think he is wrong in what he did and why and do it nicely. Then maybe he'll listen and learn. The way you explained it, was in my opinion a much better way of going about it. I'm just saying everyone has to learn something sometime, and instructing someone in a nice and clear manner has always gotten better results than insults.
January 23rd, 2003, 01:55 PM
geoscomp

EDO DIMMs from those machines came in both 16x72 and 16x64..I think for your dell you need the 16x64 as i recall..(and this was a while ago after all) the 16x64 were rated at 50 nanoseconds and the 16x72 at 60 nanoseconds. NooNoo is right though..we get a lot of people asking for that kind of memory..shouldn't be too difficult to resell
January 23rd, 2003, 03:31 PM
JeffO93

My customer is actually an aquantance from work. I do free work for co-workers. They pay for parts, and they pay $20 if I have to visit their home more than a couple miles form home.

He did a dumb thing, for sure. Started with a laptop that I get the impression was about a 300MHz, but said he traded it for this old Dell. (Long story.)
His pride won't allow him to admit defeat on this PC because now his wife is ridiculing him for the bad trade-down. So his heals are dug in.

The RAM might not work with a notch mod, but the contacts do indeed all line up perfectly.

I learn lessons easily. I've already learned a lesson from this. This situation will never recur to me, but this current situation still isn't resolved.

Back to the topic...
Still wondering if anyone has done this widening of the notch, or if anyone has ACTUAL knowledge (not opinion) of what the differences might be. Visually - and as far as the specs I've gotten tell - the location of only one notch is the only difference.

Thanks for the few bits of positive helpful advise.
January 23rd, 2003, 03:38 PM
DocPC

The pins are numbered differently. They may to appear to line up correctly, but they are in fact, not. The notch is there for voltage/pinout correction.
January 23rd, 2003, 03:43 PM
kato2274

Quote:

Originally posted by DocPC
The pins are numbered differently. They may to appear to line up correctly, but they are in fact, not. The notch is there for voltage/pinout correction.

doc is right
just because the pins MATCH doesn't mean they carry the same signal.

just ask people who tried to replace a recent dell power supply with a standard one. it plugged in just fine. all the pins lined up. . . . . . . . . . . .

unless you're ready to lose at least the $64 invested in that DIMM and quite possibly the motherboard too, I'd holster the dremel and check out crucial for an approved replacement.

but if you're willing to risk the DIMM and board, go for it and let us know if it works.
January 23rd, 2003, 03:57 PM
Ya_know

Quote:

Originally posted by kato2274

but if you're willing to risk the DIMM and board, go for it and let us know if it works.

That's what I'm talking about!!! Go for it!
January 23rd, 2003, 03:59 PM
NooNoo

If he is dug in and he dont want his mrs to know, how about some double dealing here?

Get him or you to Ebay the wrong stuff, buy the right stuff and hopefully you wont be out too much. Did you check ebay for the dell stuff? Its out there.
January 23rd, 2003, 04:23 PM
geoscomp

Then again..you can get a whole optiplex gxpro refurbished with 32 mb of ram for $99.00 One online memory dealer lists having available 4 memory modules (128 mb) made specifically for this machine and wants $168.00 each...I guess I'd go for it..at the very worst you'd have to shell out about 2/3 the cost of a single memory module even if the whole machine caught fire and burnt to the ground
January 23rd, 2003, 04:24 PM
Shard92

As I, Doc and kato have said the notch is there for a reason, if he is determined to get the upgrade you'll have to find the right stuff. If someone told you the two sticks are identical then they either didn't know or were lying to you. If it was the person you paid the $64 to, you should try to get your money back as they are not what you need. Otherwise as NooNoo suggested you should be able to get something back on e-bay for it.