Alienware Area-51 7500-R5

[alienware09]

Hello Windows Vista Forums,

I own an Alienware Area-51 7500-R5 gaming desktop. I am upgrading to Windows Vista Ultimate x64. I am thinking to upgrade the RAM to 8GB. The only issue is that my system does not support Dual Channel RAM cards. Do they sell single channel RAM cards? I can't seem to find any. Another problem as well, I did a Crucial Memory Scan and it read: Maximum Memory Supported: 4096MB. Does this refer to that I cannot go over 4096MB because of my system or because of the Operating System I am running. I am running Windows XP Pro 32bit. I know 32bit can only process 4GB of RAM or 4096MB of RAM. But does the memory scan refer to the Operating System limit or how much my system can handle overall. When I bought it Alienware said I could do plenty of upgrades on it. Here are my system specs:

System Manufacturer/Model Number ALIENWARE AREA-51 7500-R5
OS Windows XP Pro 32bit
CPU Dual Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz
Motherboard EVGA NFORCE 680i SLI MB REV D MOTHERBOARD
Memory 2 QIMONDA 512MB DDR2 PC2-6400 JEDEC STD MEMORY
Graphics Card(s) NVIDIA GEFORCE 8600GTS 256MB PCI-E GRAPHICS PROCESSOR Sound Card INTERGRATED HIGH-DEF AUDIO NVIDIA C55-MB Sound Card
Monitor(s) Displays SAMSUNG SyncMaster TFT-LCD Monitor Screen
Resolution 1680 X 1050 PIXELS
Hard Drives SEAGATE 250GB SATA 7200 RPM 16MB Cache System Drive
PSU 700 Watt OEM ATX PSU REV2 Power Supply
Case Full-Tower Black Case 2.0B Alienware P2 Chassis
Cooling AVC Pentium 4 Dual Core HSF High-Performance Liquid Cooling
Keyboard Alienware Standard Black Keyboard
Mouse Alienware Black Basic Optical Mouse
Internet Speed 54.0 MBPS
Other Info Bought from Alienware Computers - Custom-Built Gaming Desktops and Laptops in late 2007.

I hope someone can help me!

Regards,
alienware09

 

[truthkid]

Who said you can't run dual channel? And I thought you were taking our advice and not going with 8 gigs considering you won't use 8 gigs.

Hello truthkid,

Not much besides gaming, surfing the web, and school work.

Regards,
alienware09

None of that is going to use 8 gigs (and with that beings said, if anyone can tell me what game uses 8 gigs I'd love to know)

 

[alienware09]

Hi truthkid,

I did a crucial memory scan and it said that my system did not support dual channel memory. Have a look for yourself:

Computer memory upgrades for Alienware AREA-51 7500 Desktop/PC from Crucial.com

I decided to go with 8GB anyway, don't bother arguing the situation.

Regards,
alienware09

 

[truthkid]

Well crucial is wrong, check your mobo's manufacturer

Also read this:

Do You Really Need More Than 6 GB Of RAM? : Is “Too Much†Really Just Enough? - Review Tom's Hardware

There's nothing wrong with not knowing everything about computers, but to come on a forum and ask for advice then blow it off because you think you know better is a bit absurd. Upgrade to 4 gigs and look at a new graphics card if you want to see better performance in gaming.

 

[alienware09]

Hello truthkid,

I have checked their website and E-mailed them.

alienware09

 

[truthkid]

Great, the short answer is I'm running a 680i Rev D in my tower at home and I have dual channel memory in it

 

[alienware09]

Hi truthkid,

Unless you can prove to me that 4GB's will work better and faster than 8GB's, I'm staying with 8GB.

Regards,
alienware09

 

[stoneys-nutz]

Go here and check your boards specs.

HEXUS.net - Review :: eVGA nForce 680i SLI LGA775 motherboard : Page - 2/8

 

[alienware09]

Hi stoneys-nutz,

Thanks for the attept but it didn't really help. Thanks anyway.

Regards,
alienware09

 

[truthkid]

Check the Toms Hardware link I posted already in post #4

And here's the mobo
http://techgage.com/article/evga_nforce_680i_sli

 

[alienware09]

Hi truthkid,

That link didn't prove anything to me. Prove that 4GB is better than 8GB or why 8GB is unecesary. The mobo link helped though!

Regards,
alienware09

 

[truthkid]

Apparently you didn't actually read through it

Benchmark Results: 3D Games - Review Tom's Hardware : Do You Really Need More Than 6 GB Of RAM?

 

[alienware09]

I dont get it?

 

[Extensa]

It is showing that the difference between 6GB and 12 GB of RAM is minimal. You are better off only getting 4 or 6GB of RAM and upgrading something else in the future

 

[dbsantos77]

Hi alien, I think you should've continued your last thread, aside from that, Here's the article that I was reading that show that 4 GB works better then 8 GB for gaming. Again it's your choice, but as truthkid and I have been saying, 4 GB will work better with vista x64 bit. With that money saved over, you can upgrade your video card because honestly, your 8600GT is a bit outdated.

bit-tech.net | Review - Is More Memory Better?

 

[alienware09]

Ok...will this graphics card work in my system?

Amazon.com: BFG Technologies BFGEGTX260MC896OC2BE NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 OC2 MAXCORE 55 896MB GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card: Electronics


Thanks,
alienware09

 

[palegathon]

Removed!

 

[Katokato]

In my opinion id blow off the 8 gig and just get 4-6 gigs, and save money to get an i7 or thuban processor if you are really into extreme gaming. And even at that, you can cross fire an ati card so you can get a better experience with eyefinity. Usually computers that need that much ram are usually really intensive servers, or someone who does graphics creation or something to that sort (someone who would need to use a workstation card).

 

[Katokato]

Ok...will this graphics card work in my system?

Amazon.com: BFG Technologies BFGEGTX260MC896OC2BE NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 OC2 MAXCORE 55 896MB GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Graphics Card: Electronics


Thanks,
alienware09

And also, that item is unavailable and i couldnt get any useful information out of its technical details. If you have enough money, may i suggest an ati card?

Crossfire these babies (the 5xxx series have lower power consumption and dx11): Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

I personally don't like nvidia's line of cards as the fermi architecture cards are really expensive (and anything matching a 5770 price range nvidia card sux) and also that nvidia doesnt support anything similar to eyefinity.

And if you dont want to crossfire then get the above except only buy one card.

If you want to OC a gpu, then i suggest a card with a really nice cooler (something from HIS or one of the higher end manufacturers). Something like this: Newegg.com - HIS IceQ 5 H577QT1GD Radeon HD 5770 Turbo 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
My advice on OC is really not that great, as i dont OC anything for the moment.

Or if that wasnt enough performance for you, get this: Newegg.com - HIS H585FN1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

And if you really want a wrap around monitor setup (eyefinity) i suggest that you crossfire or get this: Newegg.com - HIS H587F2G6DG Radeon HD 5870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Eyefinity 6 Edition Video Card

And if you really have a lot of money and are a fanboy of nvidia, get one of the fermi cards.

 

[Djinn22]

Alienware09, i'm hoping you are still on this forum!! Im looking for an Alienware Support CD and you have the exact model i need!!

Is there anyway you could make a copy of your support cd so I can restore my bro's Alienware to factory settings???