Will this work?

[Skiz]

A friend asked me to make a couple of recommendations for his PC. He's fixing to do a reformat and wanted to do some minor upgrades at the same time.

He has a Dell Dimension 8300

Windows XP Home
Intel Pentium 4, 3000 MHz (15 x 200)
Intel Canterwood i875P/E7210
512 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS - Phoenix (02/23/04)


What he wants:

1. Memory
2. New HDD to backup what he already has, and then to use for future storage after Windows reinstall.


Memory:

He currently has 512 (specs above)

My recommendation would be this, as it needs to be a set - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148007


HDD:

He currently has a Seagate 120GB (ST3120026AS - 120 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA)

My recommendation would be - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140


So my questions are:

Are these suggestions feasible? Specs are OK, etc?

Is there any downside to purchasing an OEM HDD?

[clocker]

Looks good to me.
AFAIK, the only thing you lose going with an OEM drive is a pretty box, the cable and an instruction manual.

Note:
Newegg is notorious for the crappy job they do packing HDDs...it'll just be tossed in a box with peanuts.
Test it immediately upon receipt so you can return if necessary.

[Virtualbody1234]

The set of memory will work but you could save some cash if you just try to match the one he already has.

Only 1x512 more.

[Skiz]

The set of memory will work but you could save some cash if you just try to match the one he already has.

Only 1x512 more.

I figured he could use the extra gig. Certainly couldn't hurt, and with the rebate it's only like $38 per 512.

[Shiranai_Baka]

Looks good to me.
AFAIK, the only thing you lose going with an OEM drive is a pretty box, the cable and an instruction manual.

Note:
Newegg is notorious for the crappy job they do packing HDDs...it'll just be tossed in a box with peanuts.
Test it immediately upon receipt so you can return if necessary.

ORLY? I ordered 2 hard drives from them and they had it bubble wrapped and put into a fun fun peanut filled box!

[lynx]

Check the voltage requirements of that memory - 2.8 Volts.

Can the system supply 2.8 Volts to the memory?
Can it run alongside the existing memory which probably only needs 2.5 Volts?

I think you are just asking for potential problems if you go for that memory.

[Skiz]

Check the voltage requirements of that memory - 2.8 Volts.

Can the system supply 2.8 Volts to the memory?
Can it run alongside the existing memory which probably only needs 2.5 Volts?

I think you are just asking for potential problems if you go for that memory.

Googled all over. Can't find info on that.

[clocker]

Lynx is correct, the stock memory is 2.5v.

Slipped right past me, that little nugget did.

[Skiz]

Lynx is correct, the stock memory is 2.5v.

Slipped right past me, that little nugget did.

The Crucial website recommends these which are 2.6V - http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...on+8300+Series

[lynx]

The current memory may be 2.5 volt or 2.6 volt, it is difficult to tell from the specs. I suspect that models with pc2700 memory operate at 2.5v and those wih pc3200 memory use 2.6v.

Why not use Everest to find out the memory that's currently in the pc, then look that up and find out from the manufacturer what1 voltage it uses?

Everest will also tell you the memory timings, but you need to be careful with that as there are actually different timings at different speeds. Again, if you look up the actual part you can find out the manufacturers ratings and try to match it.

All the recommended pc3200 memory I've found operates at 2.6 volts.

I've noticed that all the sites say you need to fit memory sticks in pairs.