It does seem, (at least to the dull of wit such as myself), That you would need 9 Gbs installed to run true triple channel. 3- 2GB DIMMs + 3 1GB DIMMS. The 12 GB is also a good possibiity, since 12 is evenly divisible by 4, Whoa, it's like calculating a leap year, well almost but backwards.

If the new single channel systems work like the old dual channel systems, then you will get triple channel operation, but in only 6GB of the installed memory. The uneven 2GB will run as single channel, in what's called the "interleaved" mode. It's even possible that the 2 odd RAM sticks could run as dual channel, but that's just speculation, nothing more.

Really? I wish someone actually knows what the options are. Its really confusing but then with different motherboards and manufacturers thats what makes PCs so interesting anyway.

I spoke to Dell today - 40 minutes of being transfered between customer services and technical support before I finally got to speak to someone who told me I had purchased it on the internet and therefore had 7 days to spot the error otherwise I couldn't get any refund or exchange or change to the order.

I got an address to write to in Bracknell in UK. I will be writing to them. At the very least they can refund my 40 minute phone call. I am pretty sure that distance selling regulations and statutory rights cover me for a little bit longer than Dells 7 day policy so we will see what happens.

In the meantime would be great to work out how my memory is actually running.

I'm almost certain you're running in two channel mode. Dell knows this, too. I really cant believe they are not correcting this. As horrifying as it sounds, I think you need to contact them again, via email, Dell Chat, and phone if necessary.

They need to rectify this problem as it was false advertising. Get on their FORUMS and post about it. You will have responses, and occasionally a rep will post aid. I would get this resolved, the sooner the better. Again, Dell now KNOWS that your system is running in two channel mode.

Have a look at the Studio XPS Desktop page on the US Dell site and the 8GB RAM option is labelled as "Dual-Channel".

Unfortunately, I cannot include the link as the forum rules do not allow me to do so yet.

This surely gives even more credence to the suspicion that the Dell U.K. website must be wrong.

So I bought the Dell studio XPS with 8GB too and then fumbled over information that made me wonder. I have been searching all over including this forums, talking with Intel tech support, Crucial Tech support and Dell's tech support.

The way it works is there are actually 2 triple channel modes: symmetric and Isometric. Symmetric means all 3 of the modules on a given triad (ie all Dimm 2s in each channel), have the same latency, frequency and capacity. In this mode, all three modules are assessed sequentially. This is triple channel that most are familiar with.

Isometric is 3 slots in a triad are full and have different capacities. The total memory is added up and acts essentially as a single channel. ie a 2x1x1 would be like a single 4GB.

Both are triple channel and that is why Yukka is showing triple even though it is not really so.

So what is the fix? Well Dell charges $100 more for 8gb over 6gb and $300 more for 12gb over 6gb. What they should do is charge $150 for 9gb over 6gb. Good things is we can buy a 2bg module from dell for $67 and go with a 3x2 + 3x1 configuration for 9gb in a true triple configuration.

If we would have bought 6gb total initially, we would have to pay 3* $67 for 3 2gb modules or $200 so we aren't really out anything by doing this. The obvious problem is Dell is misleading people. Hopefully this information will spread and people will become educated. Hopefully Dell will remove the 4gb and 8gb options and just put up 2,3,6,9, and 12. They have the information, now we will see what kind of business ethics they possess.

I am piecing this information together from various sources so I may not be 100% accurate. I will concede this based on future evidence, but at this time, I feel quite confident in it.

Yep, this is correct. But also add that the memory will be running at the speed of the slowest RAM module installed. So if you somehow ended up with any combination of three, six, nine, or 12 DDR3 1333MHz and 1066MHz sticks, the RAM would run at the 1066MHz speed. This is even stated in the Dell service manual for the Studio XPS 435MT.

Actually, if you still have to have the Dell Studio XPS solution, the most cost effective option both from a performance and configuration standpoint would be to opt for the 3GB solution, or their lowest price option in the first customizable selection, and then UPGRADE via Newegg or some other online provider to a better RAM option with something like Corsair DDR3 1333MHz via 2GBx3. Not only would this be CHEAPER in the long run, but it would make for a better upgrade path, be better quality RAM, and a higher performance solution to boot, at a far better deal than Dell delivers. This is almost a no brainer.

Lastly, I'm thinking that Dell will never provide a BIOS option that will configure the i7 920 platform to anywhere near its potential. And when all is said and done, even if not opting for an upgrade in the graphics department, thereby bringing on a needed upgrade in your PSU, you WILL want to upgrade the cooling capability of this system.

I'm thinking that the stock CPU cooler implementation can be hit or miss, which is why some of these machines are bringing that CPU fan to cycle into Porsche 956 mode as if barreling down the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. Some of these Dell Studio XPS machines bring more cycles of this CPU fan than others, perhaps even resulting from differences in Thermal Compound application between the CPU and cooler. And if sensitive to the overall noise of the machine, wanting the most acceptable solution before the CPU fan is even in the picture, it appears an upgrade of the 92mm CASE FAN is a much needed solution. Thankfully, this is VERY inexpensive and as easy a mod as can be with four screws and and a plug. In addition, there is a spot on the front of the case for another 92mm fan, though powering this fan would be more problematic. Still, this machine with the ATI 4850 option is a bit toasty inside. And with a few mods, this might be helped enormously, even bring down noise levels in the process.

That being said, one must still weigh in all the variables with this system. At a discount price via the outlet when a loaded configuration comes up, it's still a deal. And if clicking the right options, and going for well-considered upgrades, the machine might be even better. Just dont expect the ultimate configuration that would take the i7 920 to its capabilities or a case and motherboard with the best upgrade potential.

Good point on the frequency taking to path of the slowest module.

I do plan on replacing the fan from what I've heard already when I get it. Its too cheep not to. That is interesting about the spot on the front of the case for a second fan. Is there no additional plug for a second fan? Can 2 fans be spliced together and ran off the same plug without overloading it? Would you recommend having the front fan blowing into the machine and the rear exhausting?

Good question on the splicing of the two fans into that one plug. You know, in this case, I have no final answer as to what the board can handle here. I've not heard of anyone doing this but it's a good question, especially if no other power options are present. I need to look one more time at the power supply to see what it provides for extra plugs.

As far as I can see, with the stock setup, there is no place for that front mounted fan to be powered specifically. The mounting holes are plainly visible, however. I remember reading somewhere that Dell does not provide another power point. Be interesting to know if the kludge would work.

On the direction, I would think that drawing cool air in would be the wise move, thus keeping the air running from front to back in the same flow as the case fan and and CPU cooler. The front fan, drawing cool air in, would flow a nice stream over the drives and the ATI 4850, probably the hottest thing in the case. In addition, might be be wise to take off that last lower slot cover to give some more flow below the video card so some of that hot air can escape.

One other slight bummer with a dual drive option with the 4850 is you have to remove that second HD to get at the card. The clearance is just too tight.

I'm literally on my 21st day of owning this machine, the LAST day to return the whole beast, lock stock and barrel. I've been giving serious thought and need to make up my mind within the next few hours.

is the fan a 3-pin motherboard socket or a 4-pin Molex connector?

I found a splice wire on newegg to add a second fan for a 4 pin connector and it sounds like one of our tech guys uses this all the time in his units.



I don't think you can get the 3gb version and upgrade it to 12gb. The sales rep from dell told me yesterday that there are two different motherboards in the studio XPS. The cheaper one only has 3 or 4 dimms I can't remember which, but it wasn't 6. Also if you buy the unit with 3gb you also lose out on the bundled savings and would have to upgrade the HD, monitor, video card, etc. FYI

It's a 3 pin connector on the board.

Hmmm...this sounds really strange to me regarding the two boards. Are you sure on this? Yeah, I guess the 3GB option would really work for the guys overseas, especially in Australia, that is, if it's not a whole different motherboard. I would be completely pissed. The online and included manual for the Studio XPS 435MT only mention ONE motherboard, too. Im not sure I would believe that. Actually, I was thinking people were buying this beast sans monitor. IF doing that, and it IS the same motherboard, you really arent losing much, and could buy a second hard drive, a better option that Dell offers, for peanuts. Still have a hard time believing that different MB thing. I have seen no mention of it anywhere, from documentation to advertising. Given Dell's history in faulty info, I wouldnt bank on it.

Well that is one thing I have learned you can count on in this experience. I would double check with a sales rep prior to buying one to make sure, or at least to have a scapegoat.

Thanks for the fan info

I posted these elsewhere but thought you might find it interesting, if only to see some more shots. Here are two shots of my own Dell Studio XPS 435MT interior as configured with the i7 920, 6GB DDR3 Tri-Channel RAM, 1.2TB via 2 Samsung 640GB HD run RAID 0 Striping, and ATI RADEON 4850 512mb video card (you'll also notice a wireless card, an option that came with this refurbished outlet choice along with a DVD/RW and additional CD drive).

See the self explanatory labels, the mediocre fan in full view. Without a doubt, the greatest heat producer is the ATI 4850. The Samsung 640GB SATA drives are extremely quiet and run quite cool in this configuration, cooler than the WD drives I have. The PSU runs rather cool as well.

Still, I am wondering how much the i7 CPU Cooler plays an effect in this beast's fan up, fan down aural blastoff....

See full view1 from side at 1200px (apologies for somewhat mediocre pic)
http://i39.tinypic.com/2nujde8.jpg

View w/labels

Thanks for the pic. I placed an order for 2 fans and a y cable from newegg. I am noticing a potential hot spot problem with that GPU. Looks like the 4850 being that close to the bottom of the case will only suck back in its hot exhaust. That seem right in your case?

I actually went with the smaller 4670. I really wanted a 4870 but that wasn't an option so I went the cheaper route to upgrade in the near future. Although I will give the 4670 a chance since I don't do a lot of gaming - more photo editing and such.

The 4870 exhausts from the second slot out the case so it would seem a better option for cooling too. Check out this guy's mod.

http://www.voidware.com/index.php?op...id=43&Itemid=2

Indeed, that was one of the first pages I found.

As for the cooling and the 4850, see my quote below from several posts up:

But to be honest, I dont see it that bad down there and I've put my hand there and the heat does not feel too bad. The bottom of the card facing up is another story as it's a real hot beast. That's why a front fan drawing air in and blowing it toward the vid card, drives, and the CPU fan might help.

But to be honest, you night not even need the front fan. I'm wondering if the CPU cooler is a bit mediocre and if the application of said cooler varies enough to make some have these cycling on and off issues without enough load to warrant. I need to take a serious closer look to see if and how this front fan would take.

You might even wait till this machine is in hand to see what you think, how your machine is put together, and whether you'll ultimately find it the right choice. Although the fan order is always a good thing. What fan(s) did you go with?

btw, if you dont do games at all, then I dont even think you need the 4850. The less hit the better. indeed, I had a lowly 3450 256mb in house for a month, pushing a 24" HP w2408h via HDMI at 1920x1200 and it did perfectly fine. Ive seen almost no difference in casual use between that card and this 4850. I might even have given the lower spec 3450 the advantage in picture quality by a hair.

when is your system due to arrive?

I went with these fans:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835119034

Do you think a pci slot fan like this one would fit under the GPU?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835119065

That would help a ton.

I do play games although not near as often as before I became a parent. When I do get a chance to play it is mostly RTS type that isn't as taxing on the video card as the first person shooter games are.

It is supposed to ship on Thursday so about Tuesday next week I should have it. I went with the 8bg + I bought a 3rd 2gb to run a 3x2 +3x1 for 9gb total. If I would have done my homework before buying it, I probably would have just gotten 6gb and been fine with it. I also just got a single 750gb drive

Hello people!

I am glad I found this thread! I too have the Studio XPS system and went (unknowingly) for the 8gb option which as people on here have said seems to run in dual channel mode (grrr!!). I am quite sure,but not 100% that before christmas when I spec'd up the machine it didnt say dual channel on the 8gb option, and this was at the limit of my knowledge whenit came to RAM.

I got a good deal on the system through the college that my dad works at but now I am a bit pissed off about a few things:

a) The rediculously noisy fan which is very quite and then WOH! it goes mental if you encode or even if your system is doing a virus scan, poor show for such a fast machine, it should be quiet until its really going hell for leather!

b) this whole 8gb dual channel balls I can not believe they even had it as an option, do people that know less about PCs than I do spec these things up???

Well anyway I am now thinking of getting another 2gb stick to do the same as FEChariot and go to 9gb, what I want to know is whether this would be a good move? and would it work in tri mode with 3x2gb and 3x1gb?

I am glad I am not the only one who has stumbled across this annoying problem that lets face it isn't that bad but just shouldn't be an issue AT ALL!

Thanks

Poke13

FEChariot, the only thing the worries me is the comments on that fan. Did you see the customer reviews? Not sure on that one as many of the later reviews mentioned it as a noisier fan than average (the problem with the one you're replacing) and not a fan that moved a lot of air for the RPMs. I would really shoot for the best reviewed fan for quiet that moves the most air, since those are the two critical things. To be honest, the stock fan move some air but the quiet issue is the only reason you're changing it. And the customer comments dont look very promising on either front. IF they haven't shipped, I'd consider another option although you could always return if not to your liking. Others have used Noctura and Xilence but they do move less air than the stock fan by rating.

On the slot fan, I do think it would fit though it might be a bit flimsy in the dell slots. Not sure if you're really going to need this one but they are cheap enough to try. One review mentioned how it removed heat of the backside of the card, actually the more problematic temp area.

The last issue, even though mentioned numerous times (cant be mentioned enough in my view), is really the leaf blower of a CPU cooler fan that comes on when the system is pressed, if only briefly. It sounds absurd when it ramps up and down. I'm telling you, besides the annoying drone of the lame inexpensive case fan which can even be tuned out, this ramping up of the CPU cooler is a culprit that needs to be addressed by Dell. I'm betting a new CPU Cooler would aid here but unlike the case fans, this is not an inexpensive option. As I mentioned above, now wondering if the factory application of the stock cooler might even be circumspect or even if it shifted during shipping, now not contacting the chip properly. Even a slightly variation in the application of the thermal paste could make a difference. Regardless, the noise when this beast comes into play is totally unacceptable.


See my post above. Yep, it's absurd alright. What is obvious here from perusing numerous forums and comments from Dell Studio XPS 435MT owners is that SOME have this issue more than others. That could be from the difference in user load, something that makes sense. But it could also be the application and effectiveness of the cooler, as mentioned above. Of course, the lack of overall cooling in the case is a culprit but I'm thinking there is more here.

Yes, this would work and would be the cheapest solution to Tri-Channel.

Please reference the Dell 435MT manual page for configuration.

When RAM prices come down, you can even opt for a wholesale replacement, starting with 6GB of Corsair 1333MHz, putting your old RAM on eBay etc. But for now, I think that extra stick to bring Tri-Channel would work following the Dell link above for implementation.

EDIT: See below for helpful tell-tale Dell 435MT MB with connection locations etc.


- kh

thanks for quick reply abstrait. I will investigate this further but I am def interested in getting the RAM into tri mode as it should be!! what a waste eh!

as for the replacement do you think it would be a waste on the dell motherboard?

I am planning by the time the years warranty runs out I will be able to afford a new case and better motherboard for it as these seem to be the two things that would give it the start in life it should have had!!

You mean, will the move to DDR3 1333MHz RAM from Corsair be a waste in this application? Well, I think it would add some speed perhaps and if you are a normal user, 6GB wouldn't be a liability. That being said, after seeing your interest in moving to a new case and motherboard, it's probably wise just to add a single stick to make it Tri-Channel at 9GB for the year you have it as configured by Dell.

When you move to the new MB and case, you can buy the higher performance RAM at a reduced price due to time passage and usual decrease in memory prices. In addition, the BIOS upgrades and prices for the X58 boards will be more in play, along with subsequent price drop due to time.

With a new MB and case, you'll be able to take the insanely overclockable and best deal Core i7 920 into the over 4GHz range, pushing the RAM as well, making for a blazing system. From all reports, the i7 920 is one of the best overclockers in quite a while.

Yeah I agree with everything you have said. I am interested in the future to make this, well whatever is left of it prob just the hard drives and processor, into a monster. Soon after I bought the system I heard that the 920 core i7 was a beast when overclocking using the right motherboard, I will be playing the occasional game but nothin that would prob strain the 4850 at the moment just some hl source stuff, looking forward to the black mesa rebuild of the original half life!

I will be using the pc for photoshop and am hoping to use it for 3ds max too and maybe even in the future some hd video editing. These are all the reasons why I wanted a decent processor and I am glad that out of the whole deal at least I am getting that! but overall it does what I need it to right now and with the tri channel sorted this should give a performance boost.

Do you know any ways of testing the speed of the system? to compare with other systems? similar to 3D Mark??