Can I upgrade memory on old computer?

[walter.sk]

I have a 9-or-so year old Windows desktop computer that I got from Dell as a replacement for one that had been a real dud.  Dell no longer made that model so they gave me an Alienware Area 51 gaming computer that, once I figured out how to defeat the glowing light display, I really liked. It has an i7 930 CPU, I've upgraded from WinXP to the latest Windows 10, put an nVidia GeForce 1060 with 6Gb in, a USB 3 card, and upgraded the 3 DIMM's to 4GB RAM per slot, capping out at 12GB. Among the things I got used to were filling the 6 internal HDD's, with a 1Tb C:drive.   I also like the liquid-cooled CPU and the vents that open when the computer uses more power, and the 1500-watt power supply.

Once I switched the OS to Win10, Dell stopped supporting the computer, saying it was not configured to run that OS.  The first year or so I had lots of crashes, but the recent versions of WIN10 run fine on the machine.  I have been able to upgrade all of the necessary drivers.  What I would like to know is this:  The original specs for the computer say the maximum RAM is 4Gb per DIMM slot.  Would that still hold true? Or could I put higher capacity RAM in?  The 4Bb RAM cards I have now are 1600mHz DDR3 Non E-CC Cl-9.  How could I find out if I can now increase beyond the stated 12Gb limit?

[degrub]

Ram limitations are set by the motherboard and its bios.
You can check with Dell about both.

That is a really old chipset. You will like see a system wide speed increase if you replace it with a newer version.

[geneo]

Yes that limit will still hold. You would only be able to go from  12 to 16 at most. Not worth it, better to spend that money on a new computer as yours is very outdated an near its end-of-life.

[Joe Towner]

Easy way to check - https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/memory-info?cm_re=homepage-_-main-body-_-buy-memory-button

Enter the make, model, and it should tell you what the max is.  12GB sounds kind of small even for a machine that's 9 years old.  But remember there is a bathtub type effect where prices start high, drop, then bottom out, but then kick up as inventory becomes more limited.

[PeterAit]

I recently tried to install a modern graphics card in an 8 YO computer and the MB would not support it. So I took out the hard disks and took them to the local computer store (Intrex in this case) and had them put in an entirely new system. I ended up with a system that is much faster, supports the graphics card, with all the old OS/programs/data from before. Easy upgrade.

[walter.sk]

Thanks, all, for the replies.  I checked the Crucial website and they verified that I had the maximum RAM for the motherboard and chipset.  I think I'll hang on to this computer until it no longer runs the software I need.