Maximum RAM on NM10 Chipset Motherboards

[Sentinel]

Hello,

I was thinking about building a low-power usage system based around an Intel NM10 chipset motherboard (Mini-ITX form factor).

According to the literature I've seen the maximum RAm supported by these boards is 4Gb.

However, this does not make it clear as to whether this is the maximum RAM addressable by the chipset, or simply a physical limitation based around the highest capacity single stick of RAM available at time of publication?

Since the embedded Atom D525 CPU is capable of 64-bit operation, I would be a little surprised if the 4Gb limit is a chipset one and not a physical one.

Given that there are 4Gb memory modules now available for this motherboard, I would like to populate the board with two of them to give a total of 8Gb, but as stated before, the specs do not make things clear if this is possible.

Any help appreciated.

[jdeb]

Good question. I can not find anything out on it. May want to drop an email to Intel.

[Khalil]

maybe this will help Intel® Desktop Board D525MW
As far as I know it is 4GB max, I have some in stock, I will try one with 2x4GB and let you know if it works.

[Khalil]

OK no go, it would not boot at all with 8GB of Ram or 4GB in one slot so 4GB (2x2) is tops

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by Khalil OK no go, it would not boot at all with 8GB of Ram or 4GB in one slot so 4GB (2x2) is tops

Yeah, I couldn't find any detailed white papers on the chipset. I seen that and a brief description on the chipset but nothing with detail.

[Katreat]

I think it is great that someone on the forums was willing to spend a few minutes to figure out if it would work or not. It was an interesting question that did not have an easy answer. Thank you Khalil for taking the time to check it out. That kind of attention is what makes this forum a great place to ask questions and learn things.

Kat

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by Khalil OK no go, it would not boot at all with 8GB of Ram or 4GB in one slot so 4GB (2x2) is tops

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for me. There's not a lot of folks who would do that and as such I very much appreciate it.

Thanks again

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by Katreat I think it is great that someone on the forums was willing to spend a few minutes to figure out if it would work or not. It was an interesting question that did not have an easy answer. Thank you Khalil for taking the time to check it out. That kind of attention is what makes this forum a great place to ask questions and learn things. Kat

Absolutely! As the person who benefits from a definitive answer to a question that if not answered may have cost me money I am most grateful and would just like to echo your sentiments.

[glc]

I would guess that the limitation is either a 4gb absolute limit or a module density limit (2gb per module) or both - being that it won't start with a single 4gb module.

Digressing a bit, but I have an ancient Socket 7 board here that has 4 72 pin slots and 2 SDRAM slots - the chipset limit is 256mb. It *does* run with a single 256mb SDRAM module, which kinda surprises me.

[rwest]

Just curious GLC, did you try low density ram at higher quantity's?

I had a board that specs said wouldn't run over a 512mb, but with low density ram it ran 1g just fine.

[glc]

On this particular board, 256mb is a hard limit. My 256mb modules are low density and it will not see a second one. With 2 modules, they have to be 128mb modules. It won't boot with a single 256mb high density module.

[Khalil]

You are all welcome, I would love to help more but I have been extremely busy!