Tuesday, March 7th 2023
Installing 24GB DDR5 Modules on AMD Ryzen 7000 Platform Springs Mixed Results—POSTs but Doesn't Boot
Over the past month, memory manufacturers started releasing DDR5 memory modules of 24 GB and 48 GB densities, which make up 48 GB (2x 24 GB), 96 GB (2x 48 GB or 4x 24 GB) and even 192 GB (4x 48 GB) capacities. There's only one catch—these modules only work with 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" and 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" processors, as their memory controllers support a maximum of 192 GB of memory, and 24/48/96 GB DIMM densities. MEGAsizeGPU decided to find out what happens when one of these kits is installed on an AMD Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" platform.
A Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5600 48 GB (2x 24 GB) memory kit was installed on a machine consisting of an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X processor, and an ASUS ROG Strix B650E-E Gaming motherboard (BIOS version 1222). It turns out that the machine POSTs, and is able to start the UEFI setup program. Here, the program is able to display the correct 48 GB memory amount, and the memory density of each of the two modules. The trouble is, Windows would not boot, and does not go past the Boot Manager. It halts with an error message that indicates a hardware problem.
AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors technically have a 128 GB maximum memory size limit. Until a couple of months ago, so did 13th Gen and 12th Gen Intel Core processors, which means that this may not be a hard limit, even for AMD, and the company could work with motherboard manufacturers on firmware-level updates to enable support for 24 GB and 48 GB memory modules to at least operate under the 128 GB limit (think 2x 24 GB, 4x 24 GB, or 2x 48 GB). The introduction of 24 GB memory modules improves choices for PC enthusiasts, as it's now possible to have 48 GB of memory using faster single-rank DIMMs (2x 24 GB). It also strikes a middle-ground between 32 GB (2x 16 GB) and 64 GB (2x 32 GB).
Source:
MEGAsizeGPU (Twitter)
A Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5600 48 GB (2x 24 GB) memory kit was installed on a machine consisting of an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X processor, and an ASUS ROG Strix B650E-E Gaming motherboard (BIOS version 1222). It turns out that the machine POSTs, and is able to start the UEFI setup program. Here, the program is able to display the correct 48 GB memory amount, and the memory density of each of the two modules. The trouble is, Windows would not boot, and does not go past the Boot Manager. It halts with an error message that indicates a hardware problem.
39 Comments on Installing 24GB DDR5 Modules on AMD Ryzen 7000 Platform Springs Mixed Results—POSTs but Doesn't Boot
Literally went through this same experience trying to find compatible 2GB DDR1 ECC sticks for my K8N-DL. (The 2 GB DDR1 DIMMs were 'planned to be supported' since day1 on the k8n-dl, but examples in the wild didn't really exist until late into the board/platform's existence.)
Even when I finally got a full set+ (that worked very well, only when <8GB installed).... :wtf: So much 'weirdness', I eventually 'took a long break' from the build. I got 'enthusiastic exhaustion' from trying to get around memory mapping issues. :mad:
Fun times. -and now they're back! :roll:
Conversely (and I say this as 'generally preferring AMD'), AMD does not provide the same 'level' of devtools Intel typically has*. I mean, it's not like AMD is a fraction of the size of Intel, or anything like that... /s
*This has been at a detriment to the customer before. Intel even provides tools and data packages for board design; sometimes, they're under-engineered designs.
If UEFI posts, basic compatibility with the motherboard works, especially if memory information is displaying correctly. I am now very curious to know if Linux would work.
Processor detects RAM properly
BIOS detects RAM size properly
Windows is crashing.
No tests on different OS.
It must be the firmware.
Disclaimer:
yes, it might be the firmware, but 99% of boot issues are caused by Windows behaviour and getting patched in firmware level instead of OS-kernel level is ridiculous
One platform always has to get support first, since the system POSTs it should be easy to get a BIOS update for compatibility in the long runAMD has been fighting a losing battle against other companies going out of spec for some time, or are you forgetting XMP vs JEDEC?
AMD fought to get EXPO added into the standard for guaranteed compatible RAM, yet a user buys ram with no EXPO or AMD support, not on the motherboard QVL supported list and it doesnt work people are outraged?Can't say you're wrong there, could even be driver related (Thing like an NVME drive using HBM memory having a fit since the memory addresses dont make sense, or a GPU with ReBAR)
Every board will not work with every RAM as you may think just because of JEDEC. It applies to any CPU, and thanks to OEM makers, as they tend to gimp and screw their board designs. It is not as simple as you all think, but the board is largely involved into RAM init as the clocking is also present on the board not only in the CPU North Bridge.
Reading dumb down stuff and seeing leisure PC expert YT videos does not teach that.
A bank compatibility issue would see no post what so ever.
The memory controller capacity printed on intel ark and amd's specs pages are almost never a fact, its just what they could be tested with at the time, westmere for instance taking 48GB despite the 24GB official spec.
@ir_cow got your hands on any 24GB modules?