Tuesday, January 14th 2025
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ASUS Updates AEMP III - 64 GB Memory Module Support Unlocked on Intel 800 Boards
Exciting things are happening in the world of memory right now. Many of the headlines are being claimed by a new variety of DIMM, called Clock Unbuffered DIMM (CUDIMM). Featuring an integrated clock driver on the memory stick itself for improved reliability and stability, CUDIMM kits are already shattering speed records. But perhaps you're more concerned with memory capacity than with raw speed. We have some good news for you. The trusted memory professionals at Kingston have cooked up a 64 GB memory module that you'll be able to purchase soon: the Kingston Value RAM DDR5 6400 MT/s 64 GB CUDIMM.
64 GB of DDR5 RAM on a single stick opens intriguing new possibilities. A 128 GB one-DIMM-per-channel (1DPC) configuration is rather tempting. We suspect that many enthusiasts will be tempted by the prospect of installing four of these modules, a move that puts a stunningly large 256 GB (4 x 64 GB) pool of memory at their disposal—without having to venture into quad-channel workstation hardware.To make sure that you have a seamless experience running a system with four of these memory modules with your ASUS Z890 or B860 motherboard, our research and development team collaborated closely with Kingston. Typically, loading up all four memory slots on your motherboard in the quest for higher capacity requires operating at lower memory speeds. But through our work with Kingston, we're not only able to ensure that our systems boot up and operate with an exceptional level of stability with the new 256 GB kits—we also give you an easy pathway for boosting performance above the baseline, too.When your system detects that you've installed four Kingston 64 GB modules onto one of our 800 series motherboards, you'll see an option in BIOS for ASUS Enhanced Memory Profile III (AEMP III). This advanced firmware feature empowers you to achieve unparalleled memory performance with cutting-edge CUDIMM memory. Through a two-phase comprehensive tuning process, AEMP III first optimizes the clock driver and then the memory frequency. This results in the best balance between performance and stability.Previously, AEMP III only supported 2-DIMM configurations, but now users can boost frequency and performance with this 4-DIMM configuration. In a test system with an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor, the ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme, and four of the Kingston 64 GB modules, we found stable performance at DDR5-5600 with the AEMP III profile enabled. That's a 27% performance uplift over DDR5-4400, the baseline speed that users encounter when installing four DDR5 memory modules on an Intel motherboard.
With four of Kingston's new 64 GB DDR5 memory modules and an ASUS Z890 or B860 motherboard, you have a unique opportunity to bolster your system's memory capacity to an astonishing level. After installing this memory kit onto your ASUS motherboard, don't miss the opportunity to boost stability and performance alike with AEMP III.
Sources:
ASUS Edge Up, Wccftech
64 GB of DDR5 RAM on a single stick opens intriguing new possibilities. A 128 GB one-DIMM-per-channel (1DPC) configuration is rather tempting. We suspect that many enthusiasts will be tempted by the prospect of installing four of these modules, a move that puts a stunningly large 256 GB (4 x 64 GB) pool of memory at their disposal—without having to venture into quad-channel workstation hardware.To make sure that you have a seamless experience running a system with four of these memory modules with your ASUS Z890 or B860 motherboard, our research and development team collaborated closely with Kingston. Typically, loading up all four memory slots on your motherboard in the quest for higher capacity requires operating at lower memory speeds. But through our work with Kingston, we're not only able to ensure that our systems boot up and operate with an exceptional level of stability with the new 256 GB kits—we also give you an easy pathway for boosting performance above the baseline, too.When your system detects that you've installed four Kingston 64 GB modules onto one of our 800 series motherboards, you'll see an option in BIOS for ASUS Enhanced Memory Profile III (AEMP III). This advanced firmware feature empowers you to achieve unparalleled memory performance with cutting-edge CUDIMM memory. Through a two-phase comprehensive tuning process, AEMP III first optimizes the clock driver and then the memory frequency. This results in the best balance between performance and stability.Previously, AEMP III only supported 2-DIMM configurations, but now users can boost frequency and performance with this 4-DIMM configuration. In a test system with an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor, the ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme, and four of the Kingston 64 GB modules, we found stable performance at DDR5-5600 with the AEMP III profile enabled. That's a 27% performance uplift over DDR5-4400, the baseline speed that users encounter when installing four DDR5 memory modules on an Intel motherboard.
With four of Kingston's new 64 GB DDR5 memory modules and an ASUS Z890 or B860 motherboard, you have a unique opportunity to bolster your system's memory capacity to an astonishing level. After installing this memory kit onto your ASUS motherboard, don't miss the opportunity to boost stability and performance alike with AEMP III.
9 Comments on ASUS Updates AEMP III - 64 GB Memory Module Support Unlocked on Intel 800 Boards
It's probably just them changing a number in the BIOS source code, they probably put an artificial limit based on the largest DIMMs they have actually verified. Generally speaking, most CPUs' memory controller may support way larger memory than the platform will ever support in its lifetime. While there are reasons to sacrifice memory bandwidth for more capacity, may I suggest you consider Threadripper or Xeon W instead? 4 or 8 memory channels will offer way more headroom.
I would still argue that it might be worth having under consideration for the following reasons;
- Well specced motherboards for both AMD and Intel platforms are getting pricey, it's not a given that a top tier chipset means a full featured motherboard any more.
- Support for more memory capacity, memory bandwidth and PCIe lanes can all extend the lifetime of your purchase (Just the fact that you're considering replacing a fairly capable system points to this). You can hook up a lot of fast SSDs and fast networking etc, which a mainstream system couldn't keep sustained.
- Next gen Threadripper should be pretty "imminent", just saying.
One of the issues of having 12/16 cores on mainstream platforms is all this theoretical performance may be limited by memory bandwidth, depending on your use case.
Regardless, having extra memory will have some benefits on mainstream platforms too. Extra memory means more IO cache, especially on Linux where all memory will become a massive cache. And of course some may have a workflow where lots of applications are run simultaneously, but it's mostly task switching, so lot's of memory needed, but only a tiny portion at a time.
One of the big differences between DDR5 and DDR4 is the big sacrifice in bandwidth when running two DIMMs per chanel. For many, this will not be worth it, especially since with DDR5 you "need" more bandwidth than you think, as the slightly worse latency is somewhat offset by larger bandwidth. But again, your workload may not be bandwidth limited at all.
With that said, a Xeon-W would be cheaper considering an entry level CPU, however W790 here are non-existent here, sadly.
For TR, the CPU alone is pretty expensive, and while there are some mobos available here, they're double their MSRP in the US.
For some extra context, a x670e ProArt here is currently going for $660, a 9950x goes for $710 (which i can grab for less than $600 in the US), and 64GB UDIMMs won't be available here anytime soon.
A 7960X alone goes for $1.5k in the US, $2.3k here, whereas the cheapest TRX50 mobo available here goes for $2.2k. Newegg has 4x64GB RDIMMs for $1.4k (don't even look at the price for higher density setups lol)
So ~$5.1k for a 24c+256GB TR setup, whereas a 16c+256GB AM5 setup would be sub $2k. And that AM5 one would have a Zen 5 CPU instead of a Zen 4 one. My requirements are mostly USB4 video passthrough, and x8/x8 support, that'd be it. However the CPU itself will become outdated by then, and those HEDT platforms are not known for their generational support. I plan to grab a 9950x for that sweet AVX-512 perf, and will likely be able to upgrade to a Zen 6 version later if I so desire.
Given the amount of time I keep my systems, tricking out a platform during its mid-generation ends up cheaper in the long run than keeping an HEDT system for a bit longer and then switching to a new one, while still covering all my requirements. And even more expensive :p More bandwidth would be nice, but usually my cores are not really bandwidth-bound, and having to hit swap is way worse than having slower frequencies anyway.