T520 2630QM 16GB DIMM

Hi,

TL;DR - Has anybody either successfully used 16GB DDR3 modules on  
SandyBridge, can rule it out, or has ideas about how to dig deeper?

I recently bought 2 crucial 16GB DDR3 SODIMM modules to upgrade my  
T520 (2630QM CPU) to 32 GB. As it didn't work I did some research and  
found a couple of postings blaming the problem on Intel not providing  
proper memory reference code (e.g.  
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/upgrading-ram.756463/page-2)  
preventing the BIOS from initializing the RAM.

When I looked for alternative BIOSes I came across coreboot. Compiled  
and installed it - works fine with 2*8GB modules. With one or two 16GB  
modules I still saw the SeaBIOS info but then it crashed. Adding  
memtest as a secondary payload and starting it worked, but memtest  
crashes instantly when it starts testing.

So I got a beaglebone for EHCI debugging. Please find the logs for  
2*8GB modules and 1*16GB + 1*8GB module at http://www.tricnet.de/t520/

There is already a related issue in the tracker -  
https://ticket.coreboot.org/issues/56 but I do not understand how  
there could be a pin missing (as suggested in the comment)? According  
to  
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7742/im-intelligent-memory-to-release-16gb-unr... the column address needs one more line (A11) for the 8gbit chips, which is provided anyways because it is needed for regular row  
addressing.

I can afford to spend a bit more time on the issue but I'm not sure  
how to continue. Beside that I just found out, that Intel states 16GB  
max RAM for the 2630QM but 32GB for the 2720QM

http://ark.intel.com/de/products/52219/Intel-Core-i7-2630QM-Processor-6M-Cac...
https://ark.intel.com/de/products/50067/Intel-Core-i7-2720QM-Processor-6M-Ca...

So, do you have any ideas about how to continue?

Best,

Thomas

[Arthur Heymans]

[e-mail] writes:
> Hi,
>
> TL;DR - Has anybody either successfully used 16GB DDR3 modules on
> SandyBridge, can rule it out, or has ideas about how to dig deeper?
>
> I recently bought 2 crucial 16GB DDR3 SODIMM modules to upgrade my
> T520 (2630QM CPU) to 32 GB. As it didn't work I did some research and
> found a couple of postings blaming the problem on Intel not providing
> proper memory reference code (e.g.
> http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/upgrading-ram.756463/page-2)
> preventing the BIOS from initializing the RAM.
>
> When I looked for alternative BIOSes I came across coreboot. Compiled
> and installed it - works fine with 2*8GB modules. With one or two 16GB
> modules I still saw the SeaBIOS info but then it crashed. Adding
> memtest as a secondary payload and starting it worked, but memtest
> crashes instantly when it starts testing.

According to Sandy bridge datasheets only up to 4GB DDR3 technology is
supported, which makes it possibly to use dimms with 2 ranks, with each
rank having a capacity of 4GB, hence max 8GB per DIMM.
This is a hardware limitation.
<#secure method=pgpmime mode=sign>

Kind regards

[Thomas Richter]

Hi,

Zitat von Arthur Heymans :
> > TL;DR - Has anybody either successfully used 16GB DDR3 modules on
> > SandyBridge, can rule it out, or has ideas about how to dig deeper?
>
> According to Sandy bridge datasheets only up to 4GB DDR3 technology is
> supported, which makes it possibly to use dimms with 2 ranks, with each
> rank having a capacity of 4GB, hence max 8GB per DIMM.
> This is a hardware limitation.

Thank you for your answer. That's what I also read, but here it is  
stated that some Asus Sandy Bridge boards support such modules:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-8gb-ddr3-components-and-16gb-u...

Is Sandy Bridge E so different from Sandy Bridge? Would it be possible  
to replace the 2620QM with an Ivy Bridge CPU?

Best,

Thomas

[Arthur Heymans]

Thomas Richter  writes:
> Hi,
>
> Zitat von Arthur Heymans :
> > > TL;DR - Has anybody either successfully used 16GB DDR3 modules on
> > > SandyBridge, can rule it out, or has ideas about how to dig deeper?
> >
> > According to Sandy bridge datasheets only up to 4GB DDR3 technology is
> > supported, which makes it possibly to use dimms with 2 ranks, with each
> > rank having a capacity of 4GB, hence max 8GB per DIMM.
> > This is a hardware limitation.
>
> Thank you for your answer. That's what I also read, but here it is
> stated that some Asus Sandy Bridge boards support such modules:
>
> http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-8gb-ddr3-components-and-16gb-u...
>
> Is Sandy Bridge E so different from Sandy Bridge? Would it be possible

Sandy Bridge E are high end desktop/server CPUs that have a different
socket (lga2011) and likely a different memory controller (4 channels
instead of 2).
A quick look at datasheet says nothing about maximum rank size.
> to replace the 2620QM with an Ivy Bridge CPU?

Afaik that should be possible since the CPU is socketed on that model
but won't overcome your issue. (same limitation)
> Best,
>
> Thomas

[Thomas Richter]

Hi Arthur,

Zitat von Arthur Heymans :
> Thomas Richter  writes:
> > Is Sandy Bridge E so different from Sandy Bridge? Would it be possible
>
> Sandy Bridge E are high end desktop/server CPUs that have a different
> socket (lga2011) and likely a different memory controller (4 channels
> instead of 2).
> A quick look at datasheet says nothing about maximum rank size.

I see.
> > to replace the 2620QM with an Ivy Bridge CPU?
>
> Afaik that should be possible since the CPU is socketed on that model
> but won't overcome your issue. (same limitation)

Thank your for your time to explain. Seems like I have to look for a  
new laptop then ;-).

It was a fun project, I learned a lot and I'm really impressed by the  
usability. Will definitely keep coreboot on the t520!

Best,

Thomas