Definitively determine motherboard maximum memory capability

3

1

There are many answered questions and threads on this site and others, regarding motherboard and CPU maximum memory (RAM) capability, but hopefully this question isn't too specific. In this case I need a more definitive way of telling.
According to dmidecode -t 2 I'm using a MSI G41M-E43 motherboard, and its paired with a Q8300 Intel Core 2 Quad CPU. I'm trying to determine if the maximum supported memory in my system in 4GB (2x2GB) or 8GB (2x4GB) total memory. I know for a fact that there are 2 slots. According to MSI's website it's 8GB. According to Newegg and a past scan I ran using Crucial's System Scanner (back when I ran it on Windows) - it's 4GB maximum memory. More importantly, Intel state on their website that the G41 chipset supports DDR3 up to 4GB:

Delivers up to 17 GB/s (DDR3 1066 dual 8.5 GB/s) of bandwidth and 4 GB maximum supported memory size for faster system responsiveness and support of 64-bit computing.

How can I determine for a fact exactly what my motherboard's memory limits are?

Jason

Posted 2014-06-20T12:37:15.683

Reputation: 31

3Read and trust manufacturer specifications. – Cornelius – 2014-06-20T12:43:20.963

So the manufacturer tells you it's 8GiB and some third party tells you it's 4GiB? I tend to second Cornelius' notion. – TheUser1024 – 2014-06-20T12:44:12.190

I agree as well, I'm trying to understand why other sources would state otherwise. Is it a technical error or a copy/paste error? – Jason – 2014-06-20T12:51:23.053

According to Intel, G41 supports DDR2 up to 8GiB or DDR3 up to 4GiB. MSI states your MB is using DDR3, so unless there is some hacking involved, it shoud support only 4 Gigs. But I'm curious, which one is it. :) – week – 2014-06-20T12:58:48.063

I just checked on Intel's website and saw the same. Which one is it? I'm going to try and contact MSI's tech support, maybe they'll know. – Jason – 2014-06-20T20:25:06.703

For what it's worth, I have a PC at work that uses the same chipset (Dell Vostro 230 Slim), and at some point the memory was upgraded and it now has 6Gb (1x2gb + 1x4gb), however I do remember that when the upgrade was done, not all the memory sticks of 4Gb that were tested worked. – yms – 2015-01-10T22:25:02.560

Answers

4

You can find this command line tool for Windows or Linux.

Simply use the command: dmidecode -t 16

Here is a sample output:

C:\Program Files (x86)\GnuWin32\sbin>dmidecode -t 16
# dmidecode 2.10
SMBIOS 2.7 present.

Handle 0x0024, DMI type 16, 23 bytes
Physical Memory Array
        Location: System Board Or Motherboard
        Use: System Memory
        Error Correction Type: None
        Maximum Capacity: 32 GB
        Error Information Handle: Not Provided
        Number Of Devices: 4

Cheers!

JCM

Posted 2014-06-20T12:37:15.683

Reputation: 309

0

Maybe you have an 32-bit Windows and the scanner program told the maximum usable RAM size that is 4 GB for 32-bit OS. For knowing how much physical memory is supported by the motherboard, read its manual.

Adrian

Posted 2014-06-20T12:37:15.683

Reputation: 155

Interesting, I hadn't thought of that. I'm pretty sure I was running 64-bit Windows when I ran the scan, but I can't say so for a fact... – Jason – 2014-06-20T12:51:58.693

Asked: 2014-06-20T12:37:15.683

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Active: 2019-03-26T12:04:06.003