128MB DIMM not working in OLD Iwill P55TV

[johnalexander]

Just upgraded my RAM in one system to 256MB, so thought I'd use the old 128MB DIMM (168-pin) as a hand-me-down to an old system I'm using as a home file server. It's using an Iwill P55TV motherboard. The DIMM is 128MB, but the system with the Iwill motherboard only recognizes 32MB. Very odd. The system works okay, but only sees 32MB of the 128MB. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[AndyHui]

The P55TV, based on the VX chipset, will only accept a maximum SDRAM DIMM size of 32MB. You cannot use a full 128MB DIMM on your motherboard.

 

[Mday]

also, the VX chipset is only capable of handling 64MB of RAM. this means you can only use 2 32MB DIMMs, and no more.

 

[johnalexander]

Thanks, guys! While I'm not thrilled at the result, knowing 'why' is always nice. I'm confused, though, because I downloaded the P55TV manual from the Iwill web site. And although the English was quite broken, I though it stated support of 128MB.

Here is a quote from the manual:
------
Memories:
4 X 72-pin SIMM(Single In Line Memory Module)
2 X 168-pin DIMM(Dual In Line Memory Module) (Rev 1.1)
Support up to 128MB (minimum of 8MB ) on board. for both the Fast Page Mode and Extended Data Output (EDO) module.
------

Later in the manual it says not to mix both DIMMs and SIMMS. So, am I to asume the only way to achieve 128MB is with 4x32MB SIMMS? I'll go buy a new motherboard before I buy 4x32MB SIMMs, but just trying to clarify.

I like this anandtech.com! Seems like a pretty cool community.

 

[AndyHui]

The VX chipset will support up to 128MB of EDO or FPM RAM.

At the time, SDRAM was only just introduced, and used chip densities nowhere near what we use today.

You cannot mix DIMMs and SIMMs. You might find that it is possible, but you get very screwy results. You are correct in that the only way to achieve 128MB of RAM is to use 4 32MB EDO/FPM SIMMs.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

my old vx mb even only takes EDO/FPM 5V 168pin DIMM or 30pin SIMM, no SDRAM for the DIMM.