General memory module installation guidelines

Your system supports Flexible Memory Configuration, enabling the system to be configured and run in any valid chipset architectural configuration. The following are the recommended guidelines for best performance:

LR DIMMs, and RDIMMs must not be mixed.

x4 and x8 DRAM based DIMMs can be mixed. For more information, see Mode-specific guidelines.

A maximum of three single- or dual-rank RDIMMs can be populated in a channel.

Populate DIMM sockets only if a processor is installed. For single-processor systems, sockets A1 to

A12 are available. For dual-processor systems, sockets A1 to A12 and sockets B1 to B12 are available.

Populate all sockets with white release tabs first, black, and then green.

Populate the sockets by highest capacity DIMM in the following order - first in sockets with white release levers and then black. For example, if you want to mix 16 GB and 8 GB DIMMs, populate 16 GB DIMMs in the sockets with white release tabs and 8 GB DIMMs in the sockets with black release tabs.

In a dual-processor configuration, the memory configuration for each processor must be identical. For example, if you populate socket A1 for processor 1, then populate socket B1 for processor 2, and so on.

Memory modules of different sizes can be mixed provided that other memory population rules are followed (for example, 4 GB and 8 GB memory modules can be mixed).

Depending on mode-specific guidelines, populate four DIMMs per processor (one DIMM per channel) at a time to maximize performance. For more information, see Mode-specific guidelines.

Table 2. Heat sink — processor configurations

Processor

Processor Type (in

Heat

Number of DIMMs

Configuration

Watts)

Sink

 

 

Maximum System

Reliability, Availability,

 

 

Width

 

 

 

Capacity

and Serviceability (RAS)

 

 

 

 

Features

 

 

 

 

 

Single processor

105 W, 120 W or 135

68

12

12

 

W

mm

 

 

 

135 W (four cores, six

86

10 (Three DIMMs in

8 (Two DIMMs per

 

cores, or eight cores)

mm

channel 0 and

channel)

 

or 145 W

 

channel 2 and two

 

 

 

 

DIMMs in channel 1

 

 

 

 

and channel 3)

 

NOTE: When using an 86 mm wide heat sink for a single processor, the memory module sockets A10 and A12 are not available for population.

Dual processor 105 W, 120 W or 135

68

24

24

W

mm

 

 

135 W (four cores, six

86

20 (Three DIMMs in

16 (Two DIMMs per

cores, or eight cores)

mm

channel 0 and

channel)

or 145 W

 

channel 2 and two

 

 

 

DIMMs in channel 1

 

 

 

and channel 3)

 

NOTE: When using an 86 mm wide heat sink for dual processors, the memory module sockets A10, A12, B10, and B12 are not available for population.

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Dell M630 owner manual General memory module installation guidelines