Core i7-860 with P55 chipset 32GB RAM support

saiyan

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I need to upgrade DDR3 RAM to 32GB on a test server using Core i7-860 on a P55 chipset motherboard (Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3P).

The official maximum memory size support listed on Intel and Gigabyte web site for Core i7-860 and P55 motherboard is 16GB. But I have heard rumors that Core i7-860 and P55 motherboard can actually support more than 16GB of RAM..

Can anyone confirm whether Core i7-860 and P55 motherboards can support 32GB of DDR3 ? (e.g. 4 X 8GB or 2 X 16GB)

Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks.
 
Those are the Intel official web pages I mentioned and I already know those pages said 860 and P55 supports up to 16GB.

What I would like to know if anyone has been able to 32GB DDR3 RAM in their Core i7-860 system.

Thanks.
 
It's a CPU limitation. If you had a Lynnfield-based Xeon then it would support 32GB, but the Core series does not. Even for Xeons I'm seeing that unbuffered DDR3 is limited to 16GB, but ECC is 32GB.
 
It looks like it's inconclusive whether 32GB DDR3 will work with Core I7-860.
Since Intel's official site says 16GB is the max memory supported, I am inclined to believe Intel.

I think I will just have to purchase or build a system using 4th gen Core i7 which Intel says supports up to 32GB. Actually that would be a better long term solution for me because I will probably need add another test server next year.

Thanks everyone for your input.
 
your servers should be running xeons and ecc, then it would not be an issue
 
Since Intel's official site says 16GB is the max memory supported, I am inclined to believe Intel.

Intel also says lga1366 desktop processors support up to 24 GB however users have installed 48GB of unbuffered DDR3 and it works. In the case of lga1366 the limit was because during the production of the lga1366 desktop processors 8GB unbuffered dimms did not exist. Intel is not going to update specifications for EOL products so the limit stayed at 24 GB after 8GB DDR3 UDIMMs became available.
 
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You know what we used to do to test something like this?

Step one: buy uncertain product at best buy.

Step two: if it doesn't work, return within fourteen days.

Step two point one: if it works but you paid a stiff premium, return and buy online.

Either way you'll know. Just make sure you get standard voltage Ddr3
 
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Officially unsupported, but crosses fingers it might, and lastly its not supported. This will end well. I'd say go for it.
 
Officially unsupported, but crosses fingers it might, and lastly its not supported. This will end well. I'd say go for it.

Yeah, as long as you buy 1.5v standard DDR3 modules, the worst that will happen is the motherboard refuses to boot (or refuses to recognize more then 2 of them).

I would appreciate a full report (can you use TWO 8GB modules if four don't work, for instance?), since the rest of the internet is a wasteland of indecision. You obviously have the cash to buy these, and there's no loss in your trying it out, so go for it :D
 
your servers should be running xeons and ecc, then it would not be an issue

If need to buy or build servers for production usage, I would choose Xeon based systems.

But these are my personal test/development servers so I'm not going to spend thousands of dollars to build Xeon based systems.

The only reason I suddenly need more RAM is because I need to setup a test environment for SharePoint 2013 development at home. And SharePoint 2013 has insane memory requirement even for a development environment (plus SQL Server and Visual Studio).

My workplace has several test/development VMs but they are usually used for developing work-related projects so I'm not going to use them for my own personal testing.
 
If need to buy or build servers for production usage, I would choose Xeon based systems.

But these are my personal test/development servers so I'm not going to spend thousands of dollars to build Xeon based systems.

The only reason I suddenly need more RAM is because I need to setup a test environment for SharePoint 2013 development at home. And SharePoint 2013 has insane memory requirement even for a development environment (plus SQL Server and Visual Studio).

My workplace has several test/development VMs but they are usually used for developing work-related projects so I'm not going to use them for my own personal testing.

This is exactly why there are ES Xeons in the world :D
 
You know what we used to do to test something like this?

Step one: buy uncertain product at best buy.

Step two: if it doesn't work, return within fourteen days.

Step two point one: if it works but you paid a stiff premium, return and buy online.

Either way you'll know. Just make sure you get standard voltage Ddr3

this is what i did when i went to put 16GB in my 860
turns out works fine
and even over clock great
i have been running 2x 8GB DDR3 1600 sticks at DDR3 2000 for a year now at 1.55v


i dont see why 32 wouldnt work at stock speeds and voltage
 
I know this is an old post but... I had been looking for a definitive answer to this question as I wanted to upgrade my aging but still usable system with more memory and could not find the answer anywhere.

I have an EVGA P55 FTW MB and an 875k CPU. I called EVGA and they would only tell me that 16GB was "supported".

Intel's ARK says 16GB is the max that is "supported"

I bit the bullet and bought 32GB of Corsair Vengeance 1600MHZ memory. Installed it and crossed my fingers.

The machine booted using Windows 10 64bit the OS and MB both recognize the full 32GB of RAM. The XMP settings run the 4 sticks at the rated 1600MHZ and the rated timings.
 
I'm running Hyper-V with multiple VMs on two different Socket 1156 motherboards. I upgraded each to 32GB RAM as follows:

Biostar TH55HD (H55 Chipset), XEON 3450 CPU: 4x8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3 1600 Non-ECC 1.5V
Intel DQ57TM (Q57 Chipset), XEON X3450 CPU: 4x8GB Mushkin Proline 992044 Unbuffered ECC 1.5V

Both work perfectly and pass memtest with no problems. Note that the Mushkin ECC memory did not work on the BIOSTAR motherboard (even with Xeon 3450 CPU). With ECC memory, the Biostar motherboard would not boot. I didn't spend much time debugging/diagnosing, since I had non-ECC memory that worked fine.
 
There are few things more satisfying than necroposting, so here it goes:
I just upgraded an i7-860/GA-P55-UD4P v1.0 rig to 32GB RAM, using 4 sticks of Crucial Ballistix Sport.
 
@zorobabel - keeping this necrothread alive... My Intel DP55WB motherboard (also Socket 1156, P55 chipset) has problems with 32GB (4x8) Crucial Ballistix Sport. It appears that the memory speed is not detected properly when 32GB is installed, so the system boots windows V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y and memtest takes much longer than it should to test the memory (although all memory does pass). If I remove two of the 8GB DIMMs (leaving 2x8GB = 16GB), the system boots and runs normally.
 
I'm not surprised; in my experience, Intel boards are problematic when it comes to memory.
 
I was hopeful, because I have an Intel DQ57TM running with 32GB DDR3 ECC Unbuffered memory (Xeon L3426 CPU). I also have an ASUS P7Q57M-DO and a Biostar TH55HD that both run with 32GB non-ECC RAM (with Xeon CPUs). The Intel DP55WB is the only 1156 board in my limited sample that has a 16GB limit.
 
It's a CPU limitation. If you had a Lynnfield-based Xeon then it would support 32GB, but the Core series does not. Even for Xeons I'm seeing that unbuffered DDR3 is limited to 16GB, but ECC is 32GB.

Incorrect. Friend's iMac 27 has this CPU and has 32GB of RAM humming along fine. Any limitations would be on the mobo end.
 
...just to revive this necrothread... (even if nobody cares any more about such legacy hardware).

But in these present times of sustainability I have tried the following:

Mainboard: ASUS P7P55D-E LX (LGA1156)
CPU: Core i7-860
New bought RAM at Amazon:
31Zlii1MfLL._SX90_.jpg

Corsair CMX32GX3M4A1600C11 XMS3 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz CL11 Performance Desktop Memory

According to TechSpecs, neither the CPU nor the motherboard supports 32 GB RAM. So the above config should not work in theory.

However. Here it's running now for three weeks (24/7) in my little homelab without any issues or problems in my Windows 10 VMWare-Workstation-Host (VMWare Workstation 12.5) with eight VM-Guest. Also MEM-Test found no Problems.

I'm happy. :)
 
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Nice! Great to hear! (y)

Older systems even though they don't have fast single thread performance can be really good for virtual machines if they can load up on ram. What would be really interesting is if it could handle 64gb.
 
...just to revive this necrothread... (even if nobody cares any more about such legacy hardware).

But in these present times of sustainability I have tried the following:

Mainboard: ASUS P7P55D-E LX (LGA1156)
CPU: Core i7-860
New bought RAM at Amazon:
View attachment 212520
Corsair CMX32GX3M4A1600C11 XMS3 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz CL11 Performance Desktop Memory

According to TechSpecs, neither the CPU nor the motherboard supports 32 GB RAM. So the above config should not work in theory.

However. Here it's running now for three weeks (24/7) in my little homelab without any issues or problems in my Windows 10 VMWare-Workstation-Host (VMWare Workstation 12.5) with eight VM-Guest. Also MEM-Test found no Problems.

I'm happy. :)

Hello rrx,

I have a core i7 860 too with ASUS P7H55-M Motherboard : I would like to put 32 GB of RAM too.

Does Windows recognize all the 32GB of RAM, really ? May you share some screenshots with the app "Speecy" ?
Thanks

bye
 
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I know certain 1366 boards suggest limitations on capacity (DIMM size is mostly what it comes down to, limited 8gb DIMMS to put on the QVL) that dont seem to exist in reality, my gut would tell me that if the board supports 2X8gb, theres no reason it wont support 4X8gb. YMMV.
 
Nice! Thank you for the update! These older systems can still keep chugging away with enough ram. (y)
 
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