I decided to try out these two sets of 1 GB PC133 SDRAM:

I first tried a single stick of the shielded RAM in the first DIMM slot. It worked. HWiNFO and the BIOS detected the RAM. However, I received an error code at POST,

1Alert! One or more of the Memory DIMMs are out of rev.

According to the service manual, this means:

1System detected that one or more of the DIMMs are not the correct revision.

With the probable cause being:

1DIMMs do not meet Intel’s SPD 1.2 specification or 66-MHz DIMMs are installed.

The error is non-fatal and didn't appear to affect operation. I then put the second shielded DIMM into the 2nd slot, but I received beep codes. I tried the 3rd slot, but I received beep codes. I then tried the 4th slot and to my amazement, no beep codes. The system POSTed! But I didn't like that error. According to HWiNFO, these shielded DIMMs have SPD revision 0.2. I'm not sure why they have this revision. These DIMMs have a a mid-2000's datecode.

I next tried the non-shielded DIMMs and they too would only work in 1st and 4th DIMM slot when both modules were installed. However, the error message about the module revision being the incorrect revision was now gone!

It still would have been nice to use the officially supported module size, but this is certainly the next best thing. I should point out that the start-up Dell progress bar takes a very long time with 2 GB installed.

Thanks to PC Hoarder Patrol for the comment to try unsupported 1 GB modules. Do your boards "Intel L440GX+ and a Supermicro P6DGU" officially support 1 GB sticks?

feipoa wrote on 2020-09-01, 10:12:

Thanks to PC Hoarder Patrol for the comment to try unsupported 1 GB modules. Do your boards "Intel L440GX+ and a Supermicro P6DGU" officially support 1 GB sticks?

In terms of official support the L440GX+ does, both for PC133 & 1GB

https://web.archive.org/web/20060427150131/ht … b/cs-014622.htm

although I can't find a version of the Tested Memory List new enough to list them

ftp://ftp.spez.com.ua/driver/mb/intel/l440gx/lgx_mem.pdf

The only modules on the Supermicro recommended list (they don't appear to have a QVL) for the BX/GX chipsets are PC100 to a max of 512MB per DIMM

https://web.archive.org/web/20031213135008/ht … 100_440GXBX.htm

although they do mention PC133 support briefly in a knowledgebase response, as long any particular module is backwards compatible with official PC100 spec - nothing about 1GB DIMMs though.

Here's a pic of examples of the various PC133R 512MB / 1GB DIMM layouts I have available for use across all my server / workstation boards (the bottom left one is the only one with stacked chips)

That 1 GB buffered stick of PC133 CL2 must have been hard to find. Although it is easy to find such modules with IC's that support this speed, it is not easy to find one with SPD info for PC133 CL2.

At the time I bought them (about 18 months ago) I didn't even notice they were CL2, they were just the cheapest delivered I could find reasonably local

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Memory-Module-SDRA … wEAAOSwm3ZZrXvM

EDIT: and strangely enough I just noticed that they're also stacked! Think I'll test each set with HWINFO now to be sure.

I'm willing to bet, its turning off those 2 simms to allow the larger size to work.

If you put a small dimm in 2 or 3 do they work?

luckybob wrote on 2020-09-01, 23:02:

I'm willing to bet, its turning off those 2 simms to allow the larger size to work.

If you put a small dimm in 2 or 3 do they work?

I'm not gutsy enough to try it. It is already at 2 GB. Trying 2 GB + 128 MB is more nerve than I have available.

Not even for science?

How about the for the thrill of it?

haha, I'm not such a risk taker. I suspect the system won't turn on, or at best, beep. There are some other anomalies with this slot 2 board that I'd like to start another thread to discuss. I think the thrill can move over there once I get my observations tallied.

Found the later 2002 QVL for the L440GX+ which included the PC100 / PC133 1GB list