Even if they fit, these DIMMs wouldn't work. i430VX is the first SDRAM chipset, and limited both in terms of compatibility and total capacity.

Max supported RAM on the i430VX is 128MB total. I've seen conflicting reports on which chip densities and therefore DIMM sizes are supported; in my experience only 16Mb chips on 16/32MB SDRAM DIMMs will work, but I've heard people getting some 64MB DIMMs working too. These low clips are odd, but shouldn't matter for compatibility as such.

The manual is unfortunately not very enlightening, oddly not even referring t0 SDRAM at all - although the chipset supports it - and contains errors (regarding cacheable area, the info listed is for Via chipsets, not the i430VX)

Either way, the chipset can only cache 64MB, so generally you're best off not exceeding that amount. For a DOS system I'd stick with 16MB SDRAM on this board, for Windows 9x I'd use 2x 32MB SDRAM. I'd only want to exceed that if running WinNT/2k or Linux, as they suffer far less from uncached RAM (as they are smart enough to used the cached bit first), in which case I'd use 4x 32MB SIMM.

Think as long as the DIMM fully inserts then it's not a problem - I have a DFI VX board that's similar - the clips go nowhere near the DIMM notches but work OK when DIMMs are inserted / ejected. If your clips are actually preventing full insertion then that's another matter!

dionb is right, the clips don't really matter, the slots are there to accept SDRAM DIMMs, however the chipset is very particular when it comes to RAM. Try using a couple of 32MB sticks or perhaps a single 64MB PC66 or PC100 stick and see if it recognizes the full amount of RAM.

OK, thank you for the Feedback.
I just wanted to max upgrade, but in that case the 72-pin SIM modules that came with the board will have to suffice.

It's a pity, that the VX-board has such limitations, because my older GA-586S board (with SIS chipset) easily takes 128MB of RAM (but unfortunatly supports only up to 200MHz for the CPU).

Honestly, if you are running anything that really benefits from more than 64MB RAM, then you're likely in need of a faster processor and system anyway. It sounds limiting, but even Win98SE is alright with 64MB. You have to realize that we are no longer using these systems as we would have back in the day. No printer/scanner software/drivers running on bootup, no calendar program to remind us of events and namedays, no Office 2000 loading on startup, no Creative Labs bloatware hogging the resources. All of the above take a toll, but nowadays the typical usage for these systems is to be as clean as possible to run games.

I personally like to use Cacheman 4.1 by OuterTech, which is a utility that tweaks the Win9x Disk Caching settings. Whether placebo or not, I rarely if ever get any disk swapping using this, it's become a staple on every system I own with Win9x. Win95 was really rough in this regard and similar programs were recommended to get the best out of your system, which is how I found out about it.

By the way, the 430VX is probably quite a bit faster than the SiS 5571 based board you owned. 430HX and 430TX should be a bit faster still, however it's not that big a deal IMO. You've got a sweet socket 7 MMX system right there!

Remember that the i430VX has a max cacheable range of 64MB so it's pointless to go beyond that. It's slower actually.

ildonaldo wrote on 2022-01-31, 12:57:

OK, thank you for the Feedback.
I just wanted to max upgrade, but in that case the 72-pin SIM modules that came with the board will have to suffice.

128MB EDO will definitely be slower than 64MB SDRAM, both due to SDRAM being faster and max 64MB cacheable. Only exception is if you are actively using more than 64MB and thrashing to virtual memory on HDD. Then more RAM of any description will help performance massively - but that's not a likely scenario with this system.

It's a pity, that the VX-board has such limitations, because my older GA-586S board (with SIS chipset) easily takes 128MB of RAM (but unfortunatly supports only up to 200MHz for the CPU).

It's a matter of market segmentation. In 1996, Intel released two Triton II chipsets, the i430VX for consumers, supporting SDRAM, but limited in max total memory and cacheable area, and the i430HX for workstations, with 512MB EDO RAM supported and all of it cacheable too (if you had a second tag RAM). If you wanted >64MB, you were supposed to buy the HX. Earlier Intel chipsets could do much more than the VX (i430NX was slow as treacle, but supported 256MB RAM, all of it cached).

Put it into perspective though - in January 1996 I paid the equivalent of USD 256 for two 4MB SIMMs. By December prices had dropped to a quarter of that, but you'd still have to spend the better part of USD 256 for 32MB, and most computers were still shipped with that or less. To actually go over the 64MB cacheable limit would cost you well over USD 500, let alone the USD 700 or more you'd need to hit 128MB. In 1996 the i430VX paired with SDRAM was the fastest Pentium chipset out there, supporting everything a normal user could afford with no real compromises needed.

The 64MB cacheable limit was a real irritation with the 1997 i430TX chipset, which was intentionally limited so as to keep the Pentium MMX in the low end to push mid-range customers to the Pentium II. By mid 1997, going over 64MB was a real possibility and if you had an application that needed more memory than CPU power an old Pentium made a lot of sense. But these were some of the fastest changing times in the PC era and a year earlier that was a non-issue.

dionb wrote on 2022-01-31, 23:49:

Put it into perspective though - in January 1996 I paid the equivalent of USD 256 for two 4MB SIMMs. By December prices had dropped to a quarter of that, but you'd still have to spend the better part of USD 256 for 32MB ...

That prices were still in the wake of the Kobo earthquake and the following RAM shortages.

But anyway, in that case I will steer to the 64MB for this board, because i430HX boards are rather hard/expensive to come by and my projekt runs on a tight budget 😉

Myself and others have installed pc100+ SDRAM in sizes of 128mb and 256mb to old VX motherboards due to scarcity and availability

The board must support 3.3v modules and most of the time will “see” 32mb or 64mb of the module letting you max it out by wasting memory.

So far such a configuration passes memtest with flying colors

Just bought 2x 32MB Modules (KTC6611/32 Kingston 32MB PC100 100MHz CL2) for very little money 😀
Hope they will work with this board ...

During the later Windows 9.x + ME era there were a lot of software an driver incompatibilities that made (IT) live miserable.
But during the 90s hardware PLUS (windows)software were a unbelievable mess ...

No wonder that the most mainboards came with a very selective HW compatibility list 😉
... ups, they still do, but it is at least not that exclusive anymore 😀

rmay635703 wrote on 2022-02-01, 15:03:

Myself and others have installed pc100+ SDRAM in sizes of 128mb and 256mb to old VX motherboards due to scarcity and availability

The board must support 3.3v modules and most of the time will “see” 32mb or 64mb of the module letting you max it out by wasting memory.

So far such a configuration passes memtest with flying colors

My FIC PA-2010+ with VIA 585VPX (flashed to the latest bios from 1999) has the same issues with correct SDRAM memory size detection, because the VPX is also one of the first chipsets with SDRAM support.

The previous 585VP, released in 1996 was the very first VIA chipset with SDRAM support.

I have found a 128MB and 256MB PC133 SDRAM module in my collection and now always dectects 128MB memory size. Runs completely stable with no issues. The VPX with 512kb L2 cache can cache 128MB in write-through mode, 64MB in write-back mode. Write-through is maybe 3% slower than in write-back mode.

BTW what's the latests BIOS for my Soyo SY5VD board?
I couldn't find anything on first glimpse ...

Should be the latest bios:

Am386DX-40 wrote on 2022-01-31, 23:24:

Remember that the i430VX has a max cacheable range of 64MB so it's pointless to go beyond that. It's slower actually.

I am still a bit confused, because the above mentioned manual referres to 128MB onboard memory, whatever that is worth ...
.. but anyway, I've just bought 2x 32MB for this board. Let's just hope this Kingston modules will work fine 😀

rmay635703 wrote on 2022-02-01, 15:03:

Myself and others have installed pc100+ SDRAM in sizes of 128mb and 256mb to old VX motherboards due to scarcity and availability

The board must support 3.3v modules and most of the time will “see” 32mb or 64mb of the module letting you max it out by wasting memory.

So far such a configuration passes memtest with flying colors

I haven't done a thorough investigation in recent years, but back in the day that configuration seemed unreliable. It was thought to be due to refresh drive strength, even if the computer is only addressing so much the electronics are still trying to refresh the whole whack.

ildonaldo wrote on 2022-02-15, 17:22:

I am still a bit confused, because the above mentioned manual referres to 128MB onboard memory, whatever that is worth ... .. bu […]
Show full quote

Am386DX-40 wrote on 2022-01-31, 23:24:

Remember that the i430VX has a max cacheable range of 64MB so it's pointless to go beyond that. It's slower actually.

I am still a bit confused, because the above mentioned manual referres to 128MB onboard memory, whatever that is worth ...
.. but anyway, I've just bought 2x 32MB for this board. Let's just hope this Kingston modules will work fine 😀

From_manual_SY5VD_eng.jpg

The manual mentions it because the chipset can address that much RAM, so it does support up to 128MB. However, it can only cache up to 64MB of said RAM. It's a feature!

Garrett W wrote on 2022-02-15, 18:59:

ildonaldo wrote on 2022-02-15, 17:22:

I am still a bit confused, because the above mentioned manual referres to 128MB onboard memory, whatever that is worth ... .. bu […]
Show full quote

Am386DX-40 wrote on 2022-01-31, 23:24:

Remember that the i430VX has a max cacheable range of 64MB so it's pointless to go beyond that. It's slower actually.

I am still a bit confused, because the above mentioned manual referres to 128MB onboard memory, whatever that is worth ...
.. but anyway, I've just bought 2x 32MB for this board. Let's just hope this Kingston modules will work fine 😀

From_manual_SY5VD_eng.jpg

The manual mentions it because the chipset can address that much RAM, so it does support up to 128MB. However, it can only cache up to 64MB of said RAM. It's a feature!

A k62/3+ Or k63 cpu should allow caching up to the max supported ram by the chipset. But no other socket 5/7 cpu can offer this

dionb wrote on 2022-01-31, 10:08:

Even if they fit, these DIMMs wouldn't work. i430VX is the first SDRAM chipset, and limited both in terms of compatibility and t […]
Show full quote

Even if they fit, these DIMMs wouldn't work. i430VX is the first SDRAM chipset, and limited both in terms of compatibility and total capacity.

Max supported RAM on the i430VX is 128MB total. I've seen conflicting reports on which chip densities and therefore DIMM sizes are supported; in my experience only 16Mb chips on 16/32MB SDRAM DIMMs will work, but I've heard people getting some 64MB DIMMs working too. These low clips are odd, but shouldn't matter for compatibility as such.

The manual is unfortunately not very enlightening, oddly not even referring t0 SDRAM at all - although the chipset supports it - and contains errors (regarding cacheable area, the info listed is for Via chipsets, not the i430VX)

Either way, the chipset can only cache 64MB, so generally you're best off not exceeding that amount. For a DOS system I'd stick with 16MB SDRAM on this board, for Windows 9x I'd use 2x 32MB SDRAM. I'd only want to exceed that if running WinNT/2k or Linux, as they suffer far less from uncached RAM (as they are smart enough to used the cached bit first), in which case I'd use 4x 32MB SIMM.

It surprises me that the chipset can only address 128mb. Which means that 2x128mb simms wouldn’t work. But makes me very curious to try 2x128mb simms.

In my experience if truly unsupported, equipped with 2x128mb simms it would a:not post b: post and count all installed memory but crash even after passing mem test. (To ensure it was working, unique data must be used like unpacking driver.cab)

At OP, if memory serves there was once such a thing as 5v edo dimms. And that may be what your board supports. SD ram should be 3.3v

Sphere478 wrote on 2022-02-15, 19:39:

A k62/3+ Or k63 cpu should allow caching up to the max supported ram by the chipset. But no other socket 5/7 cpu can offer this

That is true, thanks to those CPUs having on-die L2 cache.

Sphere478 wrote on 2022-02-15, 19:39:

It surprises me that the chipset can only address 128mb. Which means that 2x128mb simms wouldn’t work. But makes me very curious to try 2x128mb simms.

In my experience if truly unsupported, equipped with 2x128mb simms it would a:not post b: post and count all installed memory but crash even after passing mem test. (To ensure it was working, unique data must be used like unpacking driver.cab)

At OP, if memory serves there was once such a thing as 5v edo dimms. And that may be what your board supports. SD ram should be 3.3v

It's not that surprising really. As dionb said, the i430VX was Intel's first chipset to support SDRAM and it came out in 1996 as a consumer chipset on the lower end of the stack. 128MB was an absurd amount of RAM at the time.
EDO DIMMs are not supported on this board.

Garrett W wrote on 2022-02-16, 08:24:

That is true, thanks to those CPUs having on-die L2 cache. […]
Show full quote

Sphere478 wrote on 2022-02-15, 19:39:

A k62/3+ Or k63 cpu should allow caching up to the max supported ram by the chipset. But no other socket 5/7 cpu can offer this

That is true, thanks to those CPUs having on-die L2 cache.

Sphere478 wrote on 2022-02-15, 19:39:

It surprises me that the chipset can only address 128mb. Which means that 2x128mb simms wouldn’t work. But makes me very curious to try 2x128mb simms.

In my experience if truly unsupported, equipped with 2x128mb simms it would a:not post b: post and count all installed memory but crash even after passing mem test. (To ensure it was working, unique data must be used like unpacking driver.cab)

At OP, if memory serves there was once such a thing as 5v edo dimms. And that may be what your board supports. SD ram should be 3.3v

It's not that surprising really. As dionb said, the i430VX was Intel's first chipset to support SDRAM and it came out in 1996 as a consumer chipset on the lower end of the stack. 128MB was an absurd amount of RAM at the time.
EDO DIMMs are not supported on this board.

thanks for the clarification.