AMD Geode™ LX Processor DDR2 BIOS Porting Guide
7
46959A - March 2009
Application Note
3.4
Other Information and Restrictions
The LX processor/DDR2 solution does not do DQS train-
ing. The LX processor’s memory controller does not have
the adjustability to make this worthwhile, and the speeds
are slow enough that this is not a problem.
The memory must be organized with 4 component banks.
This means that only 512Mbits, and lower, devices are sup-
ported. In addition, the memory controller only supports 1
or 2 ranks. Any other configurations should be avoided.
The DRAM must support a CAS# Latency of 2 clocks. A
DIMM’s SPD may not indicate that this is supported, due to
the higher typical operating frequencies of the memory.
The BIOS may determine that CL=2 is possible by consid-
ering the fundamental access time of the memory (i.e.,
cycle time multiplied by the normal CAS# Latency). The
reason for this restriction is that the LX processor’s mem-
ory controller must operate with a Write Latency of 1 clock.
DDR2 defines CAS# Latency equal to Write L 1.
Supporting CL=2 at higher frequencies implies that the
memory must be of higher performance. To run the mem-
ory at 166MHz, this means that the memory should have
an access time of 12ns. 133MHz requires 15ns.
The typical LX processor/DDR2 implementation will run the
memory at lower frequencies than average. While 166MHz
is within the DDR2 specification, some memory vendors
may recommend operating with the DLL disabled. The cus-
tomer should investigate this with their memory supplier.
Some DRAM modules may operate at higher frequencies
by raising their supply voltage. The customer should con-
sult the memory manufacturer before taking this approach.
The BIOS may implement an algorithm that accounts for
the higher frequency. AMD has seen only limited success
with this technique.
