ECS A990FXM-A Motherboard

Memory Support

AMD CPUs have an embedded memory controller, meaning that it is the processor – and not the chipset – that defines what memory technologies and the maximum amount of memory you can have. The motherboard, however, may have a limitation on how much memory you can have installed.

Currently, the integrated memory controller of AMD processors supports DDR3 memories up to 1,333 MHz under dual-channel architecture, but ECS says the A990FXM-A supports memory up to 2,133 MHz through overclocking.

The ECS A990FXM-A has four memory sockets, and since DDR3 memory modules can now be found in capacities up to 8 GB, you can have up to 32 GB with this motherboard if you use four 8 GB modules.

On this motherboard, the first and third memory sockets are white, while the second and fourth are gray. To achieve the maximum performance, you should install two or four memory modules in order to enable dual-channel architecture. When only two modules are used, install them in the white sockets.

Figure 3: Memory sockets; install two or four modules for the best performance