Intel DQ77MK User manual

Intel® Desktop Board
DQ77MK
Technical Product Specification
May 2012
Part Number: G54941-001
The Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK may contain design defects or errors known as errata that may cause the product to deviate from published specifications.
Current characterized errata are documented in the Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Specification Update.

Revision History
Revision Revision History Date
-001 First release of the Intel®Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product
Specification May 2012
This product specification applies to only the standard Intel®Desktop Board with BIOS identifier
MKQ7710H.86A.
INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH INTEL®PRODUCTS. NO LICENSE,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY ESTOPPEL OR OTHERWISE, TO ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IS
GRANTED BY THIS DOCUMENT. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN INTEL’S TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE FOR
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WHICH THE FAILURE OF THE INTEL PRODUCT COULD CREATE A SITUATION WHERE PERSONAL INJURY OR
DEATH MAY OCCUR.
All Intel®desktop boards are evaluated as Information Technology Equipment (I.T.E.) for use in personal
computers (PC) for installation in homes, offices, schools, computer rooms, and similar locations. The
suitability of this product for other PC or embedded non-PC applications or other environments, such as
medical, industrial, alarm systems, test equipment, etc. may not be supported without further evaluation by
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to any such patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights.
Intel may make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time, without notice.
Designers must not rely on the absence or characteristics of any features or instructions marked “reserved”
or “undefined.” Intel reserves these for future definition and shall have no responsibility whatsoever for
conflicts or incompatibilities arising from future changes to them.
Intel desktop boards may contain design defects or errors known as errata, which may cause the product to
deviate from published specifications. Current characterized errata are available on request.
Contact your local Intel sales office or your distributor to obtain the latest specifications before placing your
product order.
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trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Copyright 2012, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.

iii
Board Identification Information
Basic Desktop Board DQ77MK Identification Information
AA Revision BIOS Revision Notes
G39642-300 MKQ7710H.86A.0034 1,2
Notes:
1. The AA number is found on a small label on the component side of the board.
2. The Q77 processor used on this AA revision consists of the following component:
Device Stepping S-Spec Numbers
Intel Q77 Express Chipset C1 SLJ83
Errata
Current characterized errata, if any, are documented in a separate Specification
Update. See http://developer.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboard/index.htm
for the latest documentation.

Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product Specification
iv

v
Preface
This Technical Product Specification (TPS) specifies the board layout, components,
connectors, power and environmental requirements, and the BIOS for Intel®Desktop
Board DQ77MK.
Intended Audience
The TPS is intended to provide detailed, technical information about Intel Desktop
Board DQ77MK and its components to the vendors, system integrators, and other
engineers and technicians who need this level of information. It is specifically not
intended for general audiences.
What This Document Contains
Chapter Description
1 A description of the hardware used on Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK
2
A map of the resources of the Intel Desktop Board
3
The features supported by the BIOS Setup program
4 A description of the BIOS error messages, beep codes, and POST codes
5 Regulatory compliance and battery disposal information
Typographical Conventions
This section contains information about the conventions used in this specification. Not
all of these symbols and abbreviations appear in all specifications of this type.
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings
NOTE
Notes call attention to important information.
CAUTION
Cautions are included to help you avoid damaging hardware or losing data.

Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product Specification
vi
Other Common Notation
# Used after a signal name to identify an active-low signal (such as USBP0#)
GB Gigabyte (1,073,741,824 bytes)
GB/s Gigabytes per second
Gb/s Gigabits per second
I/O Input/Output
KB Kilobyte (1024 bytes)
Kb Kilobit (1024 bits)
kb/s 1000 bits per second
MB Megabyte (1,048,576 bytes)
MB/s Megabytes per second
Mb Megabit (1,048,576 bits)
Mb/s Megabits per second
TDP Thermal Design Power
xxh An address or data value ending with a lowercase h indicates a hexadecimal value.
x.x V Volts. Voltages are DC unless otherwise specified.
* This symbol is used to indicate third-party brands and names that are the property of their
respective owners.

vii
Contents
1Product Description
1.1 Overview......................................................................................... 11
1.1.1 Feature Summary ................................................................. 11
1.1.2 Board Layout ........................................................................ 13
1.1.3 Block Diagram ...................................................................... 15
1.2 Online Support................................................................................. 16
1.3 Processor ........................................................................................ 16
1.3.1 Graphics Subsystem.............................................................. 17
1.4 System Memory ............................................................................... 19
1.4.1 Memory Configurations .......................................................... 20
1.5 Intel®Q77 Express Chipset................................................................ 22
1.5.1 Direct Media Interface (DMI) .................................................. 22
1.5.2 Display Interfaces ................................................................. 22
1.5.3 USB..................................................................................... 24
1.5.4 SATA Interfaces .................................................................... 24
1.6 Real-Time Clock Subsystem............................................................... 26
1.7 Legacy I/O Controller........................................................................ 26
1.8 Audio Subsystem.............................................................................. 27
1.8.1 Audio Subsystem Software..................................................... 27
1.8.2 Audio Connectors and Headers................................................ 28
1.9 LAN Subsystem................................................................................ 29
1.9.1 Intel®82579LM Gigabit Ethernet Controller and
Intel®82574L Gigabit Ethernet Controller................................. 29
1.9.2 LAN Subsystem Software ....................................................... 30
1.9.3 RJ-45 LAN Connectors with Integrated LEDs............................. 30
1.10 Hardware Management Subsystem..................................................... 31
1.10.1 Hardware Monitoring ............................................................. 31
1.10.2 Fan Monitoring...................................................................... 31
1.10.3 Chassis Intrusion and Detection .............................................. 31
1.10.4 Thermal Monitoring ............................................................... 32
1.11 Intel®Security and Manageability Technologies.................................... 33
1.11.1 Intel®vPro™ Technology........................................................ 33
1.11.2 Intel Small Business Technology ............................................. 36
1.11.3 Intel®Management Engine (Intel®ME) Software and Drivers...... 37
1.12 Power Management .......................................................................... 38
1.12.1 ACPI.................................................................................... 38
1.12.2 Hardware Support ................................................................. 40
2Technical Reference
2.1 Memory Resources ........................................................................... 45
2.1.1 Addressable Memory.............................................................. 45
2.1.2Memory Map......................................................................... 47

Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product Specification
viii
2.2 Connectors and Headers.................................................................... 47
2.2.1 Back Panel Connectors........................................................... 48
2.2.2 Component-side Connectors and Headers................................. 49
2.3 Jumper Block ................................................................................... 61
2.4 Intel®Management Engine BIOS Extension (Intel®MEBX)
Reset Header................................................................................... 62
2.5 Mechanical Considerations................................................................. 63
2.5.1 Form Factor.......................................................................... 63
2.6 Electrical Considerations.................................................................... 64
2.6.1 Power Supply Considerations .................................................. 64
2.6.2 Power Supervisor .................................................................. 65
2.6.3 Fan Header Current Capability ................................................ 65
2.6.4 Add-in Board Considerations................................................... 65
2.7 Thermal Considerations..................................................................... 65
2.8 Reliability ........................................................................................ 68
2.9 Environmental.................................................................................. 68
3Overview of BIOS Features
3.1 Introduction..................................................................................... 69
3.2 BIOS Flash Memory Organization........................................................ 70
3.3 Resource Configuration ..................................................................... 70
3.3.1PCI Express Autoconfiguration ................................................ 70
3.4 System Management BIOS (SMBIOS) ................................................. 71
3.5 Legacy USB Support ......................................................................... 71
3.6 BIOS Updates .................................................................................. 72
3.6.1 Language Support................................................................. 72
3.6.2 Custom Splash Screen ........................................................... 73
3.7 BIOS Recovery................................................................................. 73
3.8 Boot Options.................................................................................... 74
3.8.1 Optical Drive Boot ................................................................. 74
3.8.2 Network Boot........................................................................ 74
3.8.3 Booting Without Attached Devices........................................... 74
3.8.4 Changing the Default Boot Device During POST......................... 74
3.9 Adjusting Boot Speed........................................................................ 75
3.9.1 Peripheral Selection and Configuration..................................... 75
3.9.2 BIOS Boot Optimizations........................................................ 75
3.10 BIOS Security Features ..................................................................... 76
3.11 BIOS Performance Features ............................................................... 77
4Error Messages and Beep Codes
4.1 Speaker .......................................................................................... 79
4.2 BIOS Beep Codes ............................................................................. 79
4.3 Front-panel Power LED Blink Codes..................................................... 80
4.4 BIOS Error Messages ........................................................................ 80
4.5 Port 80h Power On Self Test (POST) Codes.......................................... 81

Contents
ix
5Regulatory Compliance and Battery Disposal Information
5.1 Regulatory Compliance...................................................................... 87
5.1.1 Safety Standards................................................................... 87
5.1.2 European Union Declaration of Conformity Statement................ 88
5.1.3 Product Ecology Statements ................................................... 89
5.1.4 China RoHS .......................................................................... 92
5.1.5 EMC Regulations ................................................................... 93
5.1.6 ENERGY STAR* 5.0, e-Standby, and ErP Compliance ................. 95
5.1.7 Regulatory Compliance Marks (Board Level) ............................. 96
5.2 Battery Disposal Information.............................................................. 97
Figures
1. Major Board Components .................................................................. 13
2. Block Diagram.................................................................................. 15
3. Memory Channel and DIMM Configuration............................................ 21
4. Back Panel Audio Connectors ............................................................. 28
5. LAN Connectors LED Locations ........................................................... 30
6. Thermal Sensors and Fan Headers...................................................... 32
7. Location of the Intel ME “M” State LED................................................ 37
8. Location of the Standby Power LED..................................................... 43
9. Detailed System Memory Address Map................................................ 46
10. Back Panel Connectors...................................................................... 48
11. Component-side Connectors and Headers............................................ 49
12. Connection Diagram for Front Panel Header......................................... 58
13. Connection Diagram for Front Panel USB 2.0 Connectors....................... 60
14. Location of the Jumper Block ............................................................. 61
15. Intel MEBX Reset Header................................................................... 62
16. Board Dimensions............................................................................. 63
17. Localized High Temperature Zones ..................................................... 66
18. Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK China RoHS Material Self
Declaration Table.............................................................................. 92
Tables
1. Feature Summary............................................................................. 11
2. Components Shown in Figure 1 .......................................................... 14
3. Supported Memory Configurations...................................................... 19
4. DVI Port Status Conditions................................................................. 23
5. DisplayPort Status Conditions............................................................. 23
6. Audio Formats Supported by the DisplayPort Interface.......................... 23
7. Audio Jack Support........................................................................... 27
8. LAN Connector LED States................................................................. 31
9. Intel ME “M” State LED Behavior ........................................................ 37
10. Effects of Pressing the Power Switch ................................................... 38
11. Power States and Targeted System Power ........................................... 39

Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product Specification
x
12. Wake-up Devices and Events ............................................................. 40
13. System Memory Map......................................................................... 47
14. Component-side Connectors and Headers Shown in Figure 11................ 50
15. Serial Port Connector ........................................................................ 51
16. Front Panel Audio Header for Intel HD Audio........................................ 51
17. Front Panel Audio Header for AC ’97 Audio........................................... 51
18. Front Panel USB 2.0 Connectors ......................................................... 51
19. Front Panel USB 3.0 Connector........................................................... 52
20. IEEE 1394a Connector....................................................................... 52
21. Internal Mono Speaker Header........................................................... 52
22. PCI Express Full-/Half-Mini Card Connector.......................................... 53
23. SATA Connectors.............................................................................. 54
24. S/PDIF Header ................................................................................. 55
25. Chassis Intrusion Header................................................................... 55
26. Processor, Front, and Rear Chassis (4-Pin) Fan Headers....................... 55
27. LPC Debug Header............................................................................ 55
28. Processor Core Power Connector ........................................................ 57
29. Main Power Connector....................................................................... 57
30. Front Panel Header ........................................................................... 58
31. States for a One-Color Power LED....................................................... 59
32. States for a Two-Color Power LED....................................................... 59
33. Alternate Front Panel Power/Sleep LED Header..................................... 59
34. BIOS Setup Configuration Jumper Settings .......................................... 61
35. Intel MEBX Reset Header Signals........................................................ 62
36. Recommended Power Supply Current Values (High Power) .................... 64
37. Recommended Power Supply Current Values (Low Power)..................... 64
38. Fan Header Current Capability............................................................ 65
39. Thermal Considerations for Components.............................................. 67
40. Tcontrol Values for Components ......................................................... 67
41. Environmental Specifications.............................................................. 68
42. BIOS Setup Program Menu Bar........................................................... 70
43. BIOS Setup Program Function Keys .................................................... 70
44. Acceptable Drives/Media Types for BIOS Recovery................................ 73
45. Boot Device Menu Options................................................................. 74
46. Supervisor and User Password Functions ............................................. 76
47. BIOS Beep Codes ............................................................................. 79
48. Front-panel Power LED Blink Codes..................................................... 80
49. BIOS Error Messages ........................................................................ 80
50. Port 80h POST Code Ranges .............................................................. 81
51. Port 80h POST Codes........................................................................ 82
52. Typical Port 80h POST Sequence ........................................................ 86
53. Safety Standards.............................................................................. 87
54. EMC Regulations............................................................................... 93
55. Regulatory Compliance Marks ............................................................ 96

11
1Product Description
1.1 Overview
1.1.1 Feature Summary
Table 1 summarizes the major features of the board.
Table 1. Feature Summary
Form Factor Micro-ATX (9.60 inches by 9.60 inches [243.84 millimeters by
243.84 millimeters])
Processor •3
rd
generation Intel
®
Core processor family and 2
nd
generation Intel
®
Core
processor family processors with up to 95 W TDP in an LGA1155 socket
―One PCI Express* 3.0 x16 graphics interface
―Integrated memory controller with dual channel DDR3 memory support
―Integrated graphics processing (processors with Intel®HD Graphics)
―External graphics interface controller
Memory •Four 240-pin DDR3 SDRAM Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) sockets
•Support for DDR3 1600 MHz, DDR3 1333 MHz, and DDR3 1066 MHz DIMMs
•Support for 1 Gb, 2 Gb, and 4 Gb memory technology
•Support for up to 32 GB of system memory with four DIMMs using 4 Gb
memory technology
•Support for non-ECC memory
•Support for 1.5 V (standard voltage) and 1.35 V (low voltage) JEDEC memory
•Support for XMP memory
Note: DDR3 1600 MHz DIMMs are only supported by 3rd generation Intel Core
processor family processors
Chipset Intel
®
Q77 Express Chipset consisting of the Intel
®
Q77 Express Platform
Controller Hub (PCH)
Graphics •Integrated graphics support for processors with Intel
®
Graphics Technology:
―DisplayPort*
―DVI-I
―DVI-D
•Support for a PCI Express 3.0 x16 add-in graphics card
Note: PCI Express 3.0 is only supported by 3rd generation Intel Core
processor family processors
Audio •
8-channel (6+2) Intel High Definition Audio via the Realtek* ALC892 audio
codec
•8-channel (7.1) Intel HD Audio via the DisplayPort connector from the PCH
continued

Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product Specification
12
Table 1. Feature Summary (continued)
Peripheral
Interfaces
•Four USB 3.0 ports:
―Two USB 3.0 ports are implemented with stacked back panel connectors
(blue)
―Two front panel USB 3.0 ports are implemented through one internal
connector (blue)
•Ten USB 2.0 ports:
―Four ports implemented with stacked back panel connectors (two black and
two orange high current charging ports)
―Four front panel ports implemented through two internal headers (black)
―Two ports are implemented in the PCI Express Full-/Half–Mini Card slot
•Six Serial ATA (SATA) ports:
―Two SATA 6.0 Gb/s interface through the Intel Q77 Express Chipset with
Intel®Rapid Storage Technology RAID support (blue)
―Two internal SATA 3.0 Gb/s interfaces through Intel Q77 Express Chipset
with Intel Rapid Storage Technology RAID support (black)
―One internal SATA connector (multiplexed with an mSATA port, routed to
the PCI Express Full-/Half-Mini Card slot) (gray)
―One external eSATA 3.0 Gb/s interface (red)
•One serial port connector
•Two IEEE 1394a ports:
―One port via a back panel connector
―One port via a front-panel connector (blue)
Expansion
Capabilities
•One PCI Express 3.0 x16 add-in card connector
•One PCI Express 2.0 x4 bus add-in card connector from the PCH
•One PCI Express 2.0 x1 bus add-in card connector from the PCH
•One Conventional PCI bus add-in card connectors from the PCH
•One PCI Express Full-/Half-Mini Card connector from the PCH (supporting
mSATA and USB capabilities)
Note: PCI Express 3.0 is only supported by 3rd generation Intel Core processor
family processors
BIOS •Intel®BIOS resident in the SPI Flash device
•Support for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), Plug and Play,
and SMBIOS
Instantly Available
PC Technology
•Support for PCI Express* Revision 3.0
•Suspend to RAM support
•
Wake on PCI, PCI Express, LAN, front panel, serial, and USB ports
LAN Support Two Gigabit (10/100/1000 Mb/s) LAN subsystems using the Intel®82579LM
Gigabit Ethernet Controller (red connector) and Intel®82574L Gigabit Ethernet
Controller (black connector)
Legacy I/O Control Nuvoton NCT6776D I/O controller for serial port and hardware management
support
Hardware Monitor
Subsystem
•Hardware monitoring through the Nuvoton I/O controller
•Voltage sense to detect out of range power supply voltages
•Thermal sense to detect out of range thermal values
•Three fan headers
•Two fan sense inputs used to monitor fan activity
•
Fan speed control
Intel® Security and
Manageability
Technologies
•Intel®vPro™ Technology
•Intel®Active Management Technology (Intel®AMT) 8.0
•Intel® Small Business Technology (Intel®SBT)
•Intel®Virtualization Technology (Intel®VT)
•Intel®Virtualization for Directed I/O (Intel®VT-d)
•
Intel
®
Anti-Theft (Intel
®
AT)

Product Description
13
1.1.2 Board Layout
Figure 1 shows the location of the major components on Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK.
Figure 1. Major Board Components

Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product Specification
14
Table 2 lists the components identified in Figure 1.
Table 2. Components Shown in Figure 1
Item/callout
from Figure 1 Description
A PCI Express x4 add-in card connector
B Conventional PCI add-in card connector
C IEEE 1394 a front panel header
D PCI Express x1 add-in card connector
E PCI Express x16 add-in card connector
F Back panel connectors
G 12 V processor core voltage connector (2 x 2 pin)
H LGA1155 processor socket
I Rear chassis fan header
J Processor fan header
K DIMM 3 (Channel A DIMM 0)
L DIMM 1 (Channel A DIMM 1)
M DIMM 4 (Channel B DIMM 0)
N DIMM 2 (Channel B DIMM 1)
O Front chassis fan header
P Low Pin Count (LPC) Debug header
Q Chassis intrusion header
R Main power connector (2 x 12)
S Intel®Management Engine BIOS Extension (Intel®MEBX) Reset header
T Battery
U Piezoelectric speaker
V Intel®Management Engine “M” state LED
W PCI Express Full-/Half-Mini Card slot
X SATA 6.0 Gb/s connector (multiplexed with an mSATA port, routed to the PCI
Express Full-/Half-Mini Card slot) (gray)
Y SATA 3.0 Gb/s connectors through the PCH (black)
Z Alternate front panel power/sleep LED header
AA Front panel connector
BB Standby power LED
CC BIOS Setup configuration jumper block
DD SATA 6.0 Gb/s connectors through the PCH (blue)
EE Front panel USB 3.0 connector (blue)
FF Intel Q77 Express Chipset
GG Front panel USB 2.0 connector
HH Front panel USB 2.0 connector
II Serial port connector
JJ S/PDIF out header
KK Front panel audio connector
LL Internal mono speaker header

Product Description
15
1.1.3 Block Diagram
Figure 2 is a block diagram of the major functional areas of the board.
Figure 2. Block Diagram

Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product Specification
16
1.2 Online Support
To find information about… Visit this World Wide Web site:
Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/index.htm
Desktop Board Support http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support?iid=hdr+support
Available configurations for Intel
Desktop Board DQ77MK http://ark.intel.com
Supported processors http://processormatch.intel.com
Chipset information http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/chipsets/index.htm
BIOS and driver updates http://downloadcenter.intel.com
Tested memory http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/CS-
025414.htm
Integration information http://www.intel.com/support/go/buildit
1.3 Processor
The board supports 3rd generation Intel Core processor family and 2nd generation Intel
Core processor family processors.
Other processors may be supported in the future. This board supports processors with
a maximum wattage of 95 W Thermal Design Power (TDP). The processors listed
above are only supported when falling within the wattage requirements of Intel
Desktop Board DQ77MK. See the Intel web site listed below for the most up-to-date
list of supported processors.
For information about… Refer to:
Supported processors http://processormatch.intel.com
CAUTION
Use only the processors listed on the web site above. Use of unsupported processors
can damage the board, the processor, and the power supply.
NOTE
This board has specific requirements for providing power to the processor. Refer to
Section 2.6.1 on page 64 for information on power supply requirements for this board.

Product Description
17
1.3.1 Graphics Subsystem
The board supports graphics through either the processor Intel HD Graphics or a PCI
Express x16 add-in graphics card.
1.3.1.1 Processor Graphics
The board supports integrated graphics through the Intel®Flexible Display Interface
(Intel®FDI) for processors with Intel HD Graphics.
1.3.1.1.1 Intel®High Definition (Intel®HD) Graphics
The Intel HD graphics controller features the following:
•3D Features
DirectX* 11 (2nd generation Intel Core processor family processors support
CS4.0 only) support
OpenGL* 3.0 support
Shader Model 4.0
•Video
High-Definition content at up to 1080p resolution
Hardware accelerated MPEG-2, VC-1/WMV, and H.264/AVC Hi-Definition video
formats
Intel®HD Graphics with Advanced Hardware Video Transcoding (Intel®Quick
Sync Video)
Note: Intel Quick Sync is enabled with the appropriate software application
Blu-ray* S3D via DisplayPort 1.1a
Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT) 5.0 support
Support of up to 1.7 GB Video Memory with 4 GB and above system memory
configuration

Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product Specification
18
1.3.1.2 PCI Express x16 Graphics
3rd generation Intel Core processor family processors support PCI Express 3.0, 2.x,
and 1.x and 2nd generation Intel Core processor family processors support PCI
Express 2.x and 1.x:
•PCI Express 3.0 with a raw bit rate of 8.0 GT/s results in an effective bandwidth of
1 GB/s each direction per lane. The maximum theoretical bandwidth of the x16
interface is 16 GB/s in each direction, simultaneously, for a total bandwidth of
32 GB/s.
•PCI Express 2.x with a raw bit rate of 5.0 GT/s results in an effective bandwidth of
500 MB/s each direction per lane. The maximum theoretical bandwidth of the x16
interface is 8 GB/s in each direction, simultaneously, for a total bandwidth of
16 GB/s.
•PCI Express 1.x with a raw bit rate of 2.5 GT/s results in an effective bandwidth of
250 MB/s each direction per lane. The maximum theoretical bandwidth of the x16
interface is 4 GB/s in each direction, simultaneously, for a total bandwidth of
8 GB/s.
For information about Refer to
PCI Express technology http://www.pcisig.com

Product Description
19
1.4 System Memory
The board has four DIMM sockets and supports the following memory features:
•1.5 V DDR3 SDRAM DIMMs with gold plated contacts, with the option to raise the
voltage to support higher performance DDR3 SDRAM DIMMs.
•1.35 V Low Voltage DDR3 DIMMs (JEDEC specification)
•Two independent memory channels with interleaved mode support
•Unbuffered, single-sided or double-sided DIMMs with the following restriction:
DIMMs with x16 organization are not supported.
•32 GB maximum total system memory (with 4 Gb memory technology). Refer to
Section 2.1.1 on page 45 for information on the total amount of addressable
memory.
•Minimum recommended total system memory: 1 GB
•Non-ECC DIMMs
•Serial Presence Detect
•DDR3 1600 MHz, DDR3 1333 MHz, and DDR3 1066 MHz SDRAM DIMMs
Note: DDR3 1600 MHz DIMMs are only supported by 3rd generation Intel Core
processor family processors
•XMP version 1.3 performance profile support for memory speeds of 1600 MHz or
lower
NOTE
To be fully compliant with all applicable DDR SDRAM memory specifications, the board
should be populated with DIMMs that support the Serial Presence Detect (SPD) data
structure. This allows the BIOS to read the SPD data and program the chipset to
accurately configure memory settings for optimum performance. If non-SPD memory
is installed, the BIOS will attempt to correctly configure the memory settings, but
performance and reliability may be impacted or the DIMMs may not function under the
determined frequency.
Table 3 lists the supported DIMM configurations.
Table 3. Supported Memory Configurations
DIMM
Capacity
Configuration
(Note)
SDRAM
Density
SDRAM Organization
Front-side/Back-side
Number of SDRAM
Devices
1024 MB
SS
1 Gbit
128 M x8/empty
8
2048 MB
DS
1 Gbit
128 M x8/128 M x8
16
2048 MB
SS
2 Gbit
256 M x8/empty
8
4096 MB
DS
2 Gbit
256 M x8/256 M x8
16
4096 MB SS 4 Gbit 512 M x8/empty 8
8192 MB
DS
4 Gbit
512 M x8/512 M x8
16
Note: “DS” refers to double-sided memory modules (containing two rows of SDRAM) and “SS” refers to
single-sided memory modules (containing one row of SDRAM).

Intel Desktop Board DQ77MK Technical Product Specification
20
For information about… Refer to:
Tested Memory http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb
/CS-025414.htm
1.4.1 Memory Configurations
The 3rd generation Intel Core processor family and 2nd generation Intel Core processor
family processors support the following types of memory organization:
•Dual channel (Interleaved) mode. This mode offers the highest throughput for
real world applications. Dual channel mode is enabled when the installed memory
capacities of both DIMM channels are equal. Technology and device width can vary
from one channel to the other but the installed memory capacity for each channel
must be equal. If different speed DIMMs are used between channels, the slowest
memory timing will be used.
•Single channel (Asymmetric) mode. This mode is equivalent to single channel
bandwidth operation for real world applications. This mode is used when only a
single DIMM is installed or the memory capacities are unequal. Technology and
device width can vary from one channel to the other. If different speed DIMMs are
used between channels, the slowest memory timing will be used.
•Flex mode. This mode provides the most flexible performance characteristics.
The bottommost DRAM memory (the memory that is lowest within the system
memory map) is mapped to dual channel operation; the topmost DRAM memory
(the memory that is nearest to the 8 GB address space limit), if any, is mapped to
single channel operation. Flex mode results in multiple zones of dual and single
channel operation across the whole of DRAM memory. To use flex mode, it is
necessary to populate both channels.
For information about… Refer to:
Memory Configuration Examples http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/cs-
011965.htm