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So I have a somewhat dated CPU (i5-750) and motherboard (GA-P55-UD2 rev 1.0) that are spec'd up to 16gb RAM, but that was when 8gb RAM sticks did not exist. I have read one thread where two users with a i5-750 CPU report that they are able to use 32gb RAM. There are also numerous threads online where other people with the same chipset but different CPU`s used 32gb RAM while specs said max 16gb.

Now I wanted to upgrade my system to 32gb RAM (for photo and video editing), bought the sticks and put them in. Three sticks of 8gb (24gb total) work in any combination of the four sticks that I bought, so all sticks work and they can all work together. Adding the fourth to make 32gb total makes it not work. BIOS recognizes the 32GB but windows wont boot beyond the loading screen where the little dots go around in circles.

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Since the BIOS recognizes the RAM and there is not particular reason for windows not to accept a certain size of RAM, I think the bottleneck is somewhere inbetween: the motherboard/chipset or the CPU (memory controller is integrated). Since other people have reported being able to use a i5-750 and the p55 chipset with 32gb of RAM I figured I might be able to as well. I have not found other people with the same motherboard as me that have reported to run 32gb RAM, so it may just be impossible.

In case four large RAM sticks was just asking too much juice I lowered the frequency of the RAM, increased VRAM to 1.65 (1.5 previously) and QPI voltage to 1.15 (1.05 previously), but that didnt change anything. My question now is are there any other tweaks that I might try to get the same results other people did?

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    "My question now is are there any other tweaks that I might try to get the same results other people did?" - No; Your chipset simply does not support it. Honestly, the fact 24GB even works, is likely just plan dumb luck. This isn't something changing the frequency or voltage of your memory will solved, not entirely sure, the reason you even tried that.
    – Ramhound
    Oct 31, 2016 at 16:52
  • You are right: It officially did not support it back then. But: that was because it (32gb in four sticks) physically did not exist when they specced the chipset. Also the chipset cant be the reason because many people report running 32gb RAM on the p55 chipset, with various CPU`s and various motherboards. If anything I think my motherboard is the weakest link here. Youre right I probably can forget it, but I dont know everything there is to know about RAM settings so thats why I ask.
    – Leo
    Oct 31, 2016 at 16:54
  • I don't disagree that 16GB modules were rare when the P55 chipset was new, but they did exist, perhaps just not in huge quanties.
    – Ramhound
    Oct 31, 2016 at 16:57
  • If you also think that there are no other tweaks in BIOS that I can try then your comment would be a valid answer to my question. If you post it other people with the same motherboard an CPU can then find this answer.
    – Leo
    Oct 31, 2016 at 17:05
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    Are you using the latest and greatest available BIOS?
    – Ale..chenski
    Oct 31, 2016 at 20:23

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As Ramhound suggested in the comments there are no other BIOS tweaks that are left to try, besides updating the BIOS like Ali says. The BIOS was at the latest version (F11) so that means that the motherboard GA-P55-UD2 can handle at most three sticks of 8gb ram, totalling 24gb. Other motherboards with the same CPU and chipset might be able to handle more though.

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