Application Note
46959A - March 2009
3.3
Initialization Steps
Some of the following steps may be optional, depending on
the specific implementation. The reader is encouraged to
have a copy of the JEDEC standard for DDR2 SDRAM,
including the SPD byte definitions. The AMD Geode™ LX
Processors Data Book, order# 33234, is also recom-
mended. The chapters for the memory controller and
GeodeLink™ Control Processor (GLCP) register definitions
will be useful.
Calculate the size of each DIMM. SPD[31] indicates
the density of each rank and it is defined differently
than in the DDR specification. Multiply this by the num-
ber of ranks from SPD[5] to find the DIMM size. This
value is used to program the Dn_SZ fields.
Calculate the page size (i.e. the size of each row) for
each DIMM. The page size is defined as:
(# of columns)
DIMM width * 2
3.3.1
Memory Controller Initialization
SPD[4] indicates the number of column addresses.
The width should always be 8 bytes, but may also be
read from SPD[6]. The LX processor’s memory con-
troller only supports memory configurations that are
64 bits wide. The size is used to program the Dn_PSZ
fields.
1) Enable the CKE signal earlier, if necessary. With the
On-DIMM solution, this allows the CPLD to come out
of reset. The CPLD cannot respond to any SPD reads
while in the reset state.
2) Identify whether the installed DIMM(s) are DDR2. The
information in SPD[2] (i.e., SPD byte number 2) indi-
cates the fundamental memory type. If this value
equals 8, then the memory type is DDR2. A mixture of
memory types is not supported and the BIOS should
not allow this configuration.
5) Calculate the CAS# Latency (CL) and Write Latency
(WL). The WL is set with the WR2DAT field of the
MC_CF1017_DATA register. This is a change from
DDR to DDR2. With DDR technology WL=1, but for
DDR2 the WL=CL-1.
3) Program the memory speed by setting the appropriate
dividers in the GLCP_SYS_RSTPLL register. This
may be decided by retrieving data from NVRAM, from
jumpers, or by calculating the best speed dynamically.
If dynamic, the BIOS should set the memory speed
slow enough to support the installed memory. The
memory’s minimum cycle time is indicated in SPD[9],
which has additional bits defined beyond the DDR
specification. If more than one DIMM is installed, the
slower of the two memories should be used in calculat-
ing the memory frequency.
As of this writing, the memory controller may only
operate at WL=1 (i.e., WR2DAT may only be pro-
grammed to equal 1). This condition forces all imple-
mentations to use a CAS# Latency of 2.
A typical CAS# Latency algorithm should use the data
in SPD[18], which is a bitmap of supported CL settings
(in units of memory clocks). The bitmap will have up to
3 bits set, representing (from most significant to least)
CL=X, CL=X-1 and CL=X-2, which is different than the
DDR definition. Additionally, SPD[9], SPD[23] and
SPD[25] will have the minimum cycle times at the
highest CAS# Latency setting, the next lower setting,
and second lower setting. Note that all cycle times
have additional bits defined in the DDR2 specification.
Note that if setting the speed dynamically, certain con-
figurations should be avoided. These are unrelated to
the memory technology installed. As is the case with
DDR, the core frequency must never be lower than the
GLIU frequency. The BIOS should try to avoid setting
an unsupported GLIU frequency.
Normally, if two DIMMs are present, the algorithm
should set the lowest number that is supported by both
DIMMs at the current operating frequency. The pro-
cess would be identical to DDR, however, it is simpli-
fied for DDR2 memory because of the requirement to
operate at CL=2.
4) Determine the physical configuration of the installed
DIMM(s). This procedure populates the fields in
b[63:32] of the MSR_CF07_DATA register.
SPD[5] indicates the number of ranks on the DIMM
assembly. Note that DDR2 defines this SPD byte dif-
ferently than the DDR spec. The LX processor’s mem-
ory controller only supports DIMMs with 1 or 2 ranks
(indicated by 0 or 1). This setting determines the value
in the Dn_MB fields (i.e., D0_MB and D1_MB fields).
In the event that SPD[18] does not indicate a sup-
ported CAS# Latency of 2, the BIOS may still take
some steps to determine if CL=2 is supportable. The
fundamental CAS# access time may be calculated
using the supported CAS# Latencies and their associ-
ated cycle times. Multiplying the number of clocks by
the cycle time equals the access time. Use the lowest
result from all the supported CL values. Then divide
this number by 2 to get the lowest cycle time support-
able at CL=2. If the cycle time of the memory clock is
greater than or equal to this value, then CL=2 is typi-
SPD[17] indicates the number of component banks.
The LX processor’s memory controller only supports 2
or 4 banks, but DDR2 devices may support 4 or 8. The
Dn_CB fields should be programmed with a 1 to indi-
cate 4 banks. The BIOS should not allow configura-
tions indicating 8 banks.
4
AMD Geode™ LX Processor DDR2 BIOS Porting Guide
