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DDR5 SODIMM capable kits for ESXi

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After successfully confirming the new non-binary 48GB DDR5 SODIMM modules (96GB total) is fully functional with any DDR5 capable system, I started receiving questions about which DDR5 kits are currently available today and that can also be used with ESXi?

The ASUS PN64-E1 is definitely a top contender for anyone in the market for a new or updated VMware Homelab and it was also the system that I had used to verify the new DDR5 memory. In addition to the PN64-E1, the following kits listed below from my research also supports DDR5 SODIMM memory and would also be compatible with ESXi.

Note: While there are other DDR5 kits out in the market, especially those with an AMD CPU, they are not viable with ESXi as the onboard networking uses a Realtek network adapter and there are no ESXi drivers from Realtek.

If folks are aware of other kits that are both DDR5 compatible and would also function with ESXi, feel free to share by leaving a comment below.

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ESXi on ASUS PN64-E1

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There are not many small form factor kits out there right now that supports Thunderbolt 4, so I was really interested in what ASUS had to offer with their release of the PN64-E1.


I have actually never worked with an ASUS kit before, so I was definitely looking forward to getting my hands on one of this system and see what capabilities it can enable for the VMware community. I initially learned about this platform last year with their PN64, but in speaking with ASUS, they mentioned I should really check out their newest offering, the PN64-E1, which has several new enhancements over their previous model.

So here is your first look at the ASUS PN64-E1!

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96GB SODIMM memory for DDR5 system with ESXi

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Back in February of this year, I had shared that non-binary 24GB and 48GB SODIMM memory was finally available, but I quickly realized that the news from Samsung was only for traditional memory modules and not the laptop SODIMM memory, which is also commonly used in small form factor systems like an Intel NUC.

Three months later, we still have no word from either Samsung or Crucial, but recently Mushkin came out of no where and released their 48GB DDR5 SODIMM modules which I had also shared the news on my blog HERE. While DDR5 adoption is slowly increasing, there are not many systems out there right now that currently supports DDR5 and you will need a DDR5 capable system to use DDR5 memory.


I recently got my hands on a new DDR5 system, which I will share more details in a future blog post, but the maximum supported memory listed for the system is still 64GB. I was curious on whether these new 48GB SODIMM would actually work with this system? If we go back to 2019, when 32GB SODIMM was first released, it was not clear whether these would work with systems that listed 32GB as their maximum supported memory?

I was the first to confirm 32GB modules worked with the popular Intel NUCs back in 2019 and that I could even use these new SODIMM modules going all the way back to an Intel 6th Gen NUC, which was released back in 2016! So while the officially tested memory limit was only 32GB, the CPU actually supported more than that!

🙏🤞I decided to take another chance and I purchased the Mushkin 96GB DDR5 SODIMM 4800mhz kit which has just arrived and I have put my theory to the test again ...

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