AMD (Ryzen 5825U) version: memory form factor and M.2/SATA lane sharing?

[Chinwagger]

Hi,

I’m considering the FreedomBox 512GB in the AMD (Ryzen 7 5825U) configuration, with a couple of questions before I order:

1. Memory form factor: Is the 16GB DDR4 supplied as SO-DIMM or full-size DIMM? And is it a single 16GB stick or 2×8GB? This determines whether the 64GB upgrade path (and a second stick for dual-channel) means buying SO-DIMMs, and whether the iGPU is running single-channel out of the box.

2. Lane sharing between M.2 and SATA: The specs list two M.2 2280 slots plus two SATA drive bays on the AMD version. Does populating both NVMe slots disable one of the SATA bays, or are they fully independent? I’m planning a build with both M.2 slots in use and a SATA SSD in one bay, so I’d like to confirm all three coexist before committing to the layout.

For context, this would replace a Raspberry Pi 5 as a low-load 24/7 media/home server. I’m otherwise very happy with the specs on paper.

Thanks!

[Sunil]

@Chinwagger

1. Memory form factor: Is the 16GB DDR4 supplied as SO-DIMM or full-size DIMM? And is it a single 16GB stick or 2×8GB? This determines whether the 64GB upgrade path (and a second stick for dual-channel) means buying SO-DIMMs, and whether the iGPU is running single-channel out of the box.

The memory slots on the board are for SO-DIMMs and not full-size DIMMs. The box will ship with two 8GB SO-DIMMs for a total of 16GB RAM.

@Chinwagger

1. Lane sharing between M.2 and SATA: The specs list two M.2 2280 slots plus two SATA drive bays on the AMD version. Does populating both NVMe slots disable one of the SATA bays, or are they fully independent? I’m planning a build with both M.2 slots in use and a SATA SSD in one bay, so I’d like to confirm all three coexist before committing to the layout.

M.2 and SATA are independent. Adding disks in one does not disable the other. On my Libre Crafts FreedomBox, I have one M.2 SSD and 2 HDDs in the two slots.

Let me know if you have any queries.