There are lots of i7 motherboards that support 64GB memory, and even one that supports 128GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130681
But I read that i7 CPUs can't access more than 32GB of memory on some forums. Is this true?
If so, then what's the point of those motherboards?
I read that i7 CPUs can't access more than 32GB of memory on some forums.
That is an over-generalisation. There is no i7 CPU, there are a lot of CPUs marked as 'i7 something'.
Some of them, like the original core i7 920 can only address up to 24GiB.
Some can address 32GiB. Some might be able to address more.
Just saying 'a i7' is like saying "I heard that some of brand A cars use Diesel. What is the point of having a fuel station which offers petrol for brand A cars ?"
Between 2008 and 2024, Intel has released 14 generations of desktop and mobile processors with the i7 branding. Given such time span and difference of use, supported amount of RAM varies wildly, from 8 GB for first generation mobile processors, to 192 GB for 14th gen desktop processors.
So, the i7 branding is not to be intended as 'having certain characteristics', but rather it is part of a naming scheme which comprises i3, i5, i7 and i9 that within a specific generation and scope of application, could be translated into: basic, good, better, best (although Intel probably wouldn't approve such translation).
Most desktop motherboard can support 2-3 different generations of processors. So a motherboard manufacturer might over-provision the maximum of RAM supported, to take into account that future processors might support a larger amount of RAM that the ones available at time to market.
To find the specs of your specific processor, go to ark.intel.com and search for your product. Also, Wikipedia has a list of all Intel Core processors, with a link for each processor to its specs page.
That being said, here is a summary of available RAM in each generation i7 processors. Not all indications might be 100% accurate for every specific processor. Source is ark.intel.com
Intel Core i7 processors, Max. amount of RAM
Intel Core i7 processors, Max. amount of RAM
The situation is a bit of a mess with many different segments, changing between generations. Refer to ark.intel.com to make sure I didn't miss out something.
Also note that your specific laptop might support considerably less RAM than the maximum for any given processor, due to OEM restrictions (basically, how the laptop was built).
My 1st generation core i7-930 is currently running in an x58 board (Gigabyte UD3R) with 6x8GB dimms for 48GB memory total.
12th, 13th, 14th Generation i7 CPUs each offer processors that easily support 128gb/64gb/32gb of RAM. Check your motherboards specs when upgrading, because if you buy a i7 CPU that can handle 128gb of RAM and the motherboard only allows for 64gb you will be capped @ 64gb.
