KGPE-D16

KGPE-D16
Overview
Introduced	2010
Manufacturer	ASUS
Specifications
Socket	2x G34
Northbridge	1x AMD SR5690
Southbridge	AMD SP5100
Super I/O	Winbond W83667HG-A
BMC	ASPEED AST2050 (OpenBMC-compatible)
BMC Flash Location	Removable Module
Memory	16 slots (8 channels) DDR3-1600 ECC RDIMM/UDIMM, up to 192GB on Coreboot
BIOS Flash	2 MiB socketed DIP-8 (W25Q16V)
Form Factor	SSI EEB
Power Inputs	2x 8-pin EPS
Expansion Slots	PCIe Gen2 x16 (disabled if Slot 5 in use) PCIe Gen2 x16 PCIe Gen2 x8 (electrically x4) PCIe Gen2 x16 (x8 if Slot 2 in use) PCIe Gen2 x16 (electrically x8) 32-bit Legacy PCI ASUS PIKE2008 Interface
Onboard Peripherals
Graphics Adapter	AST2050 Integrated VGA
Network Interface	2x Intel 82574L Gigabit
Storage Controller	SP5100's SATA2 (3.0 Gbps), no SAS unless PIKE2008 installed
USB Controller	SP5100's onboard USB 2.0
Serial Interface	One SIO-provided RS232, one virtual BMC console port
Audio Interface	None (ASUS recommended a PCI sound card)

The ASUS KGPE-D16, commonly referred to as the D16, is a dual-socket server/workstation motherboard released by ASUS on April 7th, 2010, for use with Socket G34 Opteron processors. Originally sold as a standalone board in a mostly-standard SSI EEB form factor, and intended for both desktop and rack-mounted uses, the KGPE-D16 is popular among enthusiasts as a relatively versatile and workstation-friendly G34 platform.

Ports of Coreboot and OpenBMC to the D16 was developed by Raptor Engineering between 2015 and 2017. Among major Coreboot versions, it was first supported in Coreboot 4.2 in October 2015, and last supported in Coreboot 4.11 in November 2019. Support was dropped beginning in Coreboot 4.12, primarily due to lack of maintenance after Raptor Engineering discontinued work on the platform. Between 2021 and 2022, after seeking funding for such an effort for several years, Dasharo/3mdeb developed an out-of-tree fork of Coreboot 4.15, but it was not upstreamed, and has not been significantly maintained since 2022. At present, there does not appear to be a significant effort to re-upstream the KGPE-D16 into Coreboot.

Most KGPE-D16 owners currently use either upstream Coreboot 4.11, or one of multiple forks of it, such as coreboot-D16 or Libreboot.

Board Revisions

Three KGPE-D16 revisions are known: 1.03G, 1.04, and 1.05. The differences between the three revisions have not been disclosed. The more recent boards (1.04 and 1.05) are generally in better condition and are recommended. The three boards, when in similar condition, perform equally well.

Board Layout

RAM Support

When buying memory for a KGPE-D16 motherboard running coreboot, stick to models and configurations that are known to work. Crucial CT16G3ERSLD4160B (aka: Micron MT36KSF2G72PZ-1G6XXXX, X=any value) and Samsung M393B2G70BH0-CK0 are the recommended RAM modules for new builders, these two RAM modules have been thoroughly tested with coreboot-15h. All KGPE-D16 motherboards are old technology, the condition of the RAM slots may be suboptimal. Install RAM modules two at a time according to the RAM configuration chart to step towards your target RAM configuration; confirm the motherboard can boot after each additional pair. Reseat the RAM if an additional pair does not boot, or try a different RAM module (in case the RAM itself is faulty). It takes a degree of luck to install all 16 RAM modules on the first try, reseating is usually required.

coreboot-15h

The 15h.org fork of coreboot 4.11 has been developed to improve the memory support and runtime stability of coreboot on the KGPE-D16.

Stable Configurations

Total Memory	RAM Module	RAM Type	CPU	Microcode	Motherboard	Release	Tester	memtest86+
256GB	Samsung M393B2G70BH0-CK0 (x16)	16GB 1600MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6282 (x2)	600063E	KGPE-D16 v1.04	2025.03.08-v4.11-9f78cb25cd	mrothfuss	Pass (x2), Pass (x2)
128GB	Crucial CT16G3ERSLD4160B (x8)	16GB 1600MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Pass (x1)
128GB	Samsung M393B2G70BH0-CK0 (x8)	16GB 1600MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Pass (x1)
32GB	Samsung M393B2G70BH0-CK0 (x2)	16GB 1600MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Pass (x2)
32GB	Crucial CT16G3ERSLD4160B (x2)	16GB 1600MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6282 SE (x2)	N/A	KGPE-D16 v1.03	Self Compiled	Arha	Pass (x1)
128GB	Super Talent W16RB8G4S (x16)	8GB 1600MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6282 (x2)	600063E	KGPE-D16 v1.04	2025.03.08-v4.11-9f78cb25cd	mrothfuss	Pass (x2)
16GB	ELPIDA EBJ81RF4BDWD-DJ-F (x2)	8GB 1333MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Pass (x1)
16GB	Kingston KVR16E11/8 (x2)	8GB 1600MHz ECC UDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Pass (x1)
16GB	Samsung M393B1K70DH0-YH9 (x2)	8GB 1333MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Pass (x1)
8GB	Super Talent W1333EB4GS (x2)	4GB 1333MHz ECC UDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Pass (x1)

Unstable Configurations

Total Memory	RAM Module	RAM Type	CPU	Microcode	Motherboard	Release	Tester	Remarks
256GB	Samsung M393B2G70BH0-CK0 (x16)	16GB 1600MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Boots, survived a 5h tmpfs compilation stress test, crashed during memtest86+ 7.00
64GB	Samsung M393B4G70BM0-YH9 (x2)	32GB 1333MHz ECC RDIMM QR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Does not boot
32GB	Super Talent W13RC16G4H (x2)	16GB 1333MHz ECC RDIMM DR	AMD Opteron 6328 (x2)	6000852	KGPE-D16 v1.05	2024.09.14-v4.11-065549759c	mrothfuss	Boots, crashed during memtest86+ 7.00

Cooling

A few attachments have been designed to add cooling fans to the motherboard. Server motherboards expect to have a high amount of airflow (often loud) to keep components cool during 24/7 operation. To maintain component health in quieter builds, fan mounts have been designed.

Chipset Fan

This file is designed to work with a Noctua NF-A4x10 fan. If your motherboard is not in a high-airflow server case, the chipset fan is highly recommended. The fan bracket mounts onto the chipset heatsink by snapping onto the metal arms that secure the heatsink. The file may need to be editted to accomodate the exact placement of your 40mm fan cable (the provided design has a cable hole at the bottom right position).

KGPE-D16_Chipsetfan_40mm.stl

KGPE-D16_Chipsetfan_40mm.blend

RAM Fan

This file is designed to work with a Noctua NF-A8 fan. When two of these fan mounts are attached to a Noctua NF-A8 fan, they will be spaced correctly to snap onto the KGPE-D16 RAM clips (white). These clips vary between boards. The included file is designed to work with L-shaped RAM clips (most often found on 1.04 and 1.05 boards). It will not fit as nicely onto the parallelogram-shaped RAM clips (most often found on 1.03G boards).

KGPE-D16_Ramfan_80mm.stl

KGPE-D16_Ramfan_80mm.blend

TPM

There are few known compatible TPM's

TPM version	Chipset	Manufacturer	Model number	Confirmed by	Remarks
2.0	SLB9665	Asus	TPM-L R2.0	3mdeb	expensive
1.2	SLB9635	Asus	MC01B0-B01	3mdeb	can be found at https://shop.3mdeb.com/shop/modules/tpm-module-for-asus-kgpe-d16/
1.2	SLB9655	Supermicro	AOM-TPM-9655V	Mike	can be found on 2nd hand marketplaces

Flashing

Flashing instructions

Compatible SPI Chips

Coreboot is compatible with the 2MB chip that comes with the KGPE-D16. It is possible to expand the ROM space up to 16MB using replacement SPI chips. Heads requires a 16MB chip to work on the KGPE-D16 board.

Model	Size (MB)	Size (Mb)
W25Q16BVAIG	2	16
W25Q64BVAIG	8	64
W25Q128FVIQ	16	128

Hardware

You will need a flash chip programmer like the cha341a rev 1.7

This section is an excerpt from External Flashing § CH341a.[edit]

DIP-8 flash chips can be inserted into the CH341a for flashing, as depicted above.

SOIC-8 flash chips can be attached to the CH341a using a clip. In the above image, the line for pin 1 is colored red to facilitate quick orientation of the flash clip onto the motherboard.

Flashrom Support

The CH341a is supported by flashrom.

# read the flash chip
flashrom -p ch341a_spi -r image.rom

# write to the flash chip
flashrom -p ch341a_spi -w image.rom

Voltage Verification

Many different USB flashers are sold as "CH341a", often without any specific product identifiers in the name besides "CH341a". Some flash tools using the CH341a supply the incorrect voltage, often 5.0V, to the data lines (pins 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7) instead of 3.3V. A voltmeter can be used to test your specific CH341a variant. To measure the voltage at each pin, hold the voltmeter's ground to pin 4 (GND) and touch the probe to each of the other pins on the CH341a. In the image above, the red probe is connected to pin 8 (VCC) and the black probe is connected to pin 4 (GND). If they all ready ~3.3V, your CH341a was designed correctly. It is possible to fix a faulty CH341a, but this requires soldering.

Voltage Verified CH341a Programmers

Product URL	Remarks	Tested By
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800921201231.html	The 7 pins used for DIP-8 and SOIC-8 chips all measured 3.3V. A clip adapter for SOIC-8 chips is not included in this product.	mrothfuss

If your gonna be running something like heads you will need a 16MB flash chip like the W25Q128FVIQ (OEM ch is only 2MB)

EEPROM Pin out

Here is a picture detailing the eeprom pin out this can be good if your using something like the Dasharo Asus KGPE-D16 Flash Chip Adapter or have bought a board without a flash chip and don't know what way to place the chip (the notch should be pointed inward)

User Builds

• Qubesotron
• RAD01
• RAD03
• Unc