Question 1

does each bank of memory support up to 4gb each for a total of 8gb that can be installed?

Accepted Answer

Not in my experience. Actually, I couldn't even get it to recognize 4GB from a known-good pair of 2GB DIMMs from a MacBook. I ended up with 2GB from a pair of 1GB DIMMs instead. I ordered two of these boards and they both behaved the same, so I think it's inherent and not a HW failure. Though it was several months ago and I can't recall for sure, I think it did recognize just one of the 2GB DIMMs at a time, but failed when I tried to add another DIMM of either size. Bottom line: don't buy the board if you need more than 2GB total RAM.

Question 2

what is the socket size?

Accepted Answer

The Intel Atom D2550 is 22mm x 22mm and is listed as a Micro-FCBGA11 Package with the supported Socket of FCBGA559 which is a 559-ball lead-free Micro Flip Chip Ball Grid Array, with the balls located on a 31 x 31 array. The companion chip, the Intel NM10 Express Chipset package is a 17mm x 17mm 360 BGA package with its balls located on a 25 x 25 array. Both chips are soldered to the motherboard and the heat sink dissipates heat from both of the chips, thus the rectangular shape.
My question was what is the max DRAM memory for the D2550? Ans. 4 GB.
Datasheet Vol. 2 pg 19: The Intel Atom Processor D2000 series and N2000 series SoC supports a maximum of 4 GB of DRAM. There is no hardware lock to stop someone from inserting more memory than is addressable. The memory controller is aware of the total amount of populated DRAM and addresses above this range are considered invalid -- writes will be dropped and reads will return all 1's.

Download "Motherboard-CDC-I/D2550(v1.0)" the 4.07 MB PDF manual from ecs.
Enter "D2550" on Intel home page. 33 results, some dups.
"Intel Atom Processors" (.../family/29035) all 53 processors. Click on Datasheet: "Link", a section labeled "Specification Updates" will list: "Intel Atom Processor D2000 Series: Specification Update" (26pgs). Page 5 contains links to "Related Documents" #252046 is 84 pgs. #253665 a page to download all of the Software Developer's Manuals as a complete PDF 17.37 MB, as a 3 Volume set, or as a 7 Volume set.

Back on the D2550 page with 33 results: 
"Intel Atom Processor N2000/D2000 Series, NM10 Chipset Diagram" pages with a png image.
"Embedded Intel Atom Processor N2000/D2000, NM10 Express Chipset" section "Product Briefs and Datasheets":
"Embedded Computing Intel Atom Processor N2000/D2000 Platform Brief" 4 pgs
"Intel Atom Processor D2000 and N2000 Series Datasheet, Vol 1:" 122 pgs
"Intel Atom Processor D2000 and N2000 Series Datasheet, Vol 2;" 543 pgs
"Intel NM10 Express Chipset Datasheet:" 671 pgs

Question 3

is this compatible with Linux ?

Accepted Answer

I purchased one of these to run LinuxCNC, which is installed along with Ubuntu LTS.  burned the ISO image onto a flash drive to make it bootable, plugged it into a USB port, booted it up and installed it with no trouble.  It runs nonstop and has been no trouble.  I've tested and use video, ethernet, USB, parallel port, and have a Logitech K400 wireless keyboard with touch pad and a 64 GB SATA solid state flash hard drive.  I love the fact that it uses little power and doesn't need a cooling fan.  Intel makes nice motherboards.

Question 4

I need a DOS machine. Anyone can answer if this is DOS or Windows 98 compatible?

Accepted Answer

You will not have luck running win98 directly on this, as there will be no drivers for you.

Dos, maybe, but you likely won't get networking to function (same reason).

This thing should be powerfull enough, though, to run win98 or dos under linux virtualization, which MIGHT get you by the driver issue.

I would first try running what you want under virtualization on some hardware you already have to see what works before you buy.

Max out the memory if you go the VM route.

Brand	ECS
Model	CDC-I/D2550 v1.0
Combo Type	Motherboard / CPU Combo

CPU	Intel Atom D2500
With Cooler	Yes

Number of Memory Slots	2x204pin SO-DIMM
Memory Standard	DDR3 1066
Maximum Memory Supported	4GB

Audio Chipset	VIA VT1705
Audio Channels	6 Channels

LAN Chipset	Realtek 8105E
LAN Speed	10/100 LAN (optional Gigabit LAN)
Max LAN Speed	100Mbps

ECS CDC-I/D2550 v1.0 Intel Atom D2500 Intel NM10 Mini ITX Motherboard / CPU Combo

Learn more about the ECS (EliteGroup) CDC-I/D2550 v1.0

Customer Reviews of the ECS (EliteGroup) CDC-I/D2550 v1.0

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Warranty, Returns, And Additional Information

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Manufacturer Contact Info

PS/2	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port
COM	1
LPT	1
Video Ports	D-Sub
USB 1.1/2.0	4 x USB 2.0
Audio Ports	3 Ports

Onboard USB	4 x USB 2.0
Other Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX Power Supply connector 1 x 4pin CPU_FAN connectors 1 x 3-pin SYS_FAN connector 1 x Case Open header 1 x S/PDIF out header 1 x Front panel switch/LED header 1 x Front panel audio header 1 x Speaker header 1 x Clear CMOS header 1 x LVDS connector(optional)

Physical Spec
Form Factor	Mini ITX
Dimensions (W x L)	6.7" x 6.7"

Item#: N82E16813135339