Hi @Wobaffet ,
Good question, sorry for my later reply.
DCD is used to configure the SDRAM during the boot, then in your app code, you can use the SDRAM directly, eg, some code or data need to copy to the SDRAM remap address, then your app can use it directly, you don't need to use the app code to init the SDRAM like your first post.
So, if your SDRAM is make sure working, then you can add the related configuration to the DCD area, the your app can use the SDRAM address as the RAM area directly.
For the DCD configuration, you can refer to the RT1170 RM, chapter 10.7.2 Device Configuration Data (DCD).
About the demo code, you can refer to the SDK any demo code, the DCD.c is used to configure the EVK on board SDRAM.
BTW, if you use the above code to configure the SDRAM in the app, it's also OK.
Wish it helps you!
Best Regards,
Kerry