what will enabling XMP do?

bobby3720

Reputable
Nov 13, 2015
7
0
4,510
I recently noticed that my DDR3 ram is only running at 666MHz when it supposedly supports 1600MHz. A quick google search of the issue revealed that to get the full speed of 1600MHz i must enable a feature in my BIOS called XMP. However I have a few questions about XMP that I could not find the answers to.

1)will enabling xmp change my cpu settings such as voltage, clock speed, turbo boost speed?
2)will enabling XMP disable any cpu features such as turbo boost or prevent future overclocking?
3)will enabling XMP change any BIOS settings other than those related to the ram?
4)will enabling XMP shorten the life of my ram or other hardware?

The pc specs you will probably need:
motherboard: msi z97-g55
cpu: intel i7-4770k (not overclocked as of yet)
ram: KHX16C9K2/16X (kingston, 2x8GB)

Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
1) no
2) no
3) no
4) normally, no.

All XMP is, are preset profiles that the RAM and M/B exchange with each other to automatically allow the RAM to run at faster (OC) speeds. Once you enable XMP, you should have the faster speeds that the RAM can be auto-OC'ed to made available. The on-die memory controller of the i7-4770K handles 1600 MHz speeds, so no worries there.
Btw, if you are reading 666MHz on something like CPU-Z, keep in mind that is actually running at 666 MHz x 2 thanks to it being Double Data Rate memory. So, it is effectively 1333 MHz.

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
1) no
2) no
3) no
4) normally, no.

All XMP is, are preset profiles that the RAM and M/B exchange with each other to automatically allow the RAM to run at faster (OC) speeds. Once you enable XMP, you should have the faster speeds that the RAM can be auto-OC'ed to made available. The on-die memory controller of the i7-4770K handles 1600 MHz speeds, so no worries there.
Btw, if you are reading 666MHz on something like CPU-Z, keep in mind that is actually running at 666 MHz x 2 thanks to it being Double Data Rate memory. So, it is effectively 1333 MHz.
 
Solution

Tradesman1

Legenda in Aeternum

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