What is XMP?

[Orago]

Hello. I am looking to upgrade the RAM in my desktop. My PC's owner manual says that the motherboard, an Intel X58, can support DDR3 SDRAM in the 1033 and 1333 Mhz varieties, but it says that it also supports 1600 Mhz DDR3 "XMP".

I've had PCs that I've upgraded the RAM in before, but I am unfamilar with what XMP is. It appears to stand for Extreme Memory Profiling, an Intel technology.

My question is, can my motherboard use any DDR3 1600 Mhz RAM stick, or is Intel XMP some sort of proprietary technology for Intel motherboards, and I have to buy RAM specifically labeled as XMP if I want to use 1600 Mhz RAM?

 

[Pinhedd]

All XMP does is allow your BIOS to automatically configure the overclocked DRAM voltage and timing information instead of forcing you to do it manually. It does not guarantee stability

You can use XMP RAM in non-XMP motherboards and you can use non-XMP RAM in XMP motherboards. In both cases you will simply have to set the timings and voltage manually if you decide to go outside of the recommended specifications.

 

[Orago]

Thanks. That solves my question and makes shopping for RAM a lot easier.

 

[Pinhedd]

you're welcome

 

[nikorr]

Best answer selected by Nikorr.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr