newb question- why does some ram need an XMP profile to operate at its correct mhz ?

Surfer · 23 Jun 2015 at 09:59

Why is some ram detected out of the box as say 1600 mhz and yet other ram (which is also 1600 mhz) is detected as 1333mhz so you need to do a xmp profile to get it to operate it its correct speed (ie the speed it is advertised as)

baffling to a newb like meself :confused:

Surfer · 23 Jun 2015 at 10:49

using an xmp profile to get the ram to run at a certain speed is basically overclocking the ram right...

hrmm bit annoyed with myself then.

stuie · 23 Jun 2015 at 11:28

effectively yes

the ram is rated with an out the box speed be that 1333 or 1600 manufactures overclock these sticks to improve speed and use xmp profiles to do so. What speed you memory shows up as out the box is whatever speed it was set as at stock.

its no different with processors. Say a 4670k and a 4770k they run at slightly different out the box speeds but run an auto overclocking feature found on most boards at it will probably set them to the same speed silicone and oc lottery being the same

Surfer · 23 Jun 2015 at 19:15

i had 8 gig of kingston hyperxgenesis 1600mhz ram (isnt really 1600mhz but nevermind even though its advertised as 1600mhz) that has to be on an XMP profile to run at that speed (otherwise it runs at 1333mhz) On increased voltage as well.

Added an extra 8 gig of teamgroup elite 1600 mhz ram which does seem actually to be 1600mhz ram out of the box.

see pic. (the other two slots are identical to their respective make thats why i didnt post them)

I have 16 gig ram but probably running slower now because the ram is different no?

Reason im posting this thread is due to instability that using XMP can cause e.g. black screens (which i have had)