Is DDR5 platform specific?

[Cytix]

First of all, please let me apologize if this is an idiotic question. I never really understood ram MHz and CAS and what it effects.

 

Question: i am upgrading my computer and started looking at ram, and looking on Amazon (for example) i kept seeing this:

 

I'm pretty much replacing everything except GPU and PSU, and i know i want to go AMD, and then i stumbled upon this and it got me really confused.

Can anyone clear this up for me please?

[Poinkachu]

46 minutes ago, Cytix said:

First of all, please let me apologize if this is an idiotic question. I never really understood ram MHz and CAS and what it effects.

 

Question: i am upgrading my computer and started looking at ram, and looking on Amazon (for example) i kept seeing this:

 

I'm pretty much replacing everything except GPU and PSU, and i know i want to go AMD, and then i stumbled upon this and it got me really confused.

Can anyone clear this up for me please?

DDR5 is for the newer gen of motherboard chipset and CPU, which is AMD's Ryzen 7000 series, Intel's Raptor Lake series (13th gen), and Intel's Alder Lake series (12th gen)

There is motherboard with Intel's chipset (for 12th & 13th gen) that can take only DDR4, there is some other that can only take DDR5.

 

As for CAS Latency (CL) : https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cas-latency-ram-cl-timings-glossary-definition,6011.html

 

As for those "intel Optimized" text, pretty sure it's just that the RAM manufacturer mainly optimized it using Intel's platform, doesn't mean it cannot be used for AMD's. When DDR5 was released, Intel's Alder Lake was the only CPU that can utilize it.

 

If you are having trouble with your planned build & would like some help, consider making a post in the "New Builds & Planning" subforum here.

https://linustechtips.com/forum/18-new-builds-and-planning/

[Eigenvektor]

In general RAM is not platform specific. While XMP is an Intel technology, it normally works just fine on AMD boards (AMD has its own technologies called DOCP and EXPO).

 

Essentially all of these are just profiles on the RAM stick that the BIOS can use to auto-overclock the RAM for you by setting various parameters (e.g. clock speed, latency, voltage and so on) to the values the manufacturer has determined as working.

[OhioYJ]

AMD has EXPO. You should find basically identical sticks in two versions now, one in XMP, one in EXPO. Unfortunately many times the EXPO version will be slightly more expensive. The XMP being the "Intel" version, EXPO, being the AMD version. The XMP version should work in either board. Up until EXPO's release always has, as that's all we've had.

[Cytix]

Thank you for all of the info guys!

 

If the XMP versions work exactly the same on AMD, not really sure i understand why there is a need for an XMP and EXPO versions, but i think the most important part for me.

 

I appreciate all of the explanation and links! I'll do a read later. And will open a new build thread as recommended.

[Dedayog]

29 minutes ago, Cytix said:

Thank you for all of the info guys!

 

If the XMP versions work exactly the same on AMD, not really sure i understand why there is a need for an XMP and EXPO versions, but i think the most important part for me.

 

I appreciate all of the explanation and links! I'll do a read later. And will open a new build thread as recommended.

Simple competition.

 

They can't be seen to agree on something or follow another's lead.  They have to have their own version of a thing for perception and marketing purposes.

 

Its how humans work.  

 

Xmp and expo on ram  also should mean it's tested to work on those systems.  The Intel Optimized is a marketing twist to make it sound like this ram is not only tested but tweaked to work better on Intel than amd, which is snake oil and pathetic of Corsair.

 

Coupled with their ridiculous AIO pricing I've lost a lot of respect for Corsair.  I love their headphones but probably won't buy their stuff anymore.

[Middcore]

8 hours ago, Cytix said:

Thank you for all of the info guys!

 

If the XMP versions work exactly the same on AMD, not really sure i understand why there is a need for an XMP and EXPO versions, but i think the most important part for me.

 

I appreciate all of the explanation and links! I'll do a read later. And will open a new build thread as recommended.

The term "XMP" is actually an Intel trademark. So the exact same function will be called something else on AMD motherboards.

 

Intel had boards that used DDR5 out before AMD did so sellers put things like "Intel optimized" in their listing titles so that people who don't really know very much will think "This is the memory that goes with those new Intel boards."

 

When DDR4 was new you sometimes saw things like memory that was supposedly "optimized for Intel Skylake CPU's." It wasn't actually optimized for them in any way, it was just that at that point Intel Skylake were the ONLY consumer CPU's on the market that used DDR4 - everything else was using DDR3, so any DDR4 was "optimized" by default because DDR3 wouldn't work (except for a couple of stupid motherboards that had slots for both standards).

 

[Mark Kaine]

it says "intel xmp" because xmp is an intel invention. doesn't mean it wont work on amd (because it does) 

[Mark Kaine]

14 hours ago, Eigenvektor said:

AMD has its own technologies called DOCP and EXPO).

 

is that so? DOCP isnt an AMD technology at least,  its something ASUS came up with (and is incidentally the only one using this naming scheme) ... i wager it's similar with EXPO ... stupid in both cases, because there are no benefits, just confusion for the customer (see: thread) 

[Middcore]

11 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

is that so? DOCP isnt an AMD technology,  its something ASUS came up with (and is incidentally the only one using this naming scheme) ... i wager it's similar with EXPO ... stupid in both cases, because there are no benefits, just confusion for the customer (see: thread) 

 

I believe that EXPO is the official AMD trademark: https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/expo

 

However, every board manufacturer calls it something different on their AMD boards, I don't recall ever seeing a board that called it EXPO in the BIOS. It appears Gigabyte just says XMP even with their AMD boards.

 

Looking further, it may be that XMP is not trademarked by itself, only "Intel XMP" is. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/extreme-memory-profile-xmp.html

[Dedayog]

Since you mention Gigabyte, I can help since I have one...

 

They do call it EXPO as well as XMP....

[Eigenvektor]

4 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

is that so? DOCP isnt an AMD technology at least,  its something ASUS came up with (and is incidentally the only one using this naming scheme) ... i wager it's similar with EXPO ... stupid in both cases, because there are no benefits, just confusion for the customer (see: thread) 

You're right, DOCP is a name ASUS came up with for their AMD boards. EXPO is officially from AMD.

 

4 hours ago, Middcore said:

Looking further, it may be that XMP is not trademarked by itself, only "Intel XMP" is. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/extreme-memory-profile-xmp.html

While the term XMP itself isn't trademarked, from what I understand the technology needs to be licensed from Intel, while EXPO is royalty free. At the end of the day, both do the same thing, but the profile's are technically different and RAM sticks could have both types of profiles. https://videocardz.com/newz/overclocker-explains-how-ddr5-memory-could-technically-store-intel-xmp-and-amd-expo-overclocking-profiles