1: The compatibility is more dependent of the motherboard model 2:Performance DRAM such as our Vengeance and Platinum series can be found at rated speeds of up to 4333MHz. However, you might notice that when you first install your RAM and boot to your system’s BIOS, the RAM is running at its standard speed (2133MHz/2400MHz in the case of DDR4 memory). Why does memory initially run at this slower speed?

DDR4 memory running at its stock 2133MHz speed (shown as 1066.7MHz in CPU-Z). To answer this question, we must consider the many different combinations of motherboards, processors, and memory that could be possible. A set of memory can be installed on numerous different processor/motherboard combinations, only some of which could actually handle the onboard changes needed for the memory modules to run at their rated speed. To avoid a bad combination resulting in an unbootable system, memory is set to run at a standard speed out of the box, which would put the modules within spec and work universally with all motherboards that support that type of memory.

Intel XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) is a predefined high performance profile that’s been tested to work with that particular module or set of modules. To enable XMP, you must install your high-performance memory on a motherboard that supports XMP in some form (usually an Intel Z or X-series chipset) and enable XMP within your motherboard’s overclocking utility.