Memory overclocking is commonplace in the world of PC building and customization. Most modern PC building guides will tell you to "enable your memory's XMP profile" in your computer's BIOS mode before an initial boot-up to get better performance. However, XMP is an Intel technology, and it's one technology to which there used to be no first-party alternative on the AMD side of the pond. That has changed, though, with AMD EXPO.

What Is Memory Overclocking?

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Let's say you just bought a kit of DDR4-3200 RAM for your blazing new gaming PC. You install it, and you fire it up. Except, oddly, you find that your RAM is running at 2133 MHz rather than the advertised 3200 MHz. This isn't an error, and no, you didn't get scammed. Instead, this is where memory overclocking comes in.

Memory overclocking allows you to push the envelope and make your RAM run faster than the standard speed. Your RAM is rated to a specific speed by its manufacturer, though, and it won't run at that speed by default—you need to use a memory overclocking technology such as Intel's XMP to get there. While this is still the manufacturer-intended speed, it's still technically overclocking.

To enable XMP profiles or memory overclocking profiles, you'll need to go to your computer's BIOS menu and look for the XMP settings. Enable a preset, save your changes, and reboot. Currently, on your AMD system, you should find them as DOCP/EOCP, and from Ryzen 7000 onwards, it will be called "EXPO."

What Is AMD EXPO?

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Now that we've explained briefly what memory overclocking is, let's see what AMD is bringing to the table here.

EXPO, short for "EXtended Profiles for Overclocking" (also formerly known as AMD RAMP, or Ryzen Accelerated Memory Profiles), is AMD's answer to Intel's XMP technology and the company's take on memory overclocking. AMD has used the technology since the launch of the Ryzen 7000 series in 2022, and it's supported by a variety of DDR5 memory kits from different manufacturers, including G.Skill, Corsair, Kingston, and Adata.

But wait a minute. If XMP is an Intel-only technology, and EXPO is only for DDR5 memory on Ryzen 7000 CPUs, what am I using in my older AMD PC to overclock my DDR4 memory then? Simple—you're using a third-party overclocking tech.

You might have seen the names DOCP and/or EOCP floating around in your BIOS. DOCP is made by Asus and stands for Direct Overclock Profile, while EOCP is made by Gigabyte and stands for Extended Overclock Profiles. They both serve the same purpose, so it shouldn't matter much which one is supported by your motherboard.

EXPO is the first time AMD has taken memory overclocking into its own hands. As for the differences between Intel XMP and AMD EXPO, there are no functional differences—in fact, many DDR5 kits support both technologies, and they will co-exist.

However, that's not to say there are no differences. XMP is a closed-source standard, which means manufacturers who want to support it need to license it from Intel. By contrast, AMD EXPO is open source like other AMD technologies, meaning whoever wants to use it can do so. In fact, it's technically possible for Intel platforms to support AMD EXPO because of this. That's, really, the only big difference that exists between XMP and EXPO. Both technologies allow for overclocking your memory, and both will reach the same clock speeds.

Having this in mind, however, if you're building an AMD PC, ensure that the RAM you're buying is AMD EXPO-compatible. While it's an open standard, it's also a relatively new one, whereas XMP has been around for years.

AMD EXPO: An Important Development (That'll Probably Go Largely Unnoticed)

While this is ultimately good news for potential Ryzen 7000 buyers, it likely won't be a ground-breaking development. After all, while XMP is Intel-exclusive, AMD users have already been enjoying memory overclocking over both DOCP and EOCP. This is just AMD changing things up with its own tech.

It also remains to be seen how things will fare in terms of compatibility and whether existing RAM kits will be compatible with EXPO out-of-the-box.