Change XMP profile or whatever for 1866mhz ram? GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 motherboard

scwbrian

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Dec 19, 2014
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I have g.skill 1866mhz ram, I can't seem to find out where to change it cause it's being detected at 1600mhz.
The motherboard obviously supports it but I don't know where to change it.
GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 motherboard

Also, how do I reset the motherboard back to stock settings if I tweak with something or is that called optimized defaults?
 
You restore it to stock settings by loading optimized defaults ... lemmeo go check a gigabyte manual .... brb

<F5>Restore the previous BIOS settings for the current submenus
<F7>Load the Optimized BIOS default settings for the current submenus
<F10>Save all the changes and exit the BIOS Setup program

This is on page 45 of the Z97-SOC Manual

Extreme Memory Profile

(X.M.P.) Allows the BIOS to read the SPD data on XMP memory module(s) to enhance memory performance when enabled.

Disabled - Disables this function. (Default)

Profile1 - Uses Profile 1 settings.

Profile2 - Uses Profile 2 settings
 


No. There are 4 choices indicated in bold.... to enable the XMP profile, you pick the one that says XMP

(X.M.P.) Allows the BIOS to read the SPD data on XMP memory module(s) to enhance memory performance when enabled.

Disabled - Disables this function. (Default)

Profile1 - Uses Profile 1 settings.... this will be a JEDEC profile

Profile2 - Uses Profile 2 settings.... this will be a JEDEC profile



 
I have never bothered to set it manually in recent years. When you set XMP, in addition to speed, it changes the timings to their appropriate settings, adjusting just the speed manually does not do this.

For example, your package should also list the timings (at least some of them), but CPUz will tell you the rest.

In addition, at least according to Asus when I asked, the MoBo may make some voltage and other changes to support that speed, which again, setting just the speed manually would not.
 
If you changed the speed and not the timings or the voltages, I'd expect stability problems.

I didn't design the MoBo so i couldn't answer that question of what it might or might not do. In the old days, I had instances where XMP didn't work and I typed the correct speed, timings and voltages manually ... that is all of them or none at all. When I asked Asus during a Haswell build where I was concerned about how high I could go with voltage, I asked about using XMP or setting speed and timings manually, the response was that "there's more to it than that" and since XMP has worked just grand, I had no reason to try anything else.

The way I look at it is, the manufacturer knows a lot more about the board's functionality than I do. If they say "If you are going to run RAM at its XMP speed, then set the profile to XMP in the BIOS", than that is exactly what I would do. I can't imagine why I would pursue any alternative other than the manufacturer's recommendations.

As it hasn't been said that the board doesn't offer one, may I ask what your objection is to using the XMP profile ?
 
I don't know how many ways I can give the same answer differently.

1. The manufacturer has provided instructions

2. You have elected not to follow them for a reason not explained.

3. I am not in a position to answer you what the effect might be. Today's motherboards have numerous interactions and when you make adjustments it can also make related adjustments behind the scenes.

4. Again, in past generations I made the adjustments manually. But I never did what you did and adjusted the speed and not the timings or voltages. That is contrary to the MoBo manufacturer's recommendations and the RAM supplier's and I can't understand why you did one and not the others.

5. I was unsure, given all the adjustments made "behind the scenes" w/ modern motherboards w/ on CPU IMCs if it made any difference doing XMP versus manual settings. So w/ a Z87 Asus build and 2400 RAM, I asked my motherboard manufacturer if there was any impact in setting the speed, timings and voltages manually. They recommended that I use the XMP function "for best results". It was also indicated that if I wanted to make manual adjustments to voltage, speed and timings after setting XMP to get a bit more out of the RAM via overclocking, I could certainly do so. Was he right ? I have no idea. That was good enough for me as I had no reason to act contrary to what the manufacturer said was the proper approach for the board they designed.

6. If you want someone's blessing for using your board in a manner contrary to the manufacturer's instructions, then you should consult w/ said manufacturer because I am not in a position to define the impact might be. I looked at a Gigabyte build here and setting XMP was a 1 click process so that's what we did in this build. If you call the MoBo manufacturer, they might say that the Asus guy was full of soup, and that there are no behind the scenes interactions going on on his board. But, he will not tell you that you can set the RAM to XMP speed w/o also changing the timings (and likely the voltage).
 
Profile 1 is a JEDEC profile not an XMP Profile.

Untitled2-1.jpg


So a user enabled profile # 1 and then changed speed and not timings..... he would not be compliant with the either profile.