[SOLVED] Do I need to update my bios/how do i turn on xmp?

[maruk0]

I recently received my pc from NZXT. I am currently running on an MSI b555-a pro, amd ryzen 7 5800x, with an rtx 3090. I'm sort of new to all of this and I have heard that turning on your xmp will help performance. I have read that you do not necessarily need to update your bios unless the update has something you need. Also, will turning on xmp be necessary if my rig is already a beefer?

 

[Newtonius]

Yes turning on XMP is necessary for best peformance even if your computer is a ahem 'beefer'.

You just need to enter your BIOS upon bootup, smash F2 button as your computer is booting up and navigate to your RAM settings, there you should be able to find your profile settings for your RAM to enable profile overclocking, it can be labeled as XMP, DOCP, EOCP, they all basically do the same thing. However given that you said this was sent to you by NZXT, they probably already set the XMP profile on your RAM, you can double check this by opening up task manager (right click the task bar on the bottom of your screen) > go to performance tab > click memory > and in the bottom right there should be a label that says "speed" If the MHz matches with what you paid for on NZXT then you're already set.

 

[avg9956]

I have read that you do not necessarily need to update your bios unless the update has something you need.

Absolutely true.

If you need Resizable bar feature and your motherboard/GPU supports it, then a BIOS update is needed.
If you need to use a newer CPU (upgrade) and is not supported with the current version of your BIOS, then a BIOS update is needed.

But understand the consequence that comes with it if you fail the BIOS update for any reason.

XMP is usually made available in all BIOS versions of modern motherboards nowadays, there is no need for a BIOS update for it.