A smooth performance requires some lightning-fast RAM as it loads the data temporarily for any program on your PC. Whereas, the manufacturers always put on a memory cap on your RAM that restricts your performance. Whereas, overclocked RAM can do miracles and allows your programs to run faster. On the other hand, most of you may not know how to overclock PC RAM which is a kind of job that needs to be done. Here, I’ll be talking about all the methods that are essential for overclocking the RAM to get your PC or laptop better in performance.
Just for an overview, there are only a few steps that need to be done in your BIOS setting and you’re good with removing the memory cap from your PC RAM. On the other hand, there are questions regarding the topic that whether it is beneficial to overclock the RAM or it has some drawbacks which I have also explained.
Things You Must Know Before Overclocking Your PC RAM
Before hitting the actual process, there are some important things that you need to know as they’ll help you understand things better. RAM overclocking is a little hard as compared to overclocking the CPU and GPU as you have to go through several steps to achieve that. Whereas, the heat created here is equal to zero in comparison to GPU or CPU overclocking which is a plus point for us.
Moreover, you may already know the latest DDR5 RAM generation release which delivers a speed of 2400MHz to 3600MHz and it’s way better than the DDR4 RAMs with 2133MHz to 2400MHz speed. With such speed, your PC will load data into RAM using some protocols which consist of operating frequencies and timings. Both DDR4 and DDR5 RAM sticks are using it to store temporary data and it’s better known as the JEDEC specification.
Apart from that, manufacturers like Intel have made their way through to manipulate this system by using the XMP profile which stands for the eXtreme Memory Profile. This means that intel is offering a way to overclock the RAM for you using the XMP to enhance your PC performance. This is not the best way to approach RAM overclocking but to some extent, it’s a good approach to removing the frequency cap from your RAM. You can follow up with other methods that can further overclock your RAM.
Tools for Overclocking RAM
Before the actual process begins, assessing your RAM’s information is the prior part that you need to go through. Whereas there are many tools out there that help you extract your RAM information but the most useful ones are the three recommended here.
CPU-Z: One of the finest tools that is offered to us here to evaluate our DRAM before going for removing the memory cap is none other than the CPU.Z. To use it, you simply have to go to the Memory tab on the CPU-Z tool where you will have all the details of your RAM. Whereas, when you move over to the SPD tab, there you’ll see the XMP settings that are used by the BIOS.
Memtest86+: The Memtest86+ is mostly used for stress tests on your PC with lots of different options and can be better defined as a testing tool instead of using it for any other purpose.
XMP (eXtreme Memory Profiles): XMP profile is a validation tool and can be used for validating the Overclocking settings. It actually gives permission to the firmware for configuring the voltage and latencies on your DRAM.
Before you go for the overclocking process, take note that if something goes wrong after the system reboots and things don’t work, make sure you revert to the default settings on your BIOS for recovery. However, if in case, your system shows some error during the reboot process or doesn’t reboot at all, clear up the motherboard CMOS which will set the BIOS to default. If you don’t know how to do the CMOS clearing process, you need to check the manual for your motherboard which will have the exact process.
Note: I’ll be using two different methods to overclock the RAM, the first one includes an XMP profile and the second one goes as manual overclocking.
1. Using XMP to Overclock RAM
The XMP method is no secret anymore and it’s widely used by Intel to overclock RAM by using the XMP profile and to get a better understanding of how you should do it, please follow the steps that’ll guide you through the process.
1. Install the CPU-Z on your PC or laptop to start rolling.
2. Open Up the CPU-Z, on the SPD tab, you’ll find DRAM frequencies, Timings, and timing tables, note that first.
3. Give your PC a quick restart and move on to BIOS mode.
4. Depending on your motherboard, select any one of these three options (Extreme Tweaker / AI Tweaker / D.O.C.P.).
5. Select the XMP profile according to your RAM specifications.
6. After you’re done with the changes on your BIOS, give your PC another restart.
7. Stress test your PC in order to deal with the instability on your if there is any. If you see stability, congrats! you have overclocked your RAM.
Note: To Stress tests your PC, I have already mentioned a tool that can get this work done with ease and it’s called the Memtest86+. Regardless, if the overclocking process fails, get back to the default settings on your BIOS.
2. Using Manual Settings to Overclock Your PC RAM
Do you know that boosting the voltage of a RAM has actually a great effect on the performance of the RAM? If not, now you know because here we are going to do exactly what to boost up RAM performance by using the manual settings.
1. The first step includes rebooting your system and switching to the BIOS settings.
2. Opt-in for the AI Tweaker or any other setting on BIOS that can do the job.
3. Hop over to the Manual settings and you’ll many other additional settings.
4. Here you must add an incremental increase in your DRAM voltage by 0.015V. Whereas, you also need to increase the CPU VCCIO and CPU System Agent voltages by 0.05V increments without overdoing things.
5. Have a look at the timings that you noted before during the XMP overclocking process for your DRAM, and make the changes.
6. Restart Your PC.
7. Once the reboot process is done, go straight for stress tests to ensure stability. That’s it.
Note: As mentioned earlier, if things don’t work the way you wanted them to, go to default settings on your BIOS again.
Read more: How to underclock a GPU
Is Overclocking RAM Bad for Your PC?
No, Overclocking your RAM on a PC is not bad at all as compared to CPU and GPU overclocking as there’s no stress on your cooling system because of heat. Whereas, if you do things wrong with the frequencies, it’ll show an error which then can be handled by resetting things up to Default on BIOS.
However, in the case of CPU and GPU overclocking, crossing the speed limit can make your PC noisy plus there’s more burden put on your cooler’s fans as more heat is created.
On the other hand, performing the overclocking for your RAM on a laptop can be a little risky. You must opt-in for the CMOS reset option and only then go for the changes so that you can change the BIOS settings to normal if anything doesn’t go right.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to overclock your PC RAM, I’ll also add some important tips at the end as they might help you. Please don’t attempt to overclock your RAM unless you know that your memory consumption is more. Let’s say you’re a gaming enthusiast, video editor, etc, in this case, it’ll be beneficial.
Moreover, also make sure that you have a spare RAM with you because if the overclocking process doesn’t work somehow, you don’t want to be a sitting duck. right?
I hope this guide helps you and if you have any idea or issue regarding computers that you want us to solve, feel free to contact us and we’ll be offering you a whole new guide on that topic soon.
Also read: How much RAM do I need for coding?
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