What Is AMD EXPO? Everything We Know So Far

AMD EXPO is set to become the answer to Intel's XMP technology, and we're absolutely here for that.

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's currently no first-party alternative on the AMD side of the pond.

Now, that's set to change as AMD is working on its very own memory OC technology, which it will likely dub "AMD EXPO." But what's it all about? Will EXPO really change things for the better in AMD systems?

What Is Memory Overclocking?

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 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 should be called "EXPO."

What Is AMD EXPO?

Now that we've given a quick explanation of what memory overclocking is, let's see what AMD might bring to the table here.

EXPO, short for EXtended Profiles for Overclocking (also known as AMD RAMP, or Ryzen Accelerated Memory Profiles), is AMD's answer to Intel's XMP technology. Not a lot is known yet about it, as AMD didn't talk about it during its 2022 Computex keynote, but as per a slide during MSI's conference, we know that AMD will use it in its new Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 chips—and also that it's allowing for support for DDR5-6000 CL30 and DDR5-6400 CL32 memory on X670 motherboards, so we know things are about to get pretty fast, pretty quickly.

But wait a minute. If EXPO is launching soon, and XMP is an Intel-only technology, why am I using in my current AMD PC to overclock my 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 would be the first time AMD takes matters into its own hands regarding memory overclocking. We're yet to see how it'll compare to Intel's XMP solution, though, and we likely won't see that until the new Ryzen 7000 chips are released in late 2022.

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.

Still, this is one of many improvements coming with the new Zen 4 chips, and it makes us excited about what looks like one of AMD's biggest generational leaps, if not the biggest.