How to overclock DDR5 RAM

EzMode is, well, a lot easier (the clue is in the name, unless you pronounce ‘z’ as zed). Simply:

• Look to the left of the BIOS screen where there is a handy drop-down box labeled ‘XMP’.
• Click on the box where it displays ‘disable and enable XMP’ and select the enable option.
• Done. It’s that simple. You have now enabled XMP and your RAM should be running at its intended speed.

• To open Advanced Mode press the F7 key or select it with your mouse in the bottom right of the screen.
• Select ‘Extreme Tweaker’ from the top line of the options that should now appear across the top of the BIOS screen.

• Scroll down to where ‘Ai Overclock Tuner’ is located.
• Open the drop-down box and click on XMP 1 from the list.
• Congratulations! You have now enabled XMP through the Advanced settings.

• Follow the XMP Advanced Mode steps above but instead of selecting XMP 1, select Manual from the drop-down menu next to Ai Overclock Tuner.

• Scroll down to Memory Controller : DRAM Frequency Ratio and select 1 : 1 from the dropdown menu. This will make sure you can achieve every DRAM Frequency increment.

• Scroll down to DRAM Frequency and try increasing the smallest frequency increment you can. Don’t get too carried away just yet.

• Select Save and Exit from the Exit menu and see if your PC will boot.
• If the computer boots successfully, repeat the process again and see how far you can push the DRAM frequency with your current voltage before your PC won’t boot properly. For a small 100Mhz step you may not need to do this.

If you wish to push your DDR5 RAM further you’ll have to adjust the Voltages and this is no simple process; it’s more of a mix between fine art, and trial and error. There are a few things you need to understand that differ with DDR5 memory compared to overclocking DDR4 RAM:

• DRAM voltage is gone (at least on this ASUS Maximus Hero z690 motherboard anyway).
• DDR5 introduces on-module power management. Each memory stick has its own power management IC (PMIS) responsible for reducing 5v input from the motherboard to the required DIMM voltages.
• All available PMIC regulation parameters are available under ‘Ai Tweaker\Advanced Memory Voltages’ but the two main rails of interest are DRAM VDD and DRAM VDDQ, as these are the only helpful settings for overclocking. The recommended voltage of each is 1.25v so try not to exceed that if you can.
• Each stick of RAM is different and requires different voltages depending on the performance. Some are rated for much higher voltages than others, but as a general rule, we’d never suggest going over 1.5V.
• The recommended voltage baselines for different brands of memory modules are as follows: 1.25v VDD and VDDQ for Hynix, 1.25 VDD 1.35 VDDQ for Micron, 1.35 VDD 1.35 VDD for Samsung.
• Leave all the rest of the settings on auto.

• With the above summary in Step 5 in mind, scroll all the way down to the Advanced Memory Voltages options. Click on it to open a sub-menu with various options.

• Make sure the ‘PMIC Voltages’ setting is set to ‘Sync all PMICs’.

• Change the voltages under the VDD and VDDQ headings to the ones that correspond to the baselines in Step 6 for the manufacturer of your memory.
• Since our module manufacturer is Micron we will be starting at 1.25 VDD and 1.35 VDDQ.
• Click Save and Exit to save the changes.

Now you’ve got the base voltage set, here comes the ‘fun’ part and the real meat of the overclocking process.

• You must repeat Steps 3 – 8 as you see fit: dialing up the DRAM frequency slowly (as in Step 3), booting your computer to test the new settings (as in Step 4), and increasing the voltage by 0.05 on both VDD and VDDQ when you meet any instability (as in Step 8).
• As a good rule of thumb, don’t exceed your RAM’s rated voltage, which is usually 1.5v but could be lower depending on what RAM you have.
• Eventually, you will start to get diminishing returns, and hit a ceiling beyond which you can’t get any more performance out of the overclock. This is obviously when you should stop. There is some degree of trial and error, a dynamic volatile symphony between voltage and clock speed. There is no exact science to overclocking RAM – all we can do is give you the basic methodology and let you experiment.
• A good way to test how stable your overclock is, is to run a stress test once you’ve booted into Windows. This specific kind of test will force your PC to ramp up to the max and will quickly show any issues with stability.
• Et voilà! You now know everything you need to know to go forth and overclock your DDR5 RAM. Enjoy!