After you bought the flashy and beautiful DDR4 memory, did you install them directly on your computer and start using it? Do you know that without additional settings, the memory will not perform as it could?

How to set it up? The straightforward way is to enter the BIOS settings and enable relevant configurations. After knowing how to identify memory and how to install from the first two guides, let’s take a look at how to unleash the real performance inside the memory on the MSI Motherboard.

To enter the BIOS setting screen of the motherboard, you must press Delete[del] or F2 on the keyboard as the "MSI Logo" appears when the computer is turned on. If the player feels that the screen is fleeting and it is too late to operate, you can also choose Before the screen appears, keep pressing until you enter the screen.

Take MSI's B560 series motherboard as an example, the screen after entering the BIOS will be as shown above.

After entering the screen, if the player is using Intel Chipset, usually the motherboard will provide two methods - "Automatic" and "manual settings", the former is called "XMP (Intel Extreme Memory Profile)". Enabling XMP is quite simple. For MSI’s B560 motherboard, BIOS interface is quite intuitive, just click "XMP Profile"on the upper left of the screen with the mouse or keyboard on the default “EZ Mode” page. The motherboard will then automatically read and apply the configurations saved in the memory. Then press to “exit and save the settings” to complete (the hotkey of MSI motherboard is F10), pretty simple.

Intel Chipset motherboard users only need to enable XMP settings (yellow rectangle) to apply the pre-recorded settings provided by the manufacturer.

If it is AMD Chipset, MSI motherboard also provides A-XMP (yellow rectangle), allowing players with AMD processors to enable the predetermined settings originally saved in the memory with one click.

As for manual, more steps are required. Users can switch to Advance Mode in BIOS if they want to challenge. And then find "DRAM Frequency", "DRAM Voltage" and "Advance DRAM Configuration" under OC tab for detailed adjustment.

Furthermore, if you are not familiar with each memory parameter, you can use "Memory Try It!" function provided by the MSI motherboard exclusively. This function recommends overclocking parameters for common memory modules on the market. For those who are not satisfied with XMP presets profile, but also are worried about damaging PC parts due to improper manual settings, “Memory Try It !” is a nice starting point to give a try. It’s easier to release more power with this function.

Memory Try It! (in the red rectangle) is a simple overclocking tool provided by MSI motherboard. A variety of overclocking parameters have been saved in advance for user challenge memory overclocking at lower risk.

In DRAM Frequency, players can adjust the clock of the memory. If you want to start overclocking, it is recommended to have the memory run at the frequency shown in the product description (claimed by memory manufacturer), because this is a value that has been officially verified to work stably. Once the PC is confirmed to work properly, you can then add the frequency up bit by bit.

After entering Advance Mode, players can find “DRAM Frequency” on the OC page.

Clicking DRAM Frequency, and select the clock speed of the memory.

DRAM Voltage adjusts the voltage supplied to the memory. You only need to enter the numbers. Please note that although the higher the voltage, the memory can perform a higher clock (theoretically), the probability of memory damage is also greater at a higher voltage. It is recommended to set the voltage below 1.5V, and at the same time, do not rush to make a large adjustment.

For the DRAM Voltage, directly input the value with keyboard.

The settings of Advance DRAM Configuration are more detailed, it’s used to adjust the "CL Value" (Timings) of the memory, which is the “latency” period. Users can check the product packaging or official website introduction of the memory product. Usually there is a row of numbers written in 3 or 4 groups and separated by truncated numbers, such as 18-22-22-48. This group of values is the CL of the product.

If the user is not doing overclocking, he/she only needs to input the CL value of the product in the order of tCL, tRCD, tRP, tRAS. If there is no numbers shown on product packaging, simply keep it as “Auto”.

The adjustment of CL Value is under “Advance DRAM Configuration.”

The level of CL value will affect the user experience of the system, and need more attention.

As for friends who want to overclock, it is recommended not to adjust the CL value until the end, since the CL value will affect the fluency of the system. The higher the CL value, the longer the read/write delay time of the memory. It will cause response lag, causing the bad experience even though the frequency is high, so you need to be more careful when adjusting.

If you want the memory to run at a higher frequency, you need to press Delete [del] or F2 to enter the BIOS screen of the motherboard.

If you only want to meet the claimed frequency advised by the memory manufacturer, Intel Chipset users can enable the XMP settings with one click; while AMD Chipset may have A-XMP function built in. For users who want to experience overclocking, try it in the Advance Mode first and use the frequency suggested by “Memory Try It !”. After familiarizing with the various parameters, adjust the DRAM Frequency, DRAM Voltage, Advance DRAM Configuration and other details. Whether you want to overclock or not, we recommend using the official default value first. Make further adjustments when the PC is confirmed to operate properly.

One last reminder, the challenge of overclocking should be adequate. Aggressive parameters may cause damage to the memory or even the PC system. Users should be careful when operating! We wish you a good results in the OC competition.