Feature request: XMP firmware support - vote here

Framework Laptop 16
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I haven’t been able to find a place where all feature requests are bundled. It would be nice to have a single place for it, including a voting system to show the number of people wanting a new feature.

In the absence of this place (or failure to find it), here is a feature request for XMP firmware support. I have bought memory with XMP speed 6400 MT/s which is falling back to 4800 MT/s (JEDEC) due to the lack of XMP support. I bet there are other users who made this mistake.

Please vote here with a like or +1 to get this on the agenda for the firmware developers.

Related discussions

6 Likes
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Intel locks the speed, it’s not something Framework has control over unless they use whatever Intel now calls the -HX line of processors, which have TDP’s much greater than what the cooling system was designed for.

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XMP is an Intel technology. The SoC is from AMD.

So what you’re requesting isn’t going to happen. It’s not something they "missed’, it was never an option. Hence the warnings in the documentation you linked to.

The third link is disingenuous, as that’s for the FW13 which ships with Intel CPUs.

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XMP can be done on AMD components!

Either way, AMD also has their counterpart for memory overclocking in the form of EXPO, which could be what the OP meant.

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EXPO is for AM5 CPUs, not the mobile ones.

EXPO RAM like XMP, runs at a higher voltage, which is generally a bad idea in a laptop.

1 Like
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If you made that mistake, even though Framework provided the info necessary for you to be able to make the right purchase, why should they have to add a feature to make your bad decision void?

I’m sure they would’ve built in XMP/EXPO support out-of-the-box, if it was a trivial enough thing to do, and imho there are more important things for them to do now anyway. Therefore I’ll vote with a -1

2 Likes
7

Incorrect.

EXPO is supported by AMD on Ryzen 9 mobile CPUs (such as the 7940hs) as well as the HX series CPUs (which are essentially soldered variants of the AM5 Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs that are marketed for laptops).

Here is an expert from AMD’s webpage for the 7940hs:

However AMD does not support it on the 7840hs.

1 Like
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Framework wrote:

We do not currently have XMP memory support on the Framework Laptop.

Source: What DRAM/memory is supported by Framework Laptop 16?

This suggests it might happen in the future. This topic is to ask for this feature to be added, hoping other people will benefit as well from this.

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Are you aware of any laptops in the wild with an HS CPU that’s actually enabling EXPO? :wink:

I note you ignored the voltage issue completely.

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I think XMP is probably a low priority. There are a variety of different makes of RAM that are known to be compatible with the FW16 so that is probably enough.

FW have fixed a lot of far more important issues recently with the latest firmware/bios update.

They still have a few more high priority issues to fix, e.g. problems with sleep and it waking up when it should not. I think those are more important than adding yet another RAM chip option.

If you find out you purchased the wrong RAM chip, just send it back and get the right compatible one.

1 Like
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I am neither a hardware developer, nor a firmware developer. I just have a wish / feature request. If it is not possible, so be it. :slight_smile:

I bet you are right. I am just stating my wish and we as a community can voice our opinion and discuss the suggestions. If there are higher priorities (like your examples) , then I am hoping that FW sets the priorities right and do those first.

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Most data I’ve seen indicates that the average DDR5 module consumes 0.5w of power per module (1w total) at 1.1v in light load (ex. Web browsing). Under heavier load it can increase to 3w per module (6w total).

Which is about 1w for 2 modules.

Power increases with voltage squared. Most EXPO/XMP modules operate at 1.35v, which means about 50% more power draw (1.35²÷1.1²). An additional 50% draw means an additional 0.5w in light load or an additional 3w in heavy load.

In light load my FW16 lasts me about 7.5 hours. That indicates an average power draw of 11.33w. If the average power draw increases by 0.5w then that would be 11.83w, which calculates to 7.18 hours of battery life, which is a reduction of 19 minutes (4.2%).

In heavy load my FW16 lasts me around 1.5 hours (although I often plug it in when under such a load). That indicates an average power draw of 56.67w. if the average power draw increases by 3w then that would be 59.67w, which calculates to 1.42 hours of battery life, which is a reduction of 4.5 minutes (5%).

So in either case the impact to battery life is around 5%, which certainly isn’t nothing, but many people do make much bigger battery life sacrifices for laptop performance.

3 Likes
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I didn’t say you had to show the working out. :rofl:

I’d already done it in my head.

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If you’ve done it in your head, you maybe would’ve realized that adding 5% of battery strain isn’t much of an issue, at least for people who do want/need the ultimate performance out of their Framework 16 with 7940HS (the one that does support EXPO RAM).

1 Like
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It would be nice, if the FW 16 supports XMP or EXPO, especially the iGPU should benefit from faster RAM. But I also see the device as what it is, a mobile device with limited performance. So I’d prefer a longer battery life over the last bit of performance. I have my desktop PC for demanding tasks and games.