There is a notice on the Memory FAQ for the FW16 that states “We recommend avoiding XMP DDR5” the thing that is confusing is that they are selling DDR5-5600 Memory by default with the laptop. My understanding is that to reach these speeds XMP is a requirement. Is my understanding incorrect?
If so, does anyone have any recommendations for Memory recommendations that hit this 5600 speed without XMP?
Thanks so much!
Given that XMP is Intel instead of AMD with regards to memory tuning, yeah it’s gonna cause some issues. I’m not fully up to date on AMD’s implementation of that system (nor can I remember which name they’ve swapped to for it this time) but my understanding with DDR5 is that you should be able to reach those speeds without overclocking, or at least the overclocking headroom is being considered when handling the actual speed of the RAM modules.
I think the bigger thing is avoiding XMP specific RAM, as that will cause problems with how AMD does their memory training and allocation, which would make the system super unstable.
Hey Josh,
Yeah totally understood there! That makes a ton of sense, I am more curious how FrameWork managed to achieve 5600 without it. I am not aware of any AMD EXPO SODIMM that achieves 5600, at least my searches couldn’t find one.
Some of my research came across this in particular: Question - Which DDR5 RAM modules are the fastest by default (no XMP)? | Tom's Hardware Forum
It seems understood that without XMP the maximum speed is 4800.
Your understanding is incorrect.
The DDR5 specification allows ram modules to have a default speed of up to DDR5-8800 without XMP. Of course no DDR5-8800 doesn’t yet exist and processors don’t yet support that fast, but it’s possible.
I can’t answer the point about AMD memory training having problems with XMP-supporting RAM, but as to the speed question, there are some modules out there that (at least claim to) support 5600 apart by default (sans XMP/EXPO): F5-5600S4040A32GX2-RS - Specification - G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd.
@Kyle_Reis Wow I’ve never seen anything even remotely close that for SODIMM, I still can’t find anything faster then 5600 for laptops. Would love to see whatever you have there so I can check it out myself! I appreciate your help understanding this!
@Pete_E Appreciate the link! This one states EXPO is used so this is likely what is going on! I couldn’t find much on EXPO but if this is more stable I will likely go with this particular module thank you for your help here!
@Maxwell_D The important thing there IMO is that it’s 5600 at SPD speeds, without needing an XMP/EXPO profile activated at all. That’s why I grabbed it for my AMD FW13 preorder, so it should work at 5600 regardless of whether the AMD FW13 ends up properly supporting EXPO (which seems like an open question rn based on other forum threads… someone correct me if I’m wrong there, though).
@Pete_E Oooh dang That’s a great call out, I appreciate that! I didn’t even notice that on the Spec sheet! This is actually EXACTLY what I was looking for! My hero!
I don’t think much faster than 5600 currently exists, however the DDR5 spec allows for much faster even without XMP.
Here is a 537 page document from Micron (a major manufacturer of DDR5 chips) that among other things contains a list of default speed bins (combinations of frequency and timings) allowed by the DDR5 spec. Up to 8800 MT/s speed bins exist.
Also, many modules (particularly above 4800 MT/s) will support XMP even if the XMP profile is the exact same as the default speed of the module. This is so that if you use it in a slightly older CPU that doesn’t support high default speeds (the FW16’s CPUs support a default speed of 5600) the user can enable XMP to bypass the limit that the CPU places on the default speed of the memory. The default speed is the main thing to look at.
Also note that Framework has partnered with another company to make their own branded memory modules for the ones they sell on the store. This also means they are personally testing that their modules will work with their mainboards. The reason they say they “recommend avoiding XMP” is that some modules may work and some may not, so they can only verify what they’ve tested (i.e. what they sell you from their marketplace)
Neither the 7640U nor the 7840U have any XMP or EXPO support.
The JEDEC-compliant DDR5-5600 memory module is available for purchase.
Below is Micron’s official document :
Your understanding is incorrect.
I grabbed this memory to for my FW16 pre-order. I just hope it works because I doubt the laptop will arrive before the return policy expires. Otherwise I just made a losing gamble. So in other words, I’m in the exact same boat as you, but for the 16. 
