A DDR5 kit's box may say 6000 MT/s, but the PC will not use that speed until you turn the profile on in the BIOS. Until then, the modules run at their default SPD speed, which for many kits is 4800 MT/s. The switch is called XMP on Intel platforms and EXPO on AMD platforms. Some boards label a kit from the "other" camp as DOCP or A-XMP.
Forge PC has not walked these menus on every motherboard, and BIOS layouts vary. The steps below come from G.SKILL's official "How to Enable XMP/EXPO" guide and from ASUS's official FAQ on setting XMP, EXPO or DOCP, last updated 10 September 2026. Use your motherboard manual if a menu name differs.
Enabling a memory profile is overclocking. G.SKILL says as much in its preamble, and the kit, CPU and board all have to be up to it. If the system becomes unstable, you will need to clear the CMOS and try again, or stay at the default SPD speed.
If you have never entered the BIOS, read our guide to updating the BIOS safely first, and confirm you need the rated speed at all with our how much RAM and DDR5 vs DDR4 guides.
Before you start
Install the kit as a matched set in the slots the motherboard manual recommends. G.SKILL and ASUS both warn against mixing kits. Two modules usually go in the slots the manual marks for a 2x kit, often the second and fourth.
Update the motherboard BIOS if the vendor's support page has a memory-related fix for your CPU. G.SKILL lists a current BIOS as a first check when a profile fails.
Know whether your kit is XMP, EXPO, or both. The product page and the label on the sticks should say. ASUS's FAQ shows how to confirm this in its SPD information tool: a kit will be listed as supporting XMP, EXPO, or both.
On ASUS Intel 600-series and newer boards, an XMP kit appears as XMP and an EXPO kit as DOCP. On ASUS AM5 boards, an EXPO kit appears as EXPO and an XMP kit as DOCP. Other brands use their own names; G.SKILL documents A-XMP on some MSI boards.
Turn the profile on
G.SKILL's generic sequence is: enter the BIOS, enable the profile, then save and reset.
Power the PC on and press Delete repeatedly (or F2 on some boards and laptops) until the BIOS appears. If Windows loads, shut down and try again. Your manual will name the exact key.
Switch to Advanced Mode if you land in a simplified EZ or Easy mode. ASUS documents this as a key press from EZ Mode; G.SKILL says F1 often opens a help screen that lists the shortcut, which is commonly F7, but it varies.
Open the memory-profile option for your brand. G.SKILL's reference locations are:
ASUS: Ai Tweaker or Extreme Tweaker > Ai Overclock Tuner
MSI: OC > Extreme Memory Profile (XMP), EXPO or A-XMP
Gigabyte: Tweaker > Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.) or XMP/EXPO
ASRock: OC Tweaker > Load XMP Setting, or DRAM Profile Setting
Select the profile. On an ASUS Intel board, ASUS says to set Ai Overclock Tuner to XMP I for an XMP kit, or to DOCP for an EXPO kit. On an ASUS AM5 board, set it to EXPO I for an EXPO kit, or to DOCP for an XMP kit. Leave "XMP Tweaked" alone unless you have read ASUS's warning: it is a more aggressive profile, not guaranteed to be stable, and not supported on every board or kit.
Press F10, save, and let the PC reboot.
If the settings page looks nothing like this, follow the motherboard manual rather than forcing a menu name from another brand.
Check that it worked
After Windows starts, G.SKILL recommends CPU-Z. On the Memory tab, DRAM Frequency shows half the DDR transfer rate, so you multiply it by two. A correctly applied DDR5-6000 profile should show 3000MHz in that field.
ASUS also documents a check in Windows: Task Manager > Performance > Memory, which shows the memory speed. You can also read the speed in the BIOS EZ mode memory information, on boards that display it.
If the speed is still the SPD default (often 4800 MT/s on a DDR5 kit), the profile did not apply. Go back into the BIOS and confirm the setting was saved.
If the PC will not boot
G.SKILL's recovery advice is to reset the BIOS, then troubleshoot:
Clear CMOS. The easiest method it lists is to power off, unplug the power cord, remove the motherboard's coin cell for about 60 seconds, refit it, and power on. Some boards have a Clear CMOS button on the rear panel, or CLRTC jumper pins; use the manual for those. ASUS points at its own Clear CMOS FAQ for the same idea.
Confirm the kit boots at the default SPD speed after the reset. If it does not, reseat the modules in the recommended slots, or test one module at a time as ASUS's slot table describes.
Run a memory diagnostic at default speed if you suspect a faulty kit.
Check the vendor's QVL (qualified vendor list) for that board and kit. Compatibility is not guaranteed just because the socket matches.
Avoid mixing modules from different kits.
A failed XMP or EXPO profile is usually recoverable with a CMOS clear. It is still a good reason not to enable an aggressive "tweaked" profile on a PC you cannot afford to debug.
Our verdict
Enter the BIOS, load the XMP or EXPO profile that matches your kit and platform, save with F10, and confirm the speed in CPU-Z or Task Manager. Treat the profile as an overclock, use the slots and QVL your board vendor recommends, and clear the CMOS if the PC does not boot. We have not tested every BIOS; the steps come from G.SKILL's and ASUS's official guides.
