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DDR Speed versus SPD Speed - Last Modified 2011-10-21 17:38 UTC - Created 2011-10-21 17:38 UTC

So I got some new DDR3 1600 ram. When I hooked it in my BIOS came up with the speed of 1333 instead. Turns out in AUTO mode the BIOS uses the SPD Speed (a chip that provides the BIOS with the RAM info).

So I had to manually set my timings and RAM speed in the BIOS to get the full performance from it.

Why? Turns out they do this on purpose to reduce the chance of compatibility issues when you first install into your motherboard. See this forum for some details.

So SPD Speed = compatibility speed for auto detection. A little annoying since I can't just let the auto settings in the BIOS handle it, but oh well.