{"id":24420,"date":"2023-12-05T17:39:19","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T16:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/g100.us\/?p=24420"},"modified":"2023-12-05T17:39:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T16:39:24","slug":"does-ram-require-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/g100.us\/does-ram-require-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Does PC Memory \/ RAM Require Drivers to work properly?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_39 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66844628cf96c\" class=\"cssicon\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\" \/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66844628cf96c\" class=\"cssiconcheckbox\">1<\/label><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66844628cf96c\" checked><nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 \"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/does-ram-require-drivers\/#A_Brief_on_RAM_and_Drivers\" title=\"A Brief on RAM and Drivers\">A Brief on RAM and Drivers<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/does-ram-require-drivers\/#Does_RAM_Require_Drivers\" title=\"Does RAM Require Drivers?\">Does RAM Require Drivers?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/does-ram-require-drivers\/#RAM_Does_Not_Require_Drivers_Heres_What_To_Look_For_Instead\" title=\"RAM Does Not Require Drivers: Here\u2019s What To Look For Instead\">RAM Does Not Require Drivers: Here\u2019s What To Look For Instead<\/a><ul class=\"ez-toc-list-level-3\"><li class=\"ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/does-ram-require-drivers\/#Update_Your_Motherboards_BIOS\" title=\"Update Your Motherboard\u2019s BIOS\">Update Your Motherboard\u2019s BIOS<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/does-ram-require-drivers\/#Enable_Your_XMP_or_Equivalent_Profile\" title=\"Enable Your XMP (or Equivalent) Profile\">Enable Your XMP (or Equivalent) Profile<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/does-ram-require-drivers\/#Over_to_You\" title=\"Over to You\">Over to You<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>Does RAM require drivers and if so, where can you get them?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Today, I\u2019ll be covering these questions and the most important need-to-know information since you made it all the way here looking for RAM drivers.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s get into it!<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Brief_on_RAM_and_Drivers\"><\/span>A Brief on RAM and Drivers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24432\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2.jpg\" alt=\"RAM vs Pagefile virtual memory usage\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24432 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"RAM vs Pagefile virtual memory usage\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/RAM-vs-Pagefile-virtual-memory-usage-2.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>RAM<\/strong>, or <strong>R<\/strong>andom <strong>A<\/strong>ccess <strong>M<\/strong>emory, is the main form of volatile memory used by your PC, specifically your CPU, to manage all applications currently within memory.<\/p>\n<p>RAM comes in modules (\u201csticks\u201d) and kits that allow you to install it directly into the RAM slots on your motherboard, so long as your motherboard supports the RAM in question.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24433\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver.jpg\" alt=\"What is a Device Driver\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24433 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"What is a Device Driver\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-a-Device-Driver.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Drivers aren\u2019t hardware, necessarily\u2014 they\u2019re <em>software<\/em><\/strong>. More specifically, drivers are a specific form of software that enables a given piece of hardware to interact with an operating system and vice versa.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the components in your system absolutely require drivers, including your mouse and keyboard, your graphics card, and so on.<\/p>\n<p>But what about RAM?<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_RAM_Require_Drivers\"><\/span>Does RAM Require Drivers?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Fortunately, no, RAM does <em>not<\/em> require drivers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean we\u2019re done here. There <em>is<\/em> a software side to things here, just not driver software.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"RAM_Does_Not_Require_Drivers_Heres_What_To_Look_For_Instead\"><\/span>RAM Does Not Require Drivers: Here\u2019s What To Look For Instead<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Update_Your_Motherboards_BIOS\"><\/span>Update Your Motherboard\u2019s BIOS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>If your RAM physically fits and you\u2019re sure it\u2019s within your motherboard\u2019s spec (Here's <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/check-cpu-cooler-compatibility-motherboard-ram-case\/\">how to check compatibility<\/a>), you may find yourself frustrated if it still doesn\u2019t work or can\u2019t reach its rated speeds.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The answer here might be updating your motherboard's BIOS.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With motherboard BIOS updates, you can improve your motherboard\u2019s RAM compatibility, which may well include the RAM you\u2019re trying to get working.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To find the right way to <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/how-to-update-msi-bios\/\">update your motherboard\u2019s BIOS<\/a> (and most likely the files to do it), consult your PC manufacturer\u2019s website and support page for your specific board.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re using a prebuilt PC, this information should still be available, but you\u2019ll need to know what specific prebuilt model you have to find the correct BIOS updates for your machine.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Enable_Your_XMP_or_Equivalent_Profile\"><\/span>Enable Your XMP (or Equivalent) Profile<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>If you aren\u2019t having any overt compatibility issues and you were just looking for your RAM to run the best it can, I\u2019d feel remiss not to mention XMP to you.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" class=\"wp-image-24430\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3.png 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3-1024x540.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3-768x405.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3-1536x810.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" class=\"wp-image-24430 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3.png 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3-300x158.png 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3-1024x540.png 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3-768x405.png 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3-1536x810.png 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/word-image-24420-3.png\"><\/p>\n<p>For other devices (like GPUs), driver software can have a big impact on performance. While XMP isn\u2019t driver software, it similarly has a high-performance impact.<\/p>\n<p><strong>XMP<\/strong>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/xmp-eocp-docp\/\"><strong>X<\/strong>treme <strong>M<\/strong>emory <strong>P<\/strong>rofiles<\/a>, are a feature of nearly every modern RAM kit and motherboard where built-in memory profiles allow the RAM you buy to actually run at its advertised speeds, as long as your motherboard can keep up and you remember to enable XMP to begin with.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On an AMD motherboard, it\u2019ll likely be called EXPO (Extended Profiles For Overclocking), EOCP, or something similar<\/strong>. It won\u2019t be <em>called <\/em>XMP, but it\u2019s the same functionality overall.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Over_to_You\"><\/span>Over to You<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>And that\u2019s all!<\/p>\n<p><strong>I hope this article clarified that RAM does <em>not<\/em>, in fact<em>, <\/em>require drivers.<\/strong> It\u2019s an understandable question to ask, though, especially considering nearly everything else uses drivers. Even your motherboard\u2019s chipset can take driver updates!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you have any other questions about RAM or motherboards?<\/strong> Feel encouraged to ask them in the <a href=\"#comments\">comments<\/a> section below, where myself or another member of the G100 Team will assist you.<\/p>\n<p>You can also hang out on our <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/forum\/\"><strong>Forum<\/strong><\/a> with the rest of our Expert Community if you prefer longer-form discussions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Until then or until next time, happy computing!<\/strong> And remember: RAM doesn\u2019t need driver software, but your motherboard might need a BIOS update.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does RAM require drivers and if so, where can you get them? Today, I\u2019ll be covering these questions and the most important need-to-know information since you made it all the way here looking for RAM drivers. Let\u2019s get into it! A Brief on RAM and Drivers RAM, or Random Access Memory, is the main form...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2339,"featured_media":24431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[74],"tags":[266,120],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24420"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2339"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24420"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24817,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24420\/revisions\/24817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}