The performance benefits of AMD’s new EXPO Ultra Low Latency (ULL) tech are now open to last-gen motherboards based on the X670E chipset, meaning it’s not exclusive to new chipsets. Following efforts to support the new RAM profile on X870E boards, manufacturers are publishing BIOS updates for models featuring the prior-generation chipset.
For those out of the loop, EXPO ULL is an evolution of AMD’s memory overclocking profile tech. Like AMD’s existing EXPO tech, ULL increases your memory’s clock speed from the JEDEC baseline to its rated speed, but it also features advanced latency timing settings. According to the firm, enabling EXPO ULL increases frame rates by up to 4% relative to standard EXPO.
Asus has added EXPO ULL support to several of its X670E motherboards through beta BIOS updates, including the ROG Crosshair X670E Hero. This complements the batch release of X870E updates the company published earlier this week.
Gigabyte and MSI have also joined the fray, with the likes of the MEG X670E Godlike and X670E Aorus Xtreme among others receiving BIOS updates. It’s unclear how quickly, if ever, EXPO ULL support will trickle down to X870 and X670 motherboards, not forgetting B850 and B650 boards, but this should hopefully be a case of when rather than if.
All that said, EXPO ULL doesn’t just require a motherboard update, as the profiles are exclusive to specific, newly-manufactured memory modules. As such, with the RAM crisis in full swing, we can’t imagine uptake of the technology will be particularly high in the wake of its launch.
Even when the market returns to normal, EXPO ULL DIMMs will need to adopt a minimal premium to offer worthwhile value relative to standard EXPO sticks. A 4% performance bump, while welcome, isn’t exactly anything to write home about if the cost is massive. Nevermind the fact that 3D V-Cache processors benefit far less from improvements to memory speed or timings, making the tech less useful on the likes of AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU and others.
We saw some G.Skill AMD EXPO ULL memory in action at Computex, so make sure to check our coverage there for more details.
