AMD EXPO DDR5 memory kits will be supported by Intel's Z690 & B660 motherboards from several manufacturers including MSI.
Intel Z690 & B660 Motherboards Will Feature Support For Both AMD EXPO & XMP DDR5 Memory Kits
One of the premier technology introduced for AMD's upcoming AM5 platform is EXPO or Extended Profiles For Overclocking. The new EXPO profiles allow AM5 motherboards to offer the best & most optimized support for DDR5 memory kits with EXPO certification. But AM5 motherboards also have support for XMP baked within them and it's not just AMD motherboards that get dual DDR5 DRAM support but also Intel.
We have managed to confirm with a few motherboard vendors that just like AMD's 600-series, Intel 600-series motherboards, and the upcoming 700-series lineup will feature support for both EXPO & XMP DDR5 memory profiles. The reason to add dual memory support on Intel motherboards is due to the memory manufacturer's decision of offering DDR5 kits with both EXPO and XMP profiles. The new memory kits will be referred to as EXPO+XMP dual mode DDR5 kits.
Our sources provided us with BIOS screenshots from MSI's MPG Z690 Force WiFi and MAG B660M Mortar WiFi motherboards. The screenshots show that these motherboards readily support Intel's XMP and AMD's EXPO DDR5 memory profiles. Users can load from four profiles (2 per mode) & can enable either memory profile. At launch, EXPO DDR5 memory kits will offer native speeds of up to 5200 Mbps and overclocked speeds of up to 6400 Mbps. These will be improved upon after the launch.
Now you might be wondering what's the need for such support and how it would benefit users. It looks like motherboard vendors such as MSI are trying to make it easier for users to get the best memory regardless of its certification. it may be possible that an EXPO kit provides better value or better specs than an XMP kit and vice versa. In such a case, it would be beneficial to have both XMP and EXPO support. Also, if a user accidentally happens to get an EXPO DDR5 memory kit for an Intel motherboard, he won't have to worry about facing any issues in terms of compatibility.
There's no apparent downside of getting an AMD EXPO certified DDR5 memory kit for an Intel CPU platform however, for AMD users, it is best to go for an EXPO profile since the red team has stated themselves that those offer the best performance and support in the long run. With that said, all AMD AM5 motherboards have support for XMP DDR5 memory kits so besides losing a little bit of performance, you won't face any major issues.
There are going to be lots of EXPO-certified DDR5 kits available later this year and motherboard manufacturers including MSI, ASRock & ASUS have so far confirmed EXPO+XMP Dual mode DDR5 support on their Intel 600 and AMD 600-series line of boards.
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
