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IT Support & Hardware · Intermediate

Memory Speed

The data transfer rate of RAM, expressed in mega-transfers per second (MT/s) or as a PC module rating.

Definition

Memory speed such as DDR5-5600 indicates 5600 MT/s; module ratings like PC5-44800 express peak bandwidth in MB/s. When modules of different speeds are mixed, all run at the speed of the slowest module. Motherboards default to JEDEC speeds unless an XMP/EXPO profile is enabled.

Example

A DDR4-3600 kit running at 2133 MT/s because XMP is disabled in BIOS.

Exam tip

Mixed RAM speeds work but all modules drop to the slowest common speed.

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