Short for
serial presence detect, a category of information that is stored in an
EEPROM chip on a
memory module and communicated to the
BIOS when the computer is
booted. The SPD tells the BIOS the module’s data, such as its size, data width, manufacturer, speed, row and column addresses and voltage. With the information the BIOS can configure the memory controller to maximize performance and to reduce the chances of performance failures.
