If you are a regular visitor of our site, you know that we regularly test DDR5 memory kits. You can find our latest tests by following this link. Today, we are starting a new series of tests but with memory kits that have the mention “EXPO”. It is therefore a kit from Corsair, the Dominator Platinum RGB 6000 MT/s CL30 EXPO that we will test today on the ROG Crosshair X670E Gene.
“EXPO”, but what is that? These are DDR5 memory kits for motherboards built around the X670E and B650E chipset. They have two profiles with a second more optimized profile but is this really the case? We would like to take this opportunity to thank Corsair for giving us the opportunity to review this kit.
So, a little comment about the choice of unit for the memory frequency. For several months, manufacturers and many of our colleagues have not used MHz to talk about the frequency of the memory. Either some use MT/s or Mbps. On our side, we will pass on MT/s at the moment while waiting to see what will become the new standard.
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We take stock of the kits at our disposal:
Since this is an article where we are going to make comparative tests, we thought it would be interesting to review the different kits in our possession. You will be able to know in detail the characteristics of each of them. You can also take a look at the section where our latest memory kit tests are available and find the one that interests you. Of course, as this is our first AMD EXPO kit, this Corsair will be our number one.
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A quick look back at the history of the Dominator:
Nowadays, we don’t need to introduce the Corsair company which has been present on the memory market since 1994 but not only. Indeed, Corsair also has in its catalog cases, power supplies, gaming accessories and cooling systems. Many of the brand’s products have become benchmarks over the years, such as the AX power supplies and Dominator memory modules.
The Dominator series with DHX(Dual-path Heat Xchange) heatsinks first appeared on DDR2 arrays. Since then, Corsair has continued to evolve its heatsink by offering new series as well as ultra-sorted models for overclockers. If you are a loyal fan of the brand, you can’t have forgotten the red and black Dominator GT series. These last years, we had the right to the Dominator Platinum versions until the arrival of these new kits, which now have CAPELLIX leds, in order to answer certainly to a request of the consumers.
Bundle description:
The kit is delivered in a black box whose shape is similar to an octagon. The packaging is similar to the “traditional” DDR5 versions. On the front we find the Corsair logo, the capacity of the kit as well as its frequency, the iCUE logo, the XMP certificate, the new AMD EXPO logo as well as an embossed photo representing an illuminated strip.
On the back, the highlights of this kit which we will return in detail and two cutouts to view the label affixed to the strips.
Once the box is opened, we find our two modules protected independently in transparent plastic boxes. The whole is inserted in a block of foam to ensure optimal protection. The superb packaging proposed by Corsair already announces the color!
Features and cooling:
Our kit is clocked at 6000 MT/s with timings of 30-36-36-76. It requires a voltage of 1.40 volt to operate. It consists of two 16 GB bars for a total of 32 GB. We are here on a new color because if the hoop that traps the LEDs remains black, the heatsinks are them of gray colors. This will make it easy to differentiate them from non-EXPO Corsair kits. It’s a good move from Corsair and aesthetically, it’s really very nice.
The Dual-Path DHX heat-spreaders are made of aluminum and are therefore gray in color. They are responsible for dissipating the heat generated by the ten-layer PCB and the memory chips. Our Dominator Platinum RGB 6000 MT/s CL30 is quite high and you have to make sure that this does not cause any compatibility problems with your cooling system. On the top of the module, there is the arch in which ten small windows are inserted and the name Dominator. The whole will be illuminated by the 12 addressable LEDs.
On one side, there is the brand name, the series name and the inscription “DDR5 DHX”. On the other side, a label shows some of the characteristics of our kit. Finally, regarding the price, we found it at $305 or 391 euros on Amazon and $319 or 374.99 euros on the official website of Corsair.
New CAPELLIX leds :
With its DDR5 modules of the Dominator Platinum RGB series, Corsair uses its addressable leds. As a reminder, addressable means that each led can be controlled independently of the others. If you are a regular reader of my articles, you know that the Christmas tree atmosphere is far from my cup of tea. Fortunately, this is not the case here and Corsair has opted for 12 ultra-bright CAPELLIX LEDs. The objective is to have a brighter and different lighting than what is currently offered on the market.
The advantage of these new LEDs is that their surface is only 0.2 mm³ against 2.8 mm³ usually. The backlight is of course compatible and configurable via the software but of the brand, iCUE.
[nextpage title=”What’s new in DDR5: “]
The arrival of the X670E chipset from AMD coincides with the arrival of its new DDR5 and AMD EXPO compatible memory modules. The main change with DDR5 is the increase in frequency and a higher capacity. Attention, let’s make things clear, it is not possible to use DDR5 modules on a DDR4 motherboard and vice versa. Even though DDR5 also has 288 pins, the notches do not match and this is voluntary in order not to have disasters.
The arrival of the PMIC module :
The great novelty of DDR5 is the presence of a PMIC module(Power Manager Integrated Circuit). Its role is to regulate the power supply of the memory stick. There is therefore one per strip. This one will use the 5 volts of your motherboard and convert it to provide the necessary voltage to your kit. For example, if your kit needs 1.1 volts, each chip will receive 1.1 volts.
Previously, it was the motherboard that was in charge of doing this. In reality, this has an advantage but also a disadvantage. The advantage is that manufacturers no longer have to provide this control on the motherboard PCB. So, a financial gain.
But unfortunately, there are two types of PMIC. One is locked and will only accept the default values of your kit, this is called secure mode. The other type of PMIC is modifiable and will therefore allow you to increase the voltage beyond 2 volts. Fortunately, Asus on its Z690 APEX, has already begun to circumvent the restriction of the secure mode to reach 1.435 volts. We talked about this in detail in the article dedicated to the APEX.
The other issue is the heat release of this chip as well as the additional cost for a DDR5 kit. Personally, we did not notice any additional heat release during our testing. As far as pricing is concerned, it will be higher and it will also depend on availability.
Higher frequencies and lower voltage :
So what’s changing? First of all, manufacturers seem to favor 16 GB strips and therefore dual channel kits in 2 x 16 or 2 x 32 GB whereas we are used to 2 x 8 GB for DDR4. The frequencies are also on the rise with kits that start at 4800 MT/s while the standard seems to be at 3200 MHz in DDR4 and which can currently reach 6600 MT/s. Finally, who says high frequencies says (much) more relaxed timings.
The voltage is also improved since it will be able to decrease to 1.1 volt for DDR5 against 1.2 volt for DDR4. We are talking about a voltage of 1.1 volt for DDR5 kits at 4800 MT/s. The voltage will be higher if the frequency increases as you will see below.
ECC (Error Correcting Code) compatible with DDR5
The DDR5 boards will be able to integrate the ECC(Error Correcting Code). Uh, yes? The idea of this module is to detect possible errors and analyze them before sending them to the CPU. Now, this module won’t be available on all boards since it will increase the price of the kit. As long as we are talking about the price, it should be unfortunately (much) higher.
XMP 2.0 (DDR4) and XMP 3.0 (DDR5), the changes:
We go from XMP 2.0 for DDR4 to XMP 3.0 for DDR5. What changes at first is the possibility for a manufacturer to offer three different XMP for its memory kit. These must be activated in the BIOS. Now, on the AMD X670E and B650E platforms, there are EXPO1 and EXPO2 profiles which we will come back to in detail in the rest of this article.
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The basic features:
You’ll tell me that it’s quite easy since you just have to look at the references announced by the manufacturer. Yes, but this is not enough, especially if you plan to overclock it! Some information is given by the manufacturer, but you’ll have to dig or even remove the heat sinks to find out the others.
On one side of the heatsink, we find the inscription “Dominator Platinum RGB” and on the other, a label with the technical specifications of our copy. This is what we will look at in detail. For example, in the case of our copy of the day, here is the information we know.
- The brand: Corsair
- Model: Dominator Platinum RGB
- Capacity: 2 x 16 GB
- Frequency: 6000 MT/s
- Timings: 30-36-36-76
- Voltage: 1 ,40 volt
- Revision: 5. 43.13
In order to get an idea of the overclocking potential of your kit, this information is insufficient and we will have to go further. Indeed, it is also very important to know the revision of the PCB as well as the model of the chips that equip your memory kit. Depending on this information, the overclocking performance of the kit will be very different.
To find this information, there is currently only one solution, dismantle the heat sinks. The Taiphoon Burner software does not currently support DDR5 kits.
CPU-Z always present:
Fortunately, our trusty CPU-Z software is still there and allows us to check this information, especially on the type of chips that equip our kit. Currently, there are three types of chips: Samsung, Hynix and Micron. Be careful, since from now on on the DDR5 kits, we can have either Hynix M-die or Hynix A-die.
Our kit is perfectly recognized under Windows 10 and the different timings perfectly read. The memory chips that equip our kit are Hynix M-die. They are chips with a very good potential in overclocking.
The PCB of our memory kit:
We will dismantle the heatsinks in order to observe the PCB and identify the chips. Be careful not to accidentally detach the chips from the PCB! The best technique is to heat the heatsink with a hair dryer before gently prying it off and being patient.
As a reminder, the design of DDR5 modules will also be different from DDR4 with the presence of a PMIC (power management integrated circuit) chip on board. The idea is to allow a better management of the power supply and therefore the stability of the system.
Our kit therefore benefits from the Hynix M-die chips, of which there are 8. We are on a kit known as “SR” for single rank, meaning that all the chips are on a single side. On the other hand, we can find “DR” kits for dual rank with chips on both sides of the PCB. The Hynix chips have the reference “HYM0142236” and are 2 GB versions.
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Setup within the BIOS:
It can’t be said enough, but the settings of your memory kit are not automatically set after you install it. If it is the case for your processor, it is not the case for your memory kit and a passage through the BIOS will be mandatory! You will be able to configure it manually, by choosing the right frequency, timings and voltage for your kit. For more ease, we advise you to activate the EXPO 2 mode in “AI Overclock Tuner” in order to set it up automatically.
There is also an EXPO 1 profile but personally we have tested both profiles and they give identical performances.
Without activating the profile, your performance will be impacted in all areas and you will end up with a kit that does not exceed 4800 MHz in CL40. We will therefore activate our EXPO profile directly in the BIOS as shown in the screenshots below with our ROG Crosshair X670E Gene.
The Asus BIOS, whether on the APEX or the Crosshair models, benefit from memory profiles. They are good bases to overclock your memory kit. We will first use them in our overclocking tests. Our kit is now set up in the BIOS and will work with the manufacturer’s specifications.
As you have seen in the above captures, once the EXPO profile is activated, the settings are automatically detected. The frequency goes up to 6000 MT/s, the timings are activated and the voltage goes up to 1.40 volt.
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Of course, this kit will only be tested on an AMD platform since currently only AMD motherboards support EXPO profiles. We should however see these profiles being taken into account in the next BIOS of motherboards with an Intel chipset:
- Motherboard: ROG Crosshair X670E Gene (BIOS 0805)
- Processor: Ryzen 9 7950X
- Memory : 32 GB Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000 MT/s CL32 EXPO
- Graphics Card: MSI GT 710
- Cooling system : Optimus Foundation + 480 mm EK radiator
- SSD : Western Digital SN850 NVMe SSD M.2
- Power supply : be quiet! Dark Power PRO 12 1500w
- Operating system : Windows 10 64 bits
For our tests, since this is the first kit we are going to test with AMD EXPO technology, we have added the performance of the Corsair Vengeance 5600 MT/s CL36 memory kit. But don’t worry, more AMD EXPO kit tests are coming in the next few days.
Please note! All DDR5 kits that are not AMD EXPO compatible and whose frequency is lower than 6000 MT/s should be compatible without any problem, but from 6000 MT/s onwards, opt for AMD EXPO. Our Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6600 MT/s CL32 kit is not recognized and it is impossible to activate the DOCP. In fact, it is quite complicated to be stable beyond 6400 MT/s on the new AMD chipset.
Aida 64 :
It is a software able to provide you with a lot of information about your configuration but it has the particularity to have a memory benchmark. It will calculate the speed of reading, writing, copying and the latency of your memory kit. It is very often used to compare memory kits between them. It is an excellent tool if you want to compare the performance of your memory kit with those we have already had the opportunity to test.
The version used for testing is the latest beta version and we are just starting to test this type of memory kits, so it will take time for our graphs to grow. Please note that we do not recommend the purchase of a non-EXPO kit with a frequency higher than 6000 MT/s as it may not be compatible.
The performance of this first test seems perfectly logical to us, even if at the same frequency and on an Intel platform, the performance will be better. Our Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000 MT/s CL30 kit gets a score of 79468 MB/s.
In writing, same observation but here our sample of the day reaches a speed of 79378 MB/s.
The findings are identical in copy with again a first place for our Dominator Platinum RGB with a throughput of 69853 MB/s.
Finally, the latency. It is on this value that all eyes are riveted because the DDR5 is a little behind. Here we get 61.9 ns for our Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000 MT/s CL30. As a reminder, AMD announced a latency lower than about 63 nanoseconds which is perfectly the case here.
Geekbench 3.4.4 :
It is a benchmark available in several revisions, version 5 having just been released a few weeks ago. It allows you to obtain two scores: one in single and the other in multi. Using this benchmark, we will focus on the performance obtained on the ” Memory Multi-Core ” score which allows to differentiate the memory performance.
The version used for the tests is 3.4.4.
For the Geekbench 3 benchmark, despite the fact that in single core the frequency of our Ryzen 9 7950X is 5.8 GHz, there is a difference in score between the different memory kits. Our kit of the day takes the first place with 9055 points.
In multi core, the gap between our kits is less important since it is 863 points.
As soon as we isolate the memory score, real differences are visible between our two kits. Our kit of the day gets a score of 11346 points! Not always easy to compare with two kits, but as we said in the introduction, two kits are coming in the next few days and AMD EXPO compatible.
Geekbench 5.2.5 :
We decided to add this extra benchmark but why? The CPU benchmark uses new tests that more closely simulate the tasks that processors face in recent applications. Geekbench 5 also increases the memory used in the benchmark to better reflect the impact of this parameter in the CPU results. For now, we will keep both since version 3 is still widely used.
While in Geekbench 3 we had a difference in single core, here in version 5 the performance is pretty much the same and it’s still our kit of the day that takes the top spot with a total of 2349 points.
Finally, the last score of our benchmark series with a total of 24469 points for our sample. So, don’t stop this article here because overclocking is full of surprises!
[nextpage title=”Overclocking on our X670E Gene: “]
Choosing your DDR5 kit based on memory chips :
As it was already the case for DDR4, if you want to clock your memory, some brands will have a better potential. Currently, the EXPO kits announced by the various brands are only equipped with Hynix M-die chips. These chips have a good overclocking potential on Intel platforms. Attention, since a few weeks, there are also Hynix A-die chips which allow to go up in frequency more easily but no EXPO kit currently has them.
DDR5 EXPO “key” voltages:
This is really different from what happens with Intel. Here, four voltages seem to impact overclocking. The two main ones are the DRAM VVD Voltage and the DRAM VVDQ Voltage . During our overclocking tests, we also became aware that two other voltages could have an impact, these are VDDP and VDDIO.
We are just discovering overclocking on the AMD platform and it is quite different from what we have on an Intel platform. We’ll talk about it again in the overclocking section.
Step 1: A little theory to get you started
Well, let’s start with a theoretical reminder since there are some changes with the arrival of the ZEN 4 architecture as far as memory is concerned. While for the Ryzen 5000, the standard was to keep a 1:1:1 ratio between mclk:uclk:fclk, this will change with the Ryzen 7000. Indeed, they adopt the DDR5 memory. This one sees its frequency increasing, which implies changes in these ratios. AMD now recommends for AM5 motherboards in DDR5 a 1:1 ratio for the mclk:uclk and to finally leave the fclk in AUTO which will automatically set it to 2000 MHz. Theoretically, this is how it will behave:
- DDR5-4800 will give with the new 2400:2400:2000 MHz ratios (mclk:uclk:fclk)
- DDR5-5200 will give with the new ratios 2600:2600:2000 MHz (mclk:uclk:fclk)
- DDR5-6000 will give with the new ratios 3000:3000:2000 MHz (mclk:uclk:fclk)
Well, it may seem a bit complicated like that, but we’ll explain it all to you. First of all, don’t panic, if you activate your DOCP or EXPO profile in the BIOS, everything will be set up automatically. The explanations we give you here are for those who want to overclock their memory kit.
STEP 2: fclk, uclk and mclk
The fclk is the frequency of the Infiny Fabric which can be, since the previous generation, controlled independently via the BIOS parameters. By default, this value is set to AUTO mode and it is the motherboard that will manage its frequency to ensure the stability of the system. Its maximum frequency is around 2100/2200 MHz but it also depends on the quality of your processor, but that’s the lottery that will decide. The mclk also sometimes called “memclk” is the frequency of your memory kit and the uclk is the frequency of the memory controller.
You should also know that if you exceed the frequency of 6000 MT/s with your memory kit, automatically the frequency of the memory controller (uclk) should switch to a ratio of 1:2 always in order to ensure the stability of the system. AMD indicates that the best performing frequency and ratios are 3000:3000:2000 (mclk:uclk:fclk). This is the reason why all DDR5 EXPO kits are 6000 MT/s.
We tested our DDR5 kits with a frequency higher than 6400 MT/s and none of them agreed to work.
Step 3: overclocking via profiles in the GENE BIOS
The ROG Crosshair X670E motherboard has three memory overclocking profiles compatible with Hynix kits in 2 x 16 GB. To do this, go to the BIOS in the “Extreme Tweaker” section and choose “Memory Presets”. There you will find a whole series of memory profiles.
We’re going to test each of these profiles to see the impact they have on the performance obtained with our original kit and you’ll see that it’s well worth overclocking!
Step 4: 6200, 6400 and maybe more?
To load the profiles, nothing could be easier, just click on them and validate. Be careful though, if the timings and the voltage are set automatically, you will have to modify manually the frequency of the kit. For the first profile, we had to change the frequency in the BIOS from 6000 to 6200 MHz.
The profile 6200 1.4 volt and 6400 1.4 volt pass without problem. On the other hand, impossible to boot with the 6400 1.5 volt profile. The card refuses to boot if the VDD or VDDQ voltage is higher than 1.435 volt. Below, the three profiles so that you can judge the differences. The profiles tighten the subtimings very strongly which should bring a real gain in our benchmarks.
Here is a table that shows the different scores we got at these different frequencies under AIDA64 and Geekbench 3.4.4 comparing to the stock frequencies. We also added a new profile based on the 6400 MT/s profile where we went from CL32 to CL30 for the tCL.
The overclocking potential of this kit is good and thanks to the profiles, the performance gain is very interesting. We are surprised that manufacturers do not opt for tighter subtimings. Here are the captures of our two best scores under AIDA64 and Geekbench 3.4.4.
We continue our exploration of overclocking on this type of kit with the goal of breaking the 100000 MB/s mark in reading.
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Corsair offers us with this Dominator Platinum RGB 6000 MT/s CL30 kit a very interesting kit for the new AMD platforms based on the X670 and B650 chipsets.
Priced at $305 or 391 euros on Amazon and $319 or 374.99 euros on the official website of Corsair., it is more expensive than the competition but we are here on a kit with a perfect finish and especially a design not yet exploited by Corsair with its gray heatsinks. The performances out of the box and with the EXPO profile are good and surely the best in view of the more relaxed timings of the competition. The potential of our sample is revealed when the subtimings are tightened, especially thanks to the profiles available on our ROG Crosshair X670E Gene. Let’s also note that our kit seems locked since it refuses to accept voltages higher than 1.435 volts.
DDR5 performance is starting to improve on our X670E platform and hopefully Corsair will see an even more optimized kit with a frequency above 6000 MT/s released soon. Now some of the work is in the hands of AMD and it’s hard to see high frequency kits coming out with the limitations of the platform especially because of the ratio imposed by mclk, uclk and fclk.
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000 MT/s CL30:
We liked:
- The look of the heatsinks with that gray color for the heatsinks
- The quality of finish of the memory modules
- The quality of the RGB backlight, surely the most beautiful of all our kits
- The second best performing DDR5 kit we’ve had in our hands!
- The good overclocking potential of the Hynix M-die chips and the BIOS of our Crosshair
- Lifetime warranty
- The performance with the EXPO 2 profile
We would have liked:
- A higher price than the competition at the same frequency
- A voltage limited to 1.435 volts
Corsair offers with this Dominator Platinum RGB 6000 MT/s CL30 a very nice looking kit. As we have already said several times, this Dominator Platinum RGB series is certainly the most beautiful on the market. The performance of the EXPO profile is within the standards for this frequency and these timings. Two small downsides to note, a higher price than the competition at the same frequency and a voltage blocked at 1.435 volts.
Thanks to Corsair for making this sample available.