Well, here’s a brand we haven’t had a chance to review yet, and which we’re going to discover at the same time as you. We’ve just received a copy of the Lexar ARES RGB 6400 MT/s CL32 DDR5 memory kit in the lab. After a bit of research, we realized that this was the best offer in terms of price for 6400 MT/s CL32. It remains to be seen whether performance will follow.
Many thanks to Lexar France for making this sample available.
Don’t hesitate to ask us any questions you may have about the settings, either in comments or on our social networks. You can also join our community on the discord.
An update on the kits available to us:
As this is an article in which we’re going to be doing comparative tests, we thought it would be a good idea to review the various kits we have. You’ll be able to find out more about the features of each one. You can also take a look at the section where our latest memory kit tests are available and find the one that interests you.
So, a quick comment on the choice of unit for memory frequency. For several months now, manufacturers and many of our colleagues have no longer been using MHz to refer to memory frequency. Instead, some use MT/s or Mbps. For our part, we’re going to use MT/s for the time being, while we wait to see what the new standard will be.
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Lexar ARES RGB packaging:
The Lexar kit comes in a cardboard box with a photo of the two memory sticks with RGB backlighting on the front. There’s no cut-out to show the memory sticks, so you’ll have to wait until you open the box to discover them. Once the box has been opened, we find our two modules perfectly protected in a transparent plastic shell, which enables the modules to be protected during transport.
The Lexar ARES RGB kit is available in either black or white. Our sample of the day is the black version and features RGB backlighting.
Features and cooling :
Our kit is clocked at 6400 MT/s with timings of 32-38-38-76, requiring a voltage of 1.40 volts to operate. It is composed of two 16 GB modules for a total of 32 GB. The heat sinks are full black , but bear in mind that a white version is also available.
Both sides feature the series name, the brand and the memory type, in this case DDR5. A label lists some of our kit’s specifications. In terms of price, this kit is currently available for 123 euros from Amazon. The RGB backlight can be seen at the top.
To conclude this presentation, the kit is XMP 3.0(Extreme Memory Profile) compatible. So don’t forget to activate the profile directly via our motherboard’s BIOS, but more on that later in the article.
[nextpage title=”How to identify your memory kit: “]
Basic features:
You’re going to tell me that this is easy enough, since all you have to do is look at the references advertised by the manufacturer. Yes, but that’s not enough, especially if you’re planning to overclock it! Some information is given by the manufacturer, but you’ll have to dig around or even remove the heat sinks to find out the rest.
One side of the heatsink reads “Dominator Titanium DDR5”, while the other has a label with the technical specifications of our model. This is what we’re going to look at in detail. For example, in the case of today’s model, here’s the information we know.
- Brand: Lexar
- Model: ARES RGB
- Capacity: 2 x 16 GB
- Frequency: 6400 MT/s
- Timings: 32-38-38-76
- Voltage: 1.40 volts
- Review: –
In order to get an idea of the overclocking potential of your kit, this information is insufficient and you’ll need to go further. It’s also very important to know the revision of the PCB and the model of the chips used in your memory kit. Depending on this information, the kit’s overclocking performance will be very different.
To find this information, there’s currently only one solution: remove the heat sinks. The Taiphoon Burner software does not currently support DDR5 kits. Nor is there any indication that this will be the case in the coming weeks.
CPU-Z always present :
Fortunately, our trusty CPU-Z software is still with us, enabling us to verify this information, particularly with regard to the type of chips used in our kits. At present, there are three types of chip: Samsung, Hynix and Micron.
Our kit is perfectly recognized under Windows 10, and the different timings are perfectly readable. The memory chips used in our kit are Hynix. These are the chips with the best overclocking potential. CPU-Z confirms this information via the “SPD” tab. But that’s not all, as there are two types of Hynix chips: M-die and A-die. The latter are even better at overclocking. So we’ll have to dismantle the heatsinks.
Our memory kit PCB:
We’re going to dismantle the heatsinks so we can observe the PCB and identify the chips. Be careful not to accidentally detach any chips from the PCB! The best technique is to heat the heatsink with a hair-dryer, then gently pry it open and be patient. As a reminder, the design of DDR5 modules is different from that of DDR4, with the presence of an on-board PMIC (power management integrated circuit) chip. The idea is to enable better power management and therefore system stability.
Our kit therefore benefits from 8 Hynix A-die chips, in what we call an “SR” kit for single rank, i.e. all the chips are on a single side. On the other hand, there are “DR” kits for dual rank , with chips on both sides of the PCB. The Hynix chips carry the reference “H5CG48AGBD 321V” and are 2 GB versions.
[nextpage title=”The importance of the XMP profile: “]
BIOS settings:
We can’t stress this enough, but your memory kit ‘s parameters are not automatically set after you’ve installed it. If this is the case for your processor, it’s not so for your memory kit, and you’ll have to go through the BIOS! That’s what we had to do with our Z690 APEX to get the BIOS to load the XMP profile.
You can then configure it manually, choosing the right frequency, timings and voltage for your kit. For ease of use, we advise you to enable XMP (Intel) or DOCP (AMD) mode in ” AI Overclock Tuner “, so as to set it up automatically.
Without this, your performance will be impacted in all areas, and you’ll end up with a kit that doesn’t exceed the CL40 frequency of 4800 MHz. Performance will then be extremely limited. So let’s activate our XMP profile directly in the BIOS.
ASUS BIOS, whether on the APEX or Crosshair models, benefit from memory profiles. They are a good basis for overclocking your memory kit. We’ll start by using them in our overclocking tests. Our kit is now set up in the BIOS and will work with the manufacturer’s specifications.
As you can see from the screenshots above, once the XMP profile has been activated, the settings are automatically detected. The frequency is set to 6400 MT/s, timings 32-38-38-76 are activated and the voltage is increased to 1.40 volts.
[nextpage title=”Intel configuration test: “]
Of course, this kit will only be tested on an Intel platform, as our comparisons have been based on this configuration from the outset. This kit is intended for the Intel platform only. Lexar does not currently offer memory kits supporting AMD’s EXPO profile.
- Motherboard: ROG Maximus Z690 APEX edition 2022 and Z790 APEX for OC
- Processor: Intel i9-12900K Alder Lake and i9-13900KS Rocket Lake for OC
- Memory : 32 GB Lexar ARES RGB 6400 MT/s CL36
- Graphics card: MSI GT 710
- SSD: Western Digital SN850 NVMe SSD M.2
- Power supply: be quiet! Dark Power PRO 12 1500w
- Operating system: Windows 10 64-bit (Z790)
Aida 64 :
This is a software program capable of providing you with a wealth of information about your configuration, but above all it has the special feature of a memory benchmark. This calculates the read, write and copy speeds, as well as the latency, of your memory kit. It is often used to compare memory kits. It’s an excellent tool if you want to compare the performance of your memory kit with those we’ve already tested.
The version used for testing is 6.92.6603 beta, and we’ve taken the performance of previously tested kits.
The performance of this first test seems totally logical to us, with performance close to what we’ve obtained with our other 6400 MT/s CL32 kits. Throughput averages 102,128 MB/s. So, as usual on an Intel platform, you’ll need to prioritize frequency and tight timings to get the best performance.
The same applies to write speeds, which are in line with the average for kits of this frequency, i.e. 88,230 MB/s. The logic of the graph remains identical to the previous one. The Corsair Dominator Platinum 4800 MT/s CL19 in DDR4 achieved 67,251 MB/s. Once again, we note a logical progression between the different frequencies.
The findings are identical in copy, with once again a consistent position within our graph. The Corsair Dominator Platinum 4800 MT/s CL19 in DDR4 achieved a copy speed of 57330 MB/s. As you can see, it’s in reading and copying that DDR5 takes a clear lead over DDR4. Note also the difference between a DDR5 kit at 4800 MT/s (69,419 MB/s) and one at 7400 MT/s (99,993 MT/s). If we hadn’t activated our XMP profile in the BIOS, our kit, sold as a 7200 MT/s model, would really have been clocked at 4800 MT/s.
Finally, latency. This is the value on which all eyes are focused, as DDR5 lags a little behind. Our best DDR4 kit in this respect was the G.SKill Trident Z Royal Elite 4000 MT/S CL14, which achieved 41.4 ns. You’ll notice that the higher the DDR5 frequency, the narrower the gap. Note that a 3200 MT/S CL16 DDR4 kit has a latency of 50.3 ns. Here, it’s 58.1 ns for our Corsair Dominator Titanium 7200 MT/s CL34.
Geekbench 3.4.4:
This benchmark is available in several revisions, version 5 having just been released a few weeks ago. It provides two scores: one single and one multi. Using this benchmark, we’re going to focus on the performance obtained on the ” Memory Multi-Core ” score, which differentiates memory performance.
The version used for testing is 3.4.4.
For the Geekbench 3 benchmark, despite the single-core frequency of our i9-12900K being 5.2 GHz, we note a difference in score between the different memory kits. Once again, the logic of frequencies and timings is respected.
In multi-core, the difference between our kits is smaller. Still for information, in DDR4, our best score was 48,800. Of course, we have to take DDR5 into account, as well as the performance provided by the Alder Lake CPU.
As soon as we isolate the memory score, real differences are visible between kits. Our kit of the day scores 11,072 points! We’ll be keeping a close eye on this score when we start overclocking. It’s a good indicator of the gains made by overclocking.
In DDR4, our best kit scored just 7,748 points. Once again, DDR5 combined with the Alder Lake processor offers a huge advantage.
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 facing processors in the face of the latest applications. Geekbench 5 also increases the memory used in the benchmark to better reflect the impact of this parameter on CPU results. For the time being, we’ll be keeping both, since version 3 is still widely used.
Whereas in Geekbench 3, we had a difference in single core, here in version 5, performance is pretty much identical and our kit of the day scores 2,008 points.
Finally, the last score in our benchmark series with a total of 19,425 points for our Lexar ARES RGB 6400 MT/s CL32 kit. Still to give you a benchmark score in DDR4, our best score was 11,179 points.
Geekbench 6:
We recently received a key for Geekbench version 6. Just enough time to run all our kits through the benchmark again, and we’ll soon be bringing you the performance results obtained with this new software. Our test platform will also be evolving over the coming weeks, with the arrival of new motherboards at the editorial office.
[nextpage title=”Overclocking our Z790 APEX: “]
Choosing your DDR5 kit based on memory chips:
As was already the case with DDR4, if you want to clock your memory, certain brands will benefit from better potential. At present, the kits announced by the various brands benefit from either Micron, Hynix or Samsung chips. The latter two brands will be the most interesting. As you can see, our Corsair Dominator Titanium 7200 MT/s CL34 kit is equipped with Hynix chips. But beware, there are Hynix M-die chips, the first to arrive, but above all today there are Hynix A-die chips, which allow you to increase frequency more easily.
It’s hard to generalize, especially with the arrival of 2 x 24 GB kits, but in most cases, kits between 6,000 and 6,400 MT/s are Hynix M-die, and from 6,600 MT/s upwards, they’re almost all Hynix A-die. As you’ll have gathered, our kit is a model with A-die chips, which we hope will give us good overclocking performance.
Key DDR5 voltages:
For memory overclocking, there are 5 key voltages. These are the voltages that will have an impact on overclocking and therefore on frequency rise or timing tightness. These are the CPU System Agent Voltage (SA), the DRAM VVD Voltage, the DRAM VVDQ Voltage, the Memory Controller Voltage and the IVR Transmitter VVDQ Voltage. Here’s where to find these voltages in the BIOS of our ROG Maximus Z690/Z790 APEX.
Please note that, depending on the type of memory chip (Micron, Hynix and Samsung), the balance between these different voltages is different. Don’t panic, we’ll come back to this in detail in our guide to overclocking Alder Lake and DDR5. If your PMIC module is not locked, by activating ” High DRAM Voltage Mode “, you’ll have access to voltages down to 2 volts. Now it’s time to overclock this Corsair DDR5.
Step 1: change processor and motherboard
What’s the point? Quite simply because the IMC(Integrated Memory Controller) on my 13900KS is much better than the one on my 12900K. Now integrated into the processor, the IMC enables faster, more direct RAM management than when memory controllers were on the motherboard. As with overclocking, there is a “lottery” and some processors benefit from a better IMC, enabling them to support higher memory frequencies. Since overclocking is all about increasing frequency, we might as well go for the best CPU at this game.
We’re also going to run another performance test with XMP profiles at 6400 MT/s and our i9-13900KS on this APEX Z790, so as to have a basis of comparison for our overclocking results. Here, we’ll test the potential of overclocking only on the AIDA64 memory benchmark and Geekbench 3.
Step 2: baseline scores on the APEX Z790 with the 13900KS
Let’s start with a benchmark score. This is very important, as it will enable us to judge the gain of our various modifications. When you need to fine-tune your overclocking, don’t modify several subtimings at the same time, as you may not know which one is the problem if your configuration isn’t stable.
Now that we’ve got two reference scores, we can start overclocking! You’ve probably already noticed that the scores are much better with the APEX Z790 combo and the i9-13900KS.
Step 2: profiles available in BIOS 0804
Head for BIOS 0084 of our APEX Z790 to see which profiles might be of interest to us. There are two of them, one at 7600 MT/s CL36 and the other at 8800 MT/s CL36. While the first seems fairly accessible, the 8800 MT/s profile seems complicated. That’s what we’re going to find out.
We load the BIOS and don’t forget to change the memory frequency, which doesn’t happen automatically. Let’s go for an AIDA64 and our traditional Geekbench3. Just as we’d imagined, there are no worries about stability, and performance is on the up! The good news about this profile is that it also requires a voltage of 1.40 volts.
As you can see, the gains are enormous, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of this performance boost thanks to the profile of our Z790 APEX, but also, and above all, thanks to the Hynix A-die chips that equip our Lexar ARES RGB 6400 MT/s CL32 memory kit.
And the 8800 MT/s profile? Well, just as we thought, impossible to boot. Even at 8600 MT/s, it’s not stable, so we opted for 8400 MT/s, lowering the Memory Controller voltage from 1.55 volts to 1.50 volts for stability.
Here again, the gain is very significant, as you’d expect. As for voltages, they are also 1.61 volts for the VDD and 1.59 volts for the VDDQ. These are higher voltages that can be used for benchmarks. For H24, we recommend not exceeding 1.50 volts. I think the performance speaks for itself, and we can’t help but be fully satisfied with the performance obtained with this Lexar ARES RGB 6400 MT/s CL32 kit, which, let’s not forget, is available for 123 euros!
[nextpage title=”The final word: “]
As we said in the introduction, this is the first memory kit we’ve reviewed from the Lexar brand, and the least we can say is that it hits the nail on the head! Basic” performance is perfectly in line with what we’ve come to expect from a 6400 MT/s CL32 DD5 kit. But it has Hynix A-die memory chips, the best on the market today if you want to overclock your kit, and above all, according to our research, it’s the cheapest kit on the market in 32 GB 6400 MT/s CL32. So why hesitate if you’re on a tight budget, since it’s available for around 120 euros!
Aesthetically, the kit is very pleasing too, and features high-quality RGB backlighting. A white version is also available to match your PC’s other components.
Lexar ARES RGB 6400 MT/s CL32 :
We liked:
- Current best price for 6400 MT/s CL32
- The presence of Hynix A-die chips
- High-quality heatsink finish
- RGB backlighting
- Availability in black or white
- Lifetime warranty
We wish :
- We’re still looking…
This is a faultless DDR5 ARES RGB 6400 MT/s CL32 memory kit from Lexar. For a first discovery of the brand, we couldn’t have imagined anything better. With the most affordable price currently available for 6400 MT/s CL32, it would be a real shame to miss out, knowing that it’s equipped with the best memory chips currently available, the Hynix A-die.
We’d like to thank Lexar for providing us with a copy of this Lexar ARES RGB kit, and have only one thing to say: when can we expect the next one?