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.
