What's new in DDR5:
The Z690 chipset release coincides with the release of the new DDR5 memory. It promises greater bandwidth thanks to higher frequency, increased capacity and lower power consumption. But be sure to keep in mind that it is not possible to use DDR5 modules on a DDR4 motherboard and vice versa. As you’ll see below, the dimm slots are different and this design change is there for a reason, which is to avoid any disaster.
The arrival of the PMIC module:
The great novelty found on DDR5 memory is the presence of a PMIC (Power Manager Integrated Circuit) module. Its purpose is to regulate the power supplied to the memory stick. Therefore, we can find a PMIC on every single strip. It will supply itself through 5 volts rail of your motherboard and convert it to provide the required voltage for the kit to run. For example, if your kit needs 1.1 volts, each chip will receive 1.1 volts.
Previously, the motherboard was responsible for this. In reality this has pros and cons. The pros are that manufacturers no longer have to provide this control through the motherboard PCB. This means manufacturers can reduce the cost of motherboards.
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 can be tuned and will therefore allow the voltage to be increased as high as 2 volts, and even more. Fortunately, Asus on its Z690 APEX, has already started to bypass the secure mode restriction and managed to reach 1.435 volts. We cover this topic more thoroughly in our article about the APEX.
The other question is the heat released by this chip, and the additional cost for a DDR5 kit. As far as we are concerned, we did not notice any additional heat release during our tests. Regarding pricing, it will definitively be more expensive to buy DDR5, and we hope DDR5 remains widely available.
Higher frequencies and lower voltage :
So what’s changing in regards to frequency and power ? Firstly, manufacturers seem to favour 16 GB arrays and therefore dual channel kits in 2 x 16 or 2 x 32 GB when we have been used to 2 x 8 GB with DDR4. The frequencies are also on the rise with kits that start at 4800 MHz, up to 7000 MHz with G-skill. On a side note, the most common with DDR4 is 3200 MHz. Finally, high frequencies mean (much) more relaxed timings.
The voltage is improved as it can be reduced to 1.1 volts for DDR5 compared to 1.2 volts for DDR4. We are talking about a voltage of 1.1 volts for DDR5 kits at 4800 MHz. The voltage will be higher if the frequency increases as you will see below.
ECC (Error Correcting Code) compatible with DDR5
DDR5 arrays will be able to integrate ECC (Error Correcting Code). Uh, what did you say ? The idea of this module is to detect possible errors and analyse them before sending them to the CPU. Now, this module won’t be available on all DDR5 memory as this will increase the price. While we’re on the subject of price, they will unfortunately be (much) higher.
XMP 2.0 (DDR4) and XMP 3.0 (DDR5) changes:
With DDR5, we are moving from XMP 2.0 which are DDR4 profiles, to XMP 3.0. What this mean is the possibility for a manufacturer to provide three different XMP profiles for its memory kit. These profiles must be enabled in the motherboard’s BIOS.
The other big development is the ability to setup your own XMP. To put it simply, you can fine tune your own timings and voltages, and then write these settings in the memory to make your own XMP profile. Once you “save” the profile into your memory, you will can then choose this XMP profile in the BIOS, the same way you choose one of the manufacturers’ one. This is of course a feature that we will cover in detail in our upcoming DDR5 kit comparisons and benchmarks.
DDR5 kits in our lab :
Before we could begin our tests, we received several 32 GB kits. We will briefly present these kits we will test them individually in our memory kits comparisons. “Rendez-vous” in a few weeks to discover and learn more about them.
GSKill Trident Z5 5600 MT/s 36-36-36-76 at 1.20 volts :
The first kit which arrived in the lab is a GSKill Trident Z5 clocked at 5600 MHz with 36-36-36-76 timings, rated at 1.20 volts. Our sample is a 2×16 GB memory sticks, for a total of 32 GB. This kit is black and has no RGB. We are dealing here with full black design.
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 5200 MT/s 38-40-40-78 at 1.25 volt :
The second kit is a model which we have already tested in its DDR4 version. It is the Dominator Platinum RGB kit clocked at 5200 MHz with timings of 38-38-38-84, rated at 1.25 volts. Our sample is a 2×16 GB memory sticks, for a total of 32 GB. Aesthetically, it looks like the DDR4 version. This is the kit we will use for the comparative tests.
Kingston Fury 5200 MT/s 40-40-40 at 1.25 volt :
Last kit to arrive in the lab. We were able to get our hands on these one thanks to MSI. It is also a 32 GB kit, in a 2×16 GB memory sticks. The kit is clocked at 5200 MHz with 40-40-40 timings.
