KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
Lexar's ARES RGB DDR5 memory range is aimed at gamers and PC enthusiasts with speeds ranging from 5600MT/s up to 7200MT/s. It has an aluminium heat spreader to help keep it cool under load and comes with RGB lighting built in.
Lexar's ARES RGB product line consists (at the time of writing) of just one kit size, 32GB and five speeds; 7200MT/s, 6800MT/s, 6400MTs, 6000MT/s and 5600MT/s.
Lexar kindly sent us an ARES DDR5-6400 kit to review. It uses a pair of single-rank 16GB DIMMs (using SK hynix A-die ICs), XMP 3.0 / EXPO rated at 6400MHz at 32-38-38-76 at 1.40v.
Thermaltake backs the memory with a lifetime warranty.
Specification
Model Number: LD5EU016G-R6400GDWA.
Capacity: 32GB (2 x 16GB).
Memory IC: SK hynix A-die (H5CG48AGBDX018).
Rated Frequency: 6400MT/s.
Rated Timings: 32-38-38-76.
Voltage: 1.40V.
Module Height: 43.3mm.
XMP/EXPO: XMP3.0 & EXPO.
The front of the box has a clear image of what the memory modules look like, including how the RGB works. At the top right of the box is a line of icons representing the various motherboard RGB software packages the memory supports; Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome RGB. Under the image and to the right is a sticker displaying the kit size, memory speed and XMP/EXPO support.
The rear of the box is mostly covered by multilingual marketing notes but under these is a small useful specification table.
The ARES RGB modules are 43.3mm high and have, in the case of our review sample, White finished aluminium heatsinks (Black is also an option). The memory uses eight 2GB SK hynix A-Die ICs (H5CG48AGBDX018) and also on the PCB is a power management IC (PMIC) from GMT (Global Mixed-mode Technology),
The top of the module is home to the RGB lighting. Under the light bar, there are eight addressable LEDs per module.
The memory runs at DDR5-5600 with timings of 46-45-45-90-135 1.40V natively with single Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO profiles supporting DDR5-6400 with 32-38-38-76-114 timings at 1.40V.
Lexar's RGB Sync lighting control software looks after the ARES lighting schemes. The software has fourteen lighting effects and a wide colour palette to create your desired effect. In some of the effects, each zone can be assigned a different colour. Even better, the modules can be set up in sync or act as individual units with each module having its own light scheme, so you can set up some pretty funky effects.
If you want the modules to blend into an existing scheme then Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome RGB are all supported.
We will be testing the memory kit performance with an Intel Core i7-14700K CPU, MSI MPG Z790 Carbon WiFi motherboard and a GeForce RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC graphics card. The processor is maintained at its stock frequency. XMP was enabled for testing,
Test System
Processor: Core i7-14700K (20 cores/ 28 threads)
CPU Cooler: MSI MAG CORELIQUID E360
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z790 Carbon WiFi
Graphics card: GeForce RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC
Power supply: MSI MAG A850GL PCIE5 850W
SSD: MSI SPATIUM M570
Case: MSI MPG GUNGNIR 300P AIRFLOW
OS: Windows 11
Thanks to MSI for providing the test system above.
Test Memory Kits
Our DDR5 comparison kits consist of:
Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-5600 C36 64GB
Corsair Dominator Titanium DDR5-6000 C30 64GB
Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5200 C38 32GB
G.Skill Ripjaws M5 RGB DDR5-6400 C32 32GB
G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-7200 C34 32GB
G.Skill Trident Z5 Royal DDR5-6400 C32 64GB
Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-5200 C36 32GB
Klevv Cras X5 RGB DDR5-6000 C40 32GB
Klevv Cras V RGB DDR-7600 CL36 48GB
Teamgroup T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-6400 C40 32GB
Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan a DDR5-6000 C40 32GB
Thermaktake Toughram RC DDR5-5600 C36 32GB
Thermaltake Toughram XG RGB D5 DDR5-7200 C36 32GB
———————————————————
Tests:
7-Zip v19.00 – Built-in 7-Zip benchmark test (CPU & Memory)
Cinebench 2024 – All-core CPU benchmark (CPU & Memory)
HandBrake H264 – Convert 1440p60 H264 video to 1080p60 H264 using the YouTube HQ 1080p60 preset (CPU & Memory)
AIDA64 – Memory bandwidth, memory latency (Memory)
Total War Pharoah
Final Fantasy XIV-Dawntrail
Cyberpunk 2077
Memory Benchmarks
AIDA64
When tested with the memory bandwidth test in AIDA64, the DDR5-6400 version of Lexar's ARES RGB memory produced a read figure of 96,986MB/s putting it just below G.Skill'sTrident Z5 Royal RGB 6400MT/s memory in the middle part of the results table.
The CL32 timings don't appear to hold the memory back too much in the AIDA64 benchmark.
Compute and Productivity Tests
7-Zip
In the 7-Zip Compressing benchmark, the ARES RGB 6400MT/s Compressing score of 173 GIPS sees it in 6th position on the results chart, just behind Thermaltakes's Toughram XG RGB 7200MT/s C36 memory.
Cinebench 2024
The Lexar ARES RGB 6400MT/s memory doesn't seem to handle the Cinebench 2024 multi-core test too well with only G.Skill's Ripjaws M5 RGB 6400MT/s and Corsair's Vengeance 5200MT/s memory keeping it off the bottom spot on the results chart.
Encoding
Handbrake
In a similar vein to the Cinebench 2024 result, the Lexar ARES 6400MT/s memory doesn't seem to handle the Handbrake encoding test too well with a test result of 209.82fps which puts it into the bottom half of the results chart.
Office Productivity
PCMark 10
Essentials
Productivity
Digital Content Creation
In the PCMark 10 Benchmark, the Lexar ARES RGB produced a mixed bag of results. It's the fastest kit we've seen to date using the Essentials test traces, and the fourth fastest in the Productivity tests but only manages to get a mid-table position with its Digital Contest Creation score.
Gaming (1080p)
Total War Pharaoh – Battle
Using the Ultra quality settings the Lexar ARES RGB 6400MT/s memory sits in the middle of the results charts for the Total War Pharoah – Battle benchmark. Easing off the quality settings down to the Low setting sees the memory rising up to third place in the chart. Truth be told there isn't much separating any of the modules in these two tests.
Final Fantasy XIV-Dawntrail
Using the Ultra quality settings for the Final Fantasy XIV – Dawntrail benchmark sees the ARES RGB memory sitting in last place in the results charts. Easing off the quality settings down to Standard Desktop sees the memory moving up a couple of places to sit just behind Corsair's Vengeance RGB 5600 memory.
Cyberpunk 2077
When tested with the Cyberpunk game benchmark using the Ultra settings, the memory produced test results of 119.995fps (average) and 78.81fps (1% Low) which puts it into the second spot in the results chart. Switching over to Low settings the memory drops down the chart to sit fourth from bottom but in reality, there isn't much to choose between the bottom half of the results table.
We will be testing the memory kit performance with an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU, MSI MPG X670E Carbon WiFi motherboard and a GeForce RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC graphics card. The processor is maintained at its stock frequency. EXPO was enabled for testing.
Test System
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X (8 cores/ 16 threads)
CPU Cooler: MSI MAG CORELIQUID E360
Motherboard: MSI MPG X670E Carbon WiFi
Graphics card: GeForce RTX 4060 VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC
Power supply: MSI MAG A850GL PCIE5 850W
SSD: MSI SPATIUM M570
Case: MSI MPG GUNGNIR 300P AIRFLOW
OS: Windows 11
Thanks to MSI for providing the test system above.
Memory Benchmarks
AIDA64
Testing the 32GB kit of Lexar's ARES RGB 6400MT/s with the AIDA64 memory benchmark produced a read figure of 59,087MB/s placing the kit just behind G.Skill's Trident Z5 RGB 7200MT/s in sixth place.
At 76.2n/s, Lexar's ARES RGB 32GB kit is the second slowest 6400MT/s memory we've seen to date using the AIDA64 benchmarks and the AMD test platform.
Compute and Productivity Tests
7-Zip
In the 7-Zip benchmark, the Lexar ARES RGB 6400MT/s kit sits in fifth place in the table but truth be told there isn't an awful lot in it between top spot and twelfth place on the table.
Cinebench 2024
With a score of 1127 In the Cinebench 2024 multi-core test, Lexar's ARES RGB sits in fourth place in the results chart.
Encoding
Handbrake
Lexar's ARES RGB DDR5-6400 32GB kit performs very well in the Handbrake test. With a frame rate of 147.71 fps (121n/s), it sits in third place in the results chart, just behind Thermaltake's Toughram RC 5600MT/s kit.
Office Productivity
PCMark 10
Essentials
Productivity
Digital Content Creation
The ARES RGB didn't handle the Essential test traces of the PCMark10 benchmark very well in the AMD system as it sits in last place in the table with a score of 11991. It's much happier dealing with the Productivity and Digital Content Creation traces.
Gaming (1080p)
Total War Pharoah – Battle
In the Total War: Pharaoh – Battle benchmark using the Ultra settings, the Lexar ARES 6400 sits just inside the top ten with an average fps score of 132.645. Reducing the quality setting to Low sees the memory move up the table to third place.
Final Fantasy XIV-Dawntrail
There's not much to choose from between all the kits in the Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail benchmark using either the Maximum or Standard image quality settings.
Cyberpunk 2077
The Lexar ARES RGB 6400 performs well in Cyberpunk 2077 using Ultra quality settings sitting in fourth place in the results table but oddly doesn't do very well using low-quality settings, sitting near the bottom of the table.
Aimed at gamers and PC enthusiasts, Lexar's ARES RGB DDR5 memory supports both Intel and AMD platforms with single XMP 3.0 and EXPO profiles. It also features customisable RGB lighting while the aluminium heatspreaders come in Black or White finishes. The modules are 43.3mm high giving a wider range of compatibility with air coolers and motherboards.
The ARES RGB product line consists of five speeds; 5200MT/s, 6000MT/s, 6400MT/s, 6800MT/s and 72000MT/s but just a single 32GB kit size.
The memory kit that Lexar kindly sent in for review was one of the white 32GB DDR5-6400 kits (LD5EU016G-R6400GDWA) comprising two 16GB single-sided modules each using eight SK hynix A-die memory chips. It runs natively at DDR5-5600 with timings of 46-45-45-90-135 @ 1.40V but the XMP 3.0 and EXPO profiles bump this up to 6400MHz at 1.40V with 32-38-38-76-114 timings.
The RGB system comprises eight LED segments per module. These LEDs are very bright but they can be turned down in the software. The LEDs are controlled by Lexar's RGB Sync software which is downloaded from the Lexar site. It supports up to four independent profiles with their own custom lighting setups. The software has fourteen lighting effects and a wide colour palette and modules can be synced or set up as individual units so pretty much the sky is the limit when it comes to custom schemes. If you want the memory to be integrated into an existing light scheme then most of the 3rd party software is catered for with support for ASRock Polychrome Sync, Asus Aura Sync, MSI Mystic Light Sync and Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0.
The 32GB kit of Lexar's ARES RGB DDR5-6400 memory on Amazon UK for £120 (inc VAT) HERE but at the time of writing it's available with a special deal price of £98.99 (inc VAT).
Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.
Pros
- Overall performance.
- Build quality.
- RGB.
Cons
- Only comes in 32GB kits.
KitGuru says: Lexar's ARES RGB memory comes in a pretty good range of speeds but is only offered in one kit size, 32GB. It performs well and Lexar's RGB Sync software supports a mind-boggling number of options when it comes to lighting effects.
