INTRODUCTION

   DDR5 may be on its way to become the established standard in the RAM market but there are still countless users out there not only with previous generation motherboards but also new ones, all of which still use DDR4. So even though we may not see the unveiling of many new DDR4 kits, just like with DDR3 and DDR4 (back then also some of the latest motherboards using DDR4 were also available with DDR3 slots) it will be quite a while before DDR4 gets phased out entirely. Still, some of you have asked for more high capacity and performance reviews of DDR4 kits and even though this might as well be my last one (no room in the lab for more systems so i need to retire one or two) today i have a rather special kit with me and more specifically the MARS RGB 64GB DDR4 4000MHz CL19 Dual-Channel Kit by Neo Forza.

   We are a professional team, studying in computer memory and storage devices industry for more than 10 years. In order to meet the rising demand on speed and capacity of the high-end gaming market players, we created Neo Forza, a new generation of ultra-standard overclocking module, SSD and other related storage device designing brand. Neo represents from virtual to reality, showing our core value for product innovation. Forza shows our strength and determination to meet gamers every need. Neo Forza possess strong resources, focus on core technology. From research & design, specific production to exceed the testing benchmark; Neo Forza keep pushing over technical boundary, providing top-notch performance and quality, providing gamers / game players extraordinary using experience.

   Compared to my past reviews of the MARS RGB series Neo Forza has added even more options to include both higher frequencies and capacities. So right now, it includes single (8/16/32GB) and dual (2x8GB/2x16/2x32GB) channel kits at 2666/3000/3200/3600/4000/4400MHz frequencies, timings as low as CL15 (2666MHz CL16, 3000MHz CL15, 3200MHz CL16, 3600MHz CL18 and 4000/4400MHz CL19) and voltages set at 1.2V (2666MHz), 1.35V (3200/3600MHz), 1.4V (4000MHz) and 1.45V (4400MHz). Always according to the popular Thaiphoon burner software the 400MHz 1.4V 64GB kit which is here today is based on 2-rank 16Gb C-die modules by SK-Hynix and is XMP certified with timings set at 19-23-23-46-70. Of course, all of the MARS RGB kits feature thick aluminum heatspreaders and a top ARGB LED bar which is compatible with all the leading motherboard sync technologies (ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion 2.0, MSI Mystic Light and ASRock Polychrome Sync). As with all their DDR4 RAM lines Neo Forza covers the MARS with a rather generous limited lifetime warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

THE MARS 64GB 4000MHZ

The MARS RGB kit arrived inside a cardboard box that has a small clear plastic opening from where you can see one of the two modules.

At the rear we find the features and specifications of the MARS RGB modules.

Just the two modules are placed inside the box.

At the rear of each module, we find the usual sticker which contains information such as frequency, timings, voltage and of course the serial number and barcode.

Under the top plastic LED bar Neo Forza has placed addressable RGB LEDs (i think 5 on each module) which are compatible with all motherboard RGB sync technologies (ASUS Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0, MSI Mystic Light Sync and ASRock Polychrome Sync).

In order to showcase their height (47mm) i placed the MARS right next to the Spectrix D55 and D45 modules by XPG.

Even at its default RGB effect the MARS kit looks very nice.

Here you can see what the Thaiphoon Burner software says about the MARS 64GB 4000MHz kit by Neo Forza.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Thanks to XMP (2.0/3.0) profiles the only thing one needs to do in order to run this RAM kit at its advertised frequency, timings and voltages is to choose/enable it from within the BIOS and reboot. That being said if you're into overclocking you may not wish to use the main XMP profile but instead to choose your very own frequency, timings and voltages to achieve even higher performance numbers and that's exactly what we'll also be doing during our DDR4 tests. To be more specific aside testing each kit with its XMP profile we will also be upping the voltages (up to 1.4V max – even though most kits can function at higher voltages I don’t recommend doing so / RAM modules that use 1.4V/1.45V/1.5V will be tested up to 1.45V/1.5V/1.55V respectively) and frequencies (200MHZ increments) until i find the maximum achievable stable frequency. I also thought about upping voltages and reducing timings instead of increasing the frequency of the modules as high as it can go (always stable and without using 0.5-1V over stock) but the end results are pretty much identical.

   As for the how I'll be testing each DDR4/DDR5 Quad/Dual-Kit to arrive in the lab well there aren't that many benchmark programs that only test RAM (or at least RAM and CPU without anything else coming into play) but I’ve got most of them and so you will be seeing results from following benchmarking programs****, AIDA64 Engineer Edition, Cinebench Release 20, MaxMemm2, Passmark Performance Test (v9 for DDR4 and v10 for DDR5 tests), Sisoftware Sandra Titanium and WPrime v1.55. All tests are performed on a fresh Windows 10 Pro installation (complete with all updates until the day of this review) and are repeated a total of 6 times after which the average numbers get recorded into the charts.

* In addition to Quad-Channel tests since March 2020 I’ll also be using the brand new I9-9900K+Z390 DARK test rig (check above) for Dual-Channel RAM tests.
** Since May 2020 three game benchmarks (Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, GEARS 5 and Metro Exodus tested on the X299 system at 1080p resolution and with the ASUS ROG RTX2060 OC set at Gaming Mode) have also been added in the charts.
*** In September 2021 i replaced the Intel I9-9900K+Z390 DARK test rig for a brand new Intel I9-11900K+Z590 DARK one (you can access all the Z390 DARK based tests here).
**** For DDR5 tests I’m using the Intel Core I9-12900K (E-Cores Off / RING 4.9GHz) and in order to showcase potential gains between stock and overclocked clocks/frequencies I’ll also be using Forza Horizon 5 (1080p/Extreme Graphics).

TEST RESULTS - XMP PROFILE / DUAL CHANNEL

TEST RESULTS - OVERCLOCK / DUAL CHANNEL

Pushing the modules at 4200MHz by upping the voltage to 1.43V was easy, anything over that however (up until 1.5V) was a no go (not at CL19).

CONCLUSION

   Since this is probably my very last DDR4 RAM review i wanted something special and the MARS RGB 64GB 4000MHz CL19 Dual-Channel Kit certainly ticks that box. Capacity is well over today’s standard of 32GB for most demanding users and gamers and its frequency of 4000MHz together with its CAS latency of just 19 produces some very good and solid numbers across the board. On top of that thanks to the thick heatspreaders the MARS RGB modules can go up to 4200MHz again at CL19 something which may not look impressive but it’s still a good result, overall. As for looks not much to say here, pictures are worth a thousand words and i do believe no one will ever end up complaining about its ARGB lighting.

   Right now, the MARS 64GB DDR4 4000MHz CL19 Dual-Channel Kit by Neo Forza retails for USD359.99 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and for around 380Euros inside the EU, a price tag which is quite balanced when compared with similar specifications kits. Unfortunately, once again overall availability is an issue with Neo Forza so it’s my hope that eventually they’ll expand so that users have easier access to their products (easier access will probably also translate to even better prices). That being said however from capacity to speed, looks and even overclocking potential this is a very good kit well worth our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (10 Layer PCB)
- Capacity (64GB)
- Very Good Performance (4000MHz CL19)
- Looks (Thick Heatspreaders / ARGB LED Bar)
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Available Capacities & Frequencies

CONS

- Current Availability
- Dual Channel Kits Only