INTRODUCTION

   The recent revamping of the Z790 series chipset by Intel may have allowed for DDR5 speeds to easily surpass 8GHz (up to 8400MHz currently - should be seeing even higher frequencies soon) but according to sales numbers for the vast majority of consumers with compatible motherboards even 7GHz is more than plenty. So, it's no wonder really that some RAM manufacturers are now using new modules with their lines which have reduced CAS latency numbers as opposed to early DDR5 models which lagged considerably behind DDR4 ones in that regard. The brand new Predator Hermes RGB by Acer is one such line and with me today i have their 32GB 6800MHz CL32 Dual-Channel Kit.

   Predator branded storage products are designed and manufactured by BIWIN Storage Technology company, a leading maker of quality flash memory, DRAM memory and solid-state drives (SSDs). Delivering premium products for serious gamers and overclocking enthusiasts looking for the ultimate experience, our mission is to provide best-in-class memory modules and solid-state drives that enhance overall system performance and gameplay. Defined by faster speeds and gaming-inspired design, these Predator storage products are built to be the Number One choice for gamers worldwide.

   The latest Predator Hermes RGB line of DDR5 RAM kits is available in 3 different colors (black, white and silver) and currently only includes dual channel kits (2x16GB/2x32GB) with frequencies up to 8000MHz (6400/6600/6800/7200/7600/7800MHz), CAS timings as low as CL32 (6400/6800MHz CL32 - 6600/7200MHz CL34 - 7600/7800/8000MHz CL36) and voltages ranging from 1.4V and up to 1.45V (6400/6600/6800/7200/7600MHz 1.4V - 7800/8000MHz 1.45V). Past the somewhat large heatspreaders (which Acer accompanies with a tiny 40mm cooling fan) we find single 16GB die modules by SK Hynix and a total of 8 ARGB LEDs on top (compatible with all the leading RGB motherboard sync technologies like ASUS Aura Sync, GB RGB Fusion 2.0, MSI Mystic Light Sync and ASRock Polychrome). Finally, as expected Acer covers the entire Predator Hermes RGB line of DDR5 RAM with a limited lifetime warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

At the front of the large box, we find a picture of all three available colors along with the company logo, capacity, frequency and the compatible RGB sync technologies.

The features are printed at the rear of the box right next to a sticker with the serial number and barcodes.

Removing the exterior cover reveals the main box with the Predator logo on it.

Along with the Predator Hermes RGB DDR5 RAM inside the box you'll also find an 40mm fan, mounting bracket, screws, fan assembly instructions and the user manual.

PREDATOR HERMES RGB

The Predator Hermes RGB comes with 51mm tall heatspreaders which are not also thick but look great too.

Typically, a sticker at the rear of the heatspreaders includes the barcode, serial and part numbers, capacity, frequency and timings.

At the top we find a plastic cover under which the manufacturer has placed 8 ARGB LEDs.

The tiny 40mm fan is designed for 4 DIMM slot motherboards so as you'll see later on it's not ideal for use with the Z790 DARK.

They may not stand out in terms of ARGB lighting but the Predator Hermes RGB do look nice (here you can also see the 40mm fan, no other way to position it).

Thanks to AIDA64 you can get a look at the specifications of the latest Predator Hermes RGB 6800MHz CL32 modules.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Thanks to XMP 3.0 and EXPO profiles the only thing one needs to do in order to run a brand new 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/EXPO 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 DDR5 tests. To be more specific aside testing each kit with its XMP profile I'll also be upping the voltages (up to 1.4V for 1.35V kits – 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 (those results will be entered into the OC charts). 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 DDR5 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 23, MaxMemm2, Passmark Performance Test v10.1, Sisoftware Sandra Titanium and WPrime v2.11. All tests are performed on a fresh Windows 10 Pro x64 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.

* Since you all decided for me to use the Intel Core I9-13900K for graphics cards tests I’ll also be using that for DDR5 tests (5.8GHz P-Cores / 4.7GHz E-Cores / 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). Still do keep in mind that i can't dedicate a high-end GPU solely for DDR5 reviews so each time i review such a kit I’ll be using a different chart (the card used will be listed above).

TEST RESULTS - XMP 3.0 PROFILE

TEST RESULTS – OVERCLOCK

TEST RESULTS – FORZA HORIZON 5

CONCLUSION

   BIWIN has released quite a few interesting RAM kits under the ACER Predator brand and the Hermes RGB is probably the most interesting one to date. Not only does it climb up to 8GHz (and perhaps even more if they update the lineup later on) but it’s available in 3 different colors and comes ready with its own 40mm cooling fan. Yes, the fan may not be compatible with every motherboard out there and its efficiency is not that great but regardless it’s a plus. As for performance the Predator Hermes RGB does very good even at 6800MHz thanks to its low CAS latency but it does even better at 7200MHz with the same numbers just by increasing voltages to 1.435V (even at 1.45V I couldn’t go any higher, not with the same timings). I was hoping I’d have the 8GHz model here to test and see how it does but that obviously didn’t happen.

   Worldwide availability has always been a thing with BIWIN products and the same applies for the Predator Hermes RGB 32GB 6800MHz CL32 kit which means I don’t have a valid price I can list (at least not in the USA or the EU - will update with the MSRP later on). Price aside however (obviously important so I do hope BIWIN can do well in that regard) the Predator Hermes RGB kit seems to have it all, performance, good OC potential, looks and even an 40mm cooling fan and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Very Good Performance
- Up To 8GHz Kits
- RGB Lighting (10 Effects)
- Available In Black, White & Silver Colors
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Bundled 40mm Cooling Fan

CONS

- Current Availability
- 40mm Fan Compatibility