INTRODUCTION

   DDR5 RAM may not have grown much in terms of speed lately but it has grown in density and even though moving from single 32GB modules to 48GB ones (which effectively means going from 64GB/128GB to 96GB/192GB on dual and quad DIMM motherboards respectively) might not seem like a big deal to most people it's actually something enthusiasts and professionals alike have been waiting for a long time (as they do the single 64GB modules which should be just around the corner at this point). Crucial recently updated their DDR5 Pro line to include a single 96GB capacity kit, the Dual-Channel 5600MHz CL46 model (CP2K48G56C46U5).

   We are an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND and NOR memory and storage products through our Micron® and Crucial® brands. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence and 5G applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit micron.com. http://www.micron.com/

   The DDR5 Pro line of RAM by Crucial currently includes dual (2x16/24/48GB) channel kits with frequencies going all the way up to 6000MHz (5600/6000MHz), timings as low as CL46 (5600Hz CL46 - 6000MHz CL48) and voltage set at 1.1V for the entire range. These RAM Kits feature single die modules by Micron, are EXPO and XMP 3.0 compatible and just like past lines Crucial covers them with a limited lifetime warranty. Once again at first 5600MHz might look slow compared to what some other DDR5 dual-channel kits are capable of (8000MHz) but considering these are set at just 1.1V they should have quite a bit of overclocking headroom if you're interested in boosting their performance (although let's not forget that it's density you're getting and for demanding users this is what matters most).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

THE DDR5 PRO 96GB 5600MHZ CL46

Crucial uses a blister package to ship the RAM in and so you can see both modules from the front.

The main product features/benefits are printed at the rear in 8 different languages.

For their DDR5 Pro line Crucial has used low-profile aluminum heatspreaders (matte black).

As expected on a small sticker located at the rear of both modules you can find the serial number, speed, capacity and voltage.

Measuring roughly 31mm top to bottom the DDR5 Pro line is indeed a low profile one (to showcase this i used the THOR OC by Lexar).

Unlike some other models in the market the heatspreader is closed at the top.

The lack of ARGB lighting is not for everyone but even so the low-profile heatspreaders do look nice.

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

Even at just 1.2V you should easily hit 6200MHz with this kit (anything over however wasn’t 100% stable, not with these timings).

TEST RESULTS – FORZA HORIZON 5

CONCLUSION

   Even though Crucial released numerous blazing fast DDR4 kits under their BallistiX Line the same hasn’t been true about their DDR5 lines (and even the BallistiX DDR4 lines have been discontinued), at least not to date. By releasing 5600/6000MHz kits at just 1.1V they allow end users to push clocks much higher but again, nothing beats the simplicity of using XMP/EXPO to set your preferred clocks. I was hoping that they’d “resurrect” their BallistiX line for DDR5 (and they just might) but the sole significant change has been the introduction of this 96GB dual-channel kit. Still even though as you can see from the charts this kit does very well overall at the end of the day it’s just 1 kit.

   Priced at just USD261.80 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 270.02Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the DDR5 Pro 96GB 5600MHz CL46 Dual-Channel Kit by Crucial is priced well. Again, this isn’t the fastest kit out of the box but it’s among the highest capacity dual-channel (2 DIMM) kits out there and that along with everything else it offers is more than enough for the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Good Performance
- 96GB
- Overclocking Headroom
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Low Profile Heatspreaders
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Available Kits