INTRODUCTION

    DDR5 CUDIMM RAM kits may already be here and with speeds even surpassing 10.000MT/s in some cases but unless you own one of the latest Intel motherboards you don't really need to look this way, at least not for a while. Instead, there are many blazing fast DDR5 RAM kits around (both Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO certified) which at least for now can easily compete with the former in terms of performance and are fully compatible with motherboards from both Intel and AMD. The latest Hera RGB 32GB DDR5 8000MHz (MT/s) CL36 Dual-Channel Kit by Acer Predator is among the fastest non-CUDIMM kits around and that's what I've been testing for almost a week now.

    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. Founded in 2010, BIWIN focuses on providing global customers with high-quality storage products and specializes in the research, development, manufacturing and sales of memory chip application products.

   The brand new Hera RGB line of DDR5 kits by Acer Predator is available in 3 different colors (black, black silver and silver/mirror) and currently only includes dual channel kits (2x16/24/32GB) with frequencies up to 8400MHz (6400/6800/7200/8000/8200/8400MHz), CAS timings as low as CL32 (6400/6800MHz CL32 - 7200MHz CL34 - 8000/8200MHz CL36 - 8400MHz CL40) and voltages ranging from 1.35V and up to 1.45V (6400/6800MHz 1.35V - 7200MHz 1.4V - 8000/8200/8400MHz 1.45V). Past the surprisigly large and thick (2mm) aluminum heatspreaders we find single 16GB die modules by SK Hynix on a robust 10-layer PCB and a total of 8 ARGB LEDs on top (10 lighting effects, 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 with past models Acer covers the entire Predator Hera RGB line of DDR5 RAM with a limited lifetime warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Once again, the kit arrived inside a black box the front of which is taken by a large product picture, company logo, RGB motherboard sync technologies and both the capacity and speed of the kit.

The product features are all listed at the rear of the box along with a disclaimer, serial numbers and barcodes and several certifications.

Packaging is pretty much flawless with the kit placed inside a clamshell protective and on a large piece of foam.

Along with the two modules inside the box you'll also find the instruction manual and warranty paper.

THE HERA RGB 32GB 8000MHZ CL36

The 50.10mm tall and 8.40mm thick heatspreaders are among the largest and best looking ones I've seen to date.

Typically, on a sticker at the rear we find the timings and voltages.

Under the plastic bar on top lie a total of 8 RGB LEDs fully compatible with all motherboard sync technologies (10 effects).

As mentioned earlier the Predator Hera is one of the best looking RAM lines I've seen to date (short clip is as usual available on YouTube and TikTok).

Detailed information on this kit is available thanks to AIDA64.

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 (for CUDIMM you don’t need to do anything when used with a compatible motherboard). 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.

* Forza Horizon 5 is also used in DDR5 tests to showcase potential gains between stock and overclocked clocks/frequencies (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

TEST RESULTS - OVERCLOCK

TEST RESULTS - FORZA HORIZON 5

CONCLUSION

    Even though the Hera RGB line also includes an 8400MHz (MT/s) kit (9466MHz for the Hera Special Edition kit unveiled recently) I was sent the 8000Mhz kit and well, I wasn’t disappointed. Stock performance is great and well overclocked (1.5V) the kit easily hit 8400MHz without issue. As a matter of fact, this is the fastest kit in the charts when taking into account its overclocking performance (2^nd fastest without) so you really can’t go wrong with it. Build quality is also excellent and even though this is a rather tall kit (50.1mm) the large heatspreaders are sure to help with temperatures (and at those speeds, cooling efficiency matters). Finally, the RGB lighting may not stand out on its own but thanks to the design of the heatspreaders the Hera kit is certainly one of the best looking ones to ever arrive in the office.

    At the time of this review availability for the Hera RGB line of DDR5 kits by Acer Predator is far from ideal and so I only managed to find the 32GB 8000MHz (MT/s) kit in the UK for £169.99 (Amazon.co.uk), a price tag which is extremely balanced, at least for that region. Availability aside the Hera RGB 32GB DDR5 8000MHz CL36 Dual-Channel Kit is very good at what it does and since it’s also among the 2 fastest kits in the charts the Platinum award is obviously in order.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Top Of The Charts Performance
- Heatspreader Design
- RGB Lighting (10 Effects)
- Available In Black, Silver/Black & Silver/Mirror Colors
- Available Kits
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Current Availability