INTRODUCTION

    AMD may be currently leading the market with their latest 3D CPUs but thanks to the introduction of the CUDIMM standard a while back it's Intel that's leading the market when it comes to memory kit speeds. As of now there are CUDIMM DDR5 kits with speeds going all the way to 9600MT/s (MHz) which are only compatible with high-end Intel Z890 motherboards paired with one of their latest Core Ultra 200S CPUs. Unfortunately, such high frequency CUDIMM DDR5 modules are not quite as compatible as we'd like them to be so at least for me the sweet spot for any Intel Z890 configuration sits between 8000-8400Mt/s. At least that was the case until I got the latest FURY Renegade RGB 48GB 8800MT/s CL42 CUDIMM Dual-Channel Kit by Kingston.

    Kingston Technology Europe Co LLP and Kingston Technology Company, Inc., are part of the same corporate group (“Kingston”). Kingston is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. From big data to IoT devices, including laptops, PCs, and wearable technology, Kingston Technology is dedicated to delivering top-tier product solutions, service, and support. Trusted by leading PC manufacturers and global cloud providers, we value our long-term partnerships that help us evolve and innovate. We ensure every solution meets the highest standards by prioritizing quality and customer care. At every step, we listen, learn, and engage with our customers and partners to deliver solutions that make a lasting impact. To learn more about Kingston Technology and our “Built on Commitment” vision, visit Kingston.com.

    The FURY Renegade RGB line currently has single (24GB) and dual (2x24GB) channel CUDIMM kits in two available speeds, 8400MT/s with a CAS latency of 40 at 1.45V and 8800MT/s with a CAS latency of 42 at 1.4V.  These CUDIMM kits use 45mm tall heatspreaders (either in black and silver or white and silver - several exterior lines differentiate the shorter 44mm ones used with UDIMM kits) behind which Kingston has placed SK Hynix single die modules (24Gbit density) and a total of 12 ARGB LEDs on top (12 available effects via the FURY CTRL app and also 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). Typically, as with most other FURY RAM lines by Kingston the Renegade RGB CUDIMM kits are covered by a limited lifetime warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

THE FURY RENEGADE RGB 48GB DDR5 8800MT/S CL42

A large product picture is located at the front of the box right under the company name and next to the speed, capacity, RGB sync support, lifetime warranty and motherboard compatibility (Intel/AMD).

At the rear of the box Kingston has placed yet another product picture right over some of the main features and a sticker with the serial and part numbers and barcodes.

The silver and black heatspreaders of the FURY Renegade RGB line always look great and this kit is not an exception.

As usual a small sticker at the rear contains information about the kit such as the country of manufacture, capacity, speed, timings and of course the serial number and barcode.

Under the plastic LED bar of the FURY Renegade RGB Kingston this time over has placed a total of 12 RGB LEDs.

Just like with past reviews the RGB section may not stand out compared to other kits, but it does look nice (short clip available on TikTok and YouTube).

Finally, thanks to AIDA64 you can check some details on the kit.

FURY CTRL

Even though the CTRL software has 18 available RGB modes/effects only 12 of them seem to be available.

Depending on the mode you can also assign colors to each of the 12 LEDs.

From the top right corner, you can also access module information.

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 PROFILE

CONCLUSION

    Just like the 8400MT/s CUDIMM RAM kit before it the latest FURY Renegade RGB 48GB DDR5 8800MT/s model by Kingston offers excellent performance and stability. Unfortunately, with the same clocks and up to 1.45V I was unable to push this kit to over 8800MT/s and well, that’s fine since performance is already great (loosening clocks should allow you to hit 9000MT/s however but performance wouldn’t change much, if at all). This limitation of course may not be due to the kit itself but the Z890 ASRock Taichi Lite motherboard which is why I may swap for something better sooner rather than later. Another thing I found interesting about this model is that although faster than its predecessor (8400MT/s kit) it requires less voltage (1.45V – 1.4V) and that’s always a good thing.

    As I type these lines the FURY Renegade RGB 48GB 8800MT/s CL42 CUDIMM Dual-Channel Kit by Kingston (KF588CU42RSAK2-48) retails for USD392.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for around 390Euros inside the EU so it’s not quite affordable. That being said this is a kit that’s compatible only with some of the best Intel Z890 motherboards out there so cost shouldn’t be much of an issue for owners of those. At the end of the day this kit delivers in performance, capacity and looks and since it’s the fastest one to arrive in the lab to date it deserves the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Top Of The Charts Performance
- Clock Driver Kit (CUDIMM)
- RGB Lighting (12 ARGB LEDs & 12 Effects)
- Available In Silver/Black & Silver/White Colors
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Overclocking Headroom
- Price (For Some)