Introduction

Corsair is a well-known brand name by this point in the United States and Europe, partially thanks to easily identifiable yellow product boxes. The company has been well established in the computer market for a number of years now, offering gaming peripherals, flash drives, SSDs, AIOs, watercooling hardware, power supplies and entire pre-built computers. Of course, let's not forget about the highly successful memory division, which continually strives to offer the newest emerging technologies with the unmatched customer service Corsair is known for.

Corsair currently offers an assortment of memory products ranging from laptop DDR3 SODIMMs to PC enthusiast grade DDR5 memory. Using the well established DDR4 memory lines, Corsair brought forward both Vengeance and Dominator products, reusing the names and overall design language for the DDR5 iteration. Now nearly two years since the launch of Intel's 12th Generation processors and DDR5 reaching consumer hands, the innovation continues with Non-Binary DRAM modules. These offer an increase in size compared to what is already available to consumers, offering 48 GB (2x 24 GB) and 96 GB (2x 48 GB) configurations.


In this review, we will be taking a closer look at the 48 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5600 memory kit. Using conservative primary timings of 40-40-40-75 operating at 1.25 V for the 5600 MT/s Intel XMP profile, it provides a small performance gain compared to baseline JEDEC 4800 MT/s DDR5. While marketed exclusively towards consumers with Intel systems, this memory kit is unofficially supported by many AMD systems as well. Because this type of memory configuration is new to the market, we will be testing this on both our AMD and Intel test systems to see how it compares to 32 GB and 64 GB memory kits. As a bonus, a bit of overclocking as well!

Specifications

Packaging

Those who have seen Corsair products in stores would quickly recognize the yellow box marketing that is practically synonymous with Corsair branded products. The information on the packaging does a decent job to inform the consumer about what is actually being offered for sale. In the top right corner, the type of memory, configuration, module density and binned frequency is listed. Below the Vengeance product imagery in the center is the iCUE logo, showing that this memory supports Corsair's iCUE software. Even though it does not have integrated RGB lighting, DRAM related statistics can still be found within the monitoring portion of the iCUE software.

The back of the box still has Corsair branding stating that this is indeed DDR5 memory and offers more controlled overclocking support because of "onboard voltage regulation" in seven languages. In layman's terms, this is DDR5, and has an unlocked PMIC voltage controller for those who venture into memory overclocking. Two cutouts in the back show both DIMMs, where the revision number (3.53.02), XMP profile of 5600 MT/s, and primary timings of 40-40-40-77 are printed on the memory stickers.


Removing the memory from the box only requires cutting some tape—the memory sticks are secured and protected from minor damage with a clamshell inside the outer box. A pamphlet is included inside for more information regarding this memory kit.

A Closer Look

The Corsair Vengeance DDR5 kits are currently only available in Matte Black for Intel, with possible options like Cool Grey for AMD or White for Intel in the future. The appearance takes inspiration from the DDR4 Vengeance Pro and RT lines that came before it, with a few minor alterations. Because this is the non-RGB version, the DIMMs height is slightly lower compared to the RGB version, due to not having LEDs and a light diffuser on top.


The Vengeance logo is centered across a bushed aluminium section. The white and yellow lettering are as expected, following the Corsair Vengeance color branding. The memory also has a repeating pattern of triangles that start small on the sides and steadily increases in size towards the center. These are most visible on the Cool Grey version, but are still prominent in the matte black colorway as well.


On one side of each DIMM module is the identification sticker listing the SKU, rated XMP operating frequency, corresponding voltage of 1.25, and XMP related timings. One thing Corsair does well is to include a revision number (3.53.03) on the sticker that quickly identifies which memory ICs are used. Corsair changes this number every time an internal revision is made.


Laying the DIMMs on the side, the triangle pattern is flush across, adding little, if any extra thermal dissipation. The pattern is just for aesthetics. Because these are matte-black, the White Corsair logo may be the only thing visible of the memory DIMMs inside a computer case.



The Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5600 kit weighs in at 40 grams on the scale. For Z-height, it comes in at 35 mm rounding down.


After taking the heatspreader apart, we see that Corsair does not use a customized PCB for the non-RGB Vengeance series. Instead, it looks like the standard layout of components. Nothing fancy here, but it doesn't affect the overclocking capabilities either, which we will get to later in this review. This Corsair kit does have a thermal pad for all the ICs and critical components. This is extra important due to increased temperatures from the higher voltages accompanying increased memory frequencies.


A closer look at the ICs shows that these are Spectek, which is a division of Micron. While these are effectively rebranded Micron memory, it does have its own part number (PT040-56B), or commonly known as Spectek DDR5 B-Die. Currently, Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix are the three suppliers of DDR5 ICs. However, only Micron / Spectek and SK Hynix have released Non-binary 3 GB ICs to the consumer market. Both of which perform worse than their 2 GB counterparts due to different sub-timings. So far, Micron 3 GB ICs have shown to reach at least 7000 MT/s, while SK Hynix has seen up to 8200 MT/s in a retail kit so far.


With DDR5, one of the major changes is how the motherboard directly provides 5 V to the memory module's PMIC, which is then stepped down and split accordingly. No longer is the motherboard responsible for regulating the voltages, as with DDR4. The PMIC has the part number "0H=9G 430" of which software reports Richtek being the manufacturer. Internet investigation provides no additional information.