Now that we have benchmarked this memory, performed a bit of overclocking, and checked out the accompanying Corsair iCUE software, there is a fair amount to go over. Being that DDR5 is still in its infancy, new developments and public opinion are shifting more often as we are nearing the one year mark since the consumer release of DDR5. We will start off this section with what Corsair could improve upon to make a better product, and try to wrap things up on a positive note.

We will start with what is arguably a big part of the decision making as to whether to buy this memory kit or not. And that has everything to do with how Corsair has implemented its RGB support for the Vengeance RGB kit. There is no easy way to convey the frustration that can occur when it comes to RGB lighting control not working correctly. Most experience this frustration when setting up a system for the first time and a fan, for example, refuses to sync up with everything else. Often the solution is fairly straight forward by either finding the correct sync option in the software or actually connecting the fan to the ARGB motherboard header. In either example, it is still a frustrating experience none the less. Corsair iCUE software is designed as a hub for all things Corsair, with the goal to provide the best user experience in a single program. This is great if you have a bunch of Corsair products, but undesirable results can happen as well.

Here is where the real issue lies and it's not the iCUE software. As previously discussed in the software section of this review, neither the Vengeance or Dominator Platinum RGB memory kits are recognized in iCUE for multiple motherboards, therefore missing RGB control for the memory. There isn't sufficient data to suggest all Intel Z690 and B660 motherboards have this problem, but certainly a portion of users will encounter this issue. To remedy this requires going into the motherboard BIOS and find the setting related to SPD Write. As an observer, it is easy to see a solution for Corsair. Simply Corsair needs to support each motherboards software instead of being iCUE exclusive. Though being quick to judge is easy if you are unaware of all the factors involved. From the outside it seems an easy enough thing to do, but I am also not a coder nor have the expertise to truly grasp what is required as permanent fix. As of publication however, if you experience this issue, manual intervention is required to have RGB control over the memory.

Primarily the only major flaw this Corsair Vengeance RGB has going against it is related to the RGB lighting. That being said, when it comes to deciding what platform this memory is best suited for, it can lead down a rabbit hole of information. That in of itself would make this review long and alienate readers who may not have a good understanding of different memory terminologies. The main thing to point out here is that this memory is not marketed as "optimized" for the upcoming AMD Ryzen 7000 series and beyond. It will work however, if XMP3 is supported by the motherboard. Since this review is written before the official launch, not much more can be said beyond what AMD has officially stated so far. AMD has deemed DDR5-6000 the "sweet" spot and as such, expect a certain level of support for DDR5-6000 memory kits, regardless if they are optimized for Ryzen (Zen 4) or not.

This means that Intel compatibility is the main focus of this review. Generally speaking, DDR5-6000 is highly compatible with a majority of Z690 and B660 motherboards, with some caveats on the lower end. It is of course always a good idea to check the QVL list from the motherboard manufacturer before purchasing memory. Corsair does offer Live chat support when shopping for Corsair compatible memory on the website, and has a webpage dedicated to finding motherboards deemed compatible by Corsair as well.

When strictly looking at the performance gains using DDR5-6000 over the basic JEDEC DDR5-4800 memory, it is a mixed bag in terms of the overall benefits of higher frequency system memory. If you are strictly a content creator, this memory isn't going to offer much in the form of lower rendering or encoding times. This extends to games as well. It is not that higher speed memory lacks the ability to have a meaningful impact. Rather, depending on the graphical settings, only minor gains in the overall frame rate will be seen. This is because at higher graphical settings, often the bottleneck is not the processor, rather the graphics card. For example, if the graphics card is waiting for the CPU to finish its calculations for the next frame, higher memory frequency can help reduce frame times. The opposite can occur as well. For instance if the processor is waiting for the graphics card to finish, time saved from using faster system memory will not change the outcome. Often, large framerate gains can be accomplished simply by using a faster processor or upgrading the graphics card to something more powerful. It is only when your system is already optimized within the defined budget, will system memory play a vital role in higher frame rates in games. For Intel based systems, this can provide a passive advantage when used in conjunction with already tuned player skills. Still, faster memory will not magically make you better at gaming all on its own.

Those who want the maximum performance out of their system will want to look into memory tuning beyond the XMP profile. It can often provide a noticeable improvement in games that are memory speed or latency sensitive. This is where things get more complicated. No overclock is ever guaranteed, and copying values from forums, discord or reddit will often just result in a unstable system. This means each person has to play around and test timings and voltages themselves. The main limiting factor here is that Corsair has locked the PMIC controller, which limits the maximum voltage to 1.435. This Corsair Vengeance RGB sample received is using Samsung memory, which isn't known for the highest frequencies. Combine these two together and tinkering the memory sub-timings will be limited. These early days of taking 4800 MT/s DDR5 and overclocking it to 6800 MT/s are on their way out. Once more companies start to lock the PMIC controller, that will severely limit what is possible in the overclocking department going forward.

There are a lot of things this Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000 does right. Not only is it widely compatible among different motherboards, it comes pre-binned from the factory for those who have no interest in overclocking and tweaking memory timings of their own. After all, that is exactly the point of a XMP profile. We are still in the early years of DDR5, with growing pains, but from testing numerous motherboards, 6000 MT/s is seemly hassle-free for the majority of systems that support DDR5. This memory kit isn't pushing the limits of DDR5, nor is it marketed as such. While these type of performance memory kits are often priced outside the budget of the casual users, this particular kit is priced competitively with other brands in the same category. Combined with a limited lifetime warranty and great PCB build quality, this is a memory kit worth a closer look for that next computer or upgrade. However, to echo what was said in the Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB review, I cannot recommend buying this memory without serious consideration as to whether the RGB control workaround is acceptable to you. It simply comes down to the fact that if other memory vendors RGB portion works without adjusting BIOS settings, why can't Corsair? Once again, I must stick to my review principles as a guideline. The fact that Corsair is a marketing a feature that could be interpreted as non-functioning without any user intervention leaves little choice other than to warn potential customers of this issue. Even though I believe this memory kit will fit perfectly into the Corsair ecosystem, it isn't the only memory kit with the exact same frequency and timings available. Unless you already have Corsair products, the RGB pitfall is a good argument not to buy, for the users who designed their computers around certain colors or a theme. For everyone else, the Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000 memory kit reviewed today hits all the marks and is worth considering.