We have reached the end of another review, and with all the testing and overclocking out of the way, we can now focus on the talking points that may be factors when it comes to purchasing this kit, or DDR5 memory in general.

Among early adopters and future prospects, it seems the subject of DDR5 pricing continues to be a common complaint. The good news is that as more brands start to enter the competitive and often overcrowded DRAM market, prices are slowly going down. Chances are you have heard the counter arguments that DDR4 offers better performance for a fraction of the cost. This is certainly true when contextualized. In the PC enthusiast community, active progress outside of just synthetic benchmarks is being made to sort out the performance gains. At this stage in the DDR5 life-cycle, everything is stacked against it. Until the adoption rate grows, DDR5 will remain an expensive premium item as well, which does not help the situation. Currently, besides higher density kits, DDR5 only brings with it a few immediate benefits in some applications.

The goal here is to not deter anyone from buying DDR5, but to pass on realistic expectations. Remember that without context, these general statements have little factual weight. Given AMD is moving exclusively to DDR5 and Intel most likely will drop legacy support after the 13th Generation Core Processors, DDR4 production is winding down throughout 2022. This memory generation has just started to unfold its long legs since the DDR5 life-cycle is still in its infancy stage.

This is where v-color comes into the conversation. The Manta XPrism RGB SCC DDR5-6200 CL36 kit bridges the gap between current ultra-low latency, high frequency memory and something that can run at its advertised XMP profile of 6200 MT/s. I am confident this kit is unlikely to cause boot problems after updating the BIOS (this is important!) on a majority of Intel Z690 motherboards. Had I been asked this in November of last year, right after the 12th Gen processors launch, the answer would not have been the same. For more reassurance, it is of course always good to check the QVL list of the motherboard manufacturer for official support, or TechPowerUp motherboard reviews.

For casual users, the kit is hard to recommend at this price point and memory frequency. Besides the desire to "show off" to friends, the extra bandwidth and lower primary timings this kit has will go unnoticed. It is simply a fact that other options, like DDR5-5600, exist at a much cheaper price, with minuscule differences when paired with lower timings. v-color has such memory options as well. This Manta XPrism RGB SCC DDR5-6200 CL36 kit is primarily geared towards PC enthusiasts looking for a bit more performance over baseline CAS 40 (CL40) DIMMs, but not the bleeding edge with ultra-low latency timings.

On the subject of memory timings, while no overclock is guaranteed, this memory far exceeded my expectations. For all but the most hardcore overclockers, as long as v-color uses Hynix M-Die ICs, it can hang with the best on the market if you are willing to invest the necessary amount of time into DDR5 overclocking, testing and retesting again and again for full stability. That said, the lack of a thermal pad on the PWM controller and surrounding components may be disconcerting if looking to overvolt the memory outside of v-color's specifications.

v-color is in a particularly good position for a well-rounded DDR5 kit in this first generation. It has been established that the causal user may not gain any noticeable advantages over buying DDR4 or entry-tier DDR5, which begs the question of the actual target market. In my opinion, this 6200 MT/s DDR5 memory is for those who may not feel comfortable with overclocking memory, but still want that small upper hand in competitive gaming. It could also be for those like myself who favor a system optimized in the big three—CPU, GPU, and memory—without reaching for a kit at the extreme of cost vs. performance. While 6400 MT/s may end up being this generation's "sweet spot," which describes the perfect balance of performance and cost, it has accompanying disadvantages for the time being. The v-color Manta XPrism RGB SCC DDR5-6200 CL36 is a step down from the current ultra-low latency bleeding-edge 6400 MT/s CL32 memory of today. However, compatibility for a wider range of motherboards is better. The lower XMP voltage and fantastic RGB lighting implementation place this v-color Manta XPrism RGBDDR5-6200 kit a step above the herd.