Crucial’s Micron 32 GB DDR5-5600 CL46 & DDR5-5200 CL42 Memory Kit Review – This Is What Peak Stability Looks Like

Crucial is a well-known name in the memory business and a brand of Micron, the world's largest DRAM & Flash products manufacturer. Since the release of DDR5 memory, Crucial announced its own products which comply with the JEDEC-provided DDR5-5600 & DDR5-5200 speeds that come supported on the latest platforms from Intel & AMD. While other manufacturers have been going crazy with DDR5 speeds, pushing beyond 8000 MT/s, Crucial's approach is more towards stability and we have two of their latest kits to see how well they perform compared to some of the fastest DIMMs, both in synthetic and real-life workloads.

We received two four DIMMs, each forming a pair of two kits, One kit is spec'd at DDR5-5600 CL46 while the other is spec'd at DDR5-5200 CL42. Each module offers 16 GB capacity which makes up a total of 32 GB in capacity. Crucial now offers even more options with 24 GB and 48 GB modules.

The memory kits have a tested latency spec of CL46 & CL42 and the timings are 46-45-45 & 42-42-42, respectively. The voltage set at reference is 1.1V and the memory kit comes in an unbuffered package with an on-die ECC (Error Correction) design. The memory kits are fully compliant with Intel's XMP 3.0 & AMD EXPO mode and can be easily set to their rated clock speeds through the BIOS shipped on the latest motherboards.

None of the modules come with any heatsink which means they are purely designed for stock operation. Once again, these UDIMMs are made with stability in mind.

Each of the four Crucial DDR5 memory module memory comes in a plastic shell case. The front of the package has the name and specifications sticker and you can see the entire module out of the case.

The back has nothing of use to talk about except that you can see the various DDR5 DRAM featured on each module.

You'll be knowing beforehand that the modules you are getting come with no heatsink solution.

Each module does come with a black coat on the PCB which makes for a very neutral color for any PC build.

The front side of the modules can be seen with the DRAM module & the PMIC (Power Management In-Circuit) chip.

The front label lists the QR code and various certifications along with the product ID for each module.

The good thing about these memory kits is that they come in the standard height package which means that compatibility with certain air coolers won't be much of an issue.

For testing, I used the latest Intel Core i9 13900K processor along with the Gigabyte Z790 AERO G motherboard which can support higher frequencies memory without any issues. The XMP profile for each respective ram kit was enabled.

The memory kits comprise 2 DIMMs that operate in dual-channel mode. Since we were running a Z790 platform, the memory was operating in dual-channel mode.

I have separated the performance tests into two sections. The first section consists of pure synthetic and general workload tests while the second section would be focusing on gaming performance and how different games are affected by higher-clocked memory sticks.

For AIDA64 memory tests, I ran the kits at stock speeds since overclocking isn't the main focus here as stated above.

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Gaming applications generally don't see huge gains with different memory kits but DDR5 has enabled a huge gain in memory frequency which can impact gaming performance. Moving from the stock 2133 Mbps (DDR4) to 6000+ Mbps can have a huge effect on performance and the improved CAS timings on some of the high-end SKUs can result in better overall FPS and system responsiveness.

Furthermore, while 8 GB has become the standard for gaming PCs, modern applications such as editing software and multi-tasking users can benefit hugely from 16 GB and 32 GB kits which have become more common in the gaming market over the last couple of years.

The Crucial DDR5 memory DIMMs by Micron are some of the most stable modules I have tested since the new standard launched. Both DDR5-5600 and DDR5-5200 modules booted without any issues on the AMD and Intel platforms. This is something big to consider when building new PCs since getting the wrong kit for your motherboard can lead to several stability issues. I checked the compatibility on various AM5 and Intel LGA 1700 motherboards and all of them booted perfectly.

The slower speeds and heatsink-less design may put people off but I can see these memory put to good use by OEMs and system builders due to their impressive compatibility & hassle-free design. Now overclocking wasn't a great experience since I wasn't able to get much out of these DIMMs but that's not what these DIMMs are designed for.

In terms of pricing, the DDR5-5600 memory costs $57.99 per module while the DDR5-5200 memory costs the same which is quite unusual. Buying a pair of these for a dual-channel kit will cost 114.99 USD which is around as much as the Teamgroup Elite series DIMMs but with slightly better timings. The pricing difference is around $5 US between these DIMMs and since both of them have various deals and promos being offered from time to time, it's best to get the cheapest one since you are not going to see a big performance difference. But Crucial's stability is something that I am really impressed and will definitely recommend it to budget PC builders.

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