ADATA sent in their latest DDR5 memory kit under their XPG Gaming brand, the XPG Lancer DDR5 6000 CL30 32GB kit recently sent in by ADATA. The XPG Lancer memory kit belongs in XPG’s upper end line of memory kits that supports DDR5 memory. I’ll be going over this particular model from XPG, as there is an older similarly specced model, the 32GB DDR5 6000 but with CL40 timings, and then pitting the review model against the Kingston Fury Renegade 32GB DDR5 7200 CL38 we reviewed here last year just to answer the question: “Does the rated speed still matter against better/tighter timings?”
Disclaimer: ADATA sent over two memory kits, with the Lancer DDR5 6000 CL40 to be added to my inventory of DDR5 memory modules for testing and baseline DDR5 6000. Full editorial control on whatever test results will still fall on my discretion as a reviewer.
Table of Contents
XPG Lancer DDR5 6000 CL30 Packaging/Specs
XPG, being ADATA’s gaming sub brand presents all of its products in their signature bright red box, with one of XPG’s brand characters named Mera occupying the lower left corner of the packaging. A representation of the Lancer memory module is of course posted in the middle.
As for the memory module itself, it’s heat-sink is a black coated brushed aluminum with some diagonal ribbed / fluted texture. On another note, there’s a white variant of the Lancer DDR5 also available. Part of the ARGB’s diffuser peeks out at the side. On the top end side, the ARGB diffuser dominates the heat-sink and tapers towards either end of the memory module. While lighted, the ARGB has just about the same brightness as the motherboard, AIO water block and GPU’s ARGB. The diffuser equipped on the Lancer provides ample brightness without being overly too bright (as what I noticed with the Fury Renegade).
Specwise, when users initially load the memory onto the motherboard, it will always default to the slowest rated speed. Upon booting, we need to make sure to change the memory profile (not just the speed). There are several loaded profiles and the XPG Lancer having
XPG Lancer DDR5 6000 CL30 Performance Tests
In this performance test, I’ll put the CL30 Lancer up against the older CL40 Lancer as a baseline and then the Fury Renegade DDR5 7200 CL38, to see if having higher MTs with slightly higher latency can perform better than a memory kit with lower MTs but higher latency.
To test, I’m using my test bench consisting of a B650M board with a Ryzen 5 7600 CPU, an RTX 3060 in lieu of the Intel Arc 750 which is currently borrowed, and a 1TB ADATA Legend 850 Lite for hosting the OS and apps for testing. This should provide a test environment of at least a modest mid-range gaming PC.
The XPG Lancer DDR5 6000 CL30 has SK Hynix memory chips installed on the module’s PCB and has configured timings based on JEDEC specs as well as XMP and AMD EXPO.
PerformanceTest by PassMark Software
Under the memory test performed in PerformanceTest, the DDR5 6000 CL30 performed very well compared to both the CL40 variant and the Fury Renegade in most of the individual and dominated in the overall memory mark test.
Here are the results:
PC Mark 10 by UL Solutions
PC Mark 10 by the developer of the 3DMark aims to cover tests on a wider manner than testing graphical performance. Browsing, Spreadsheet, Document and image editing synthetic tests are performed. The overall scores are taken and the XPG Lancer DDR5 6000 CL30 is still able to dominate the Fury Renegade in most tests. It however could not beat the Fury Renegade in the overall score thanks to an impressive showing on the productivity tests (Spreadsheet and Document Writing).
Cinebench 23
Another synthetic benchmark is Cinebench. For this test, I ran a 10-minute run to ensure a more consistent score. The results are: first is the CL30 Lancer followed by the CL40, while the Fury Renegade DDR5 7200 was last.
AIDA64 Memory Benchmark
The last of the synthetic benchmark tests is found under AIDA64. This test focuses more on the memory aspect as it also includes CPU cache tests. One thing noticeable is that it seems to factor in more with MTs than latency. The reported latency in AIDA64 has a much different result compared to the test made under PerformanceTest which has a reported latency for the CL30 memory at a much noticeable latency than the CL38 memory. The reported values for WRITE operation for the FURY had a higher score.
Gaming Test: Cyberpunk 2077
For Cyberpunk 2077, game setting is set to preset on high with a resolution of 1080p (as we are gaming using a mid-range GPU best for 1080p resolution). Game performance (ie using the in-game benchmark) is captured with CapFrameX. We’ll be looking at how well the game performed based on the average FPS, 99 percent, 1 percent and frame times.
Gaming Test: CounterStrike 2
Same with Cyberpunk, game setting is set to a preset of High and resolution of 1080p and performance capture is again with CapFrameX (as CS2 now supports DirectX 12). Recording is set at 200 seconds and this time I played a couple of practice rounds against bots in Casual.
What’s interesting with the runs are the results on the two XPG memory models. While the CL30 did have a recorded higher P99 frame, the slower CL40 had recorded better 1% Low and Average Frames. It could probably have been affected by my run by not using smoke grenades which does affect framerates. The Fury Renegade also got higher results, this could also be due to the randomness of playing the game can slightly affect output. A revisit using a more repeatable test method using the game’s engine will be performed.
Summary and Price Reveal
There you have it, the XPG Lancer DDR5 6000 CL30 is a significant upgrade to its older CL40 variant and with a local price starting at Php 8260* offers a great bargain for those looking for DDR5 memory that has both performance and style. Comparing it to the Fury Renegade we reviewed last year however shows that memory timings or latency does factor in more now especially with DDR5 speeds more than ever. While the Fury Renegade offers a high 7200 MTs, having tighter timings on the Lancer DDR5 6000 CL30 edged it to a degree and in some cases beating it. It does show that a lower CL (CAS Latency) rating does affect overall memory performance, and the currently the combination of DDR6000 and CL30 does
Now checking online retailers for the Fury Renegade’s current price reveal that it hasn’t moved much from the previous SRP (around Php 15000 – 16000) from last year. And comparing it against the offering from XPG (ADATA) right now, it’s definitely a no brainer to pick this up and the savings can go to another part in your new PC Build. Note that there are other DDR5 6000 CL30 Memory kits from other brands out in the market as well, with varying price differences. But so far, XPG Lancer 32GB DDR5 6000 CL30 offers the best price to performance amongst available (at least right now) on the market like in Lazada at least.
