FEATURED ADATA XPG Lancer RGB 32GB DDR5-6000 CL40 - AX5U6000C4016G-DCLARBK

[Woomack]

Today I will share my experience with the ADATA XPG Lancer 32GB DDR5-6000 CL40 kit. As you probably noticed, there is a front-page review that covers this memory kit too. However, there is one significant difference, my memory kit is using Samsung IC, while the one on the front page has Hynix IC. ADATA decided to put all IC under the same product number so whatever fits the XMP can be there. So far it's only Samsung and Hynix as most Micron chips won't reach DDR5-6000.
Some more specifications and features you can find on the ADATA website - click.







For sure ADATA made a good job with the XMP profile. The tested memory kit seems to work on every popular motherboard. I haven't seen problems around the web and it works fine on ASUS and Gigabyte motherboards that I have for tests right now. The price is also one of the lowest for the DDR5-6000 kits on the market. Right now it's still around $450 but you can expect it to go down soon.

The tested memory kit has no problems passing stability tests up to DDR5-6600. What is a bit weird is that somewhere there it ends and can't even pass easier benchmarks at DDR5-6800. This is not what I was expecting, considering that the G.Skill DDR5-6000 which is also using Samsung IC could run up to DDR5-7000 in tests but didn't like so tight timings as ADATA up to DDR5-6600.

Let's start with results at XMP profile and after that, some OC results at tighter timings.
The XMP is rated at DDR5-6000 CL40-40-40 1.35V so quite relaxed and the voltage is higher than required. This is where we could fit Hynix IC that likes a bit higher voltages.




Test results

Spoiler: XMP#1 DDR5-6000 CL40-40-40 1.35V

Spoiler: DDR5-6200 CL32-35-35 1.50V

Spoiler: DDR5-6200 CL30-35-35 1.55V

Spoiler: DDR5-6400 CL32-36-36 1.50V

Spoiler: DDR5-6600 CL34-37-37 1.50V

As I mentioned earlier, the ADATA kit could run at CL30 while previously reviewed G.Skill couldn't even boot below CL32 at DDR5-6000+ and up to 1.60V. I'm not sure if it's a matter of used motherboard - ASUS Strix Z690-I Gaming or something else but DDR5-6800 was barely booting and was crashing randomly even in the AIDA64 benchmark.
I will try to rerun some tests once I get a better motherboard.

The ADATA XMP Lancer memory is one of the best options right now because of the lower price than the competitive series and great overclocking results. Even though I couldn't set it at DDR5-6800 then results at up to DDR5-6600 are pretty good and can be tuned further.
The tested ADATA kit could also run on Gigabyte Z690 Master up to DDR5-6400, while G.Skill Trident Z5 wasn't stable even at XMP settings (on BIOS that supposed to improve compatibility with G.Skill RAM). I blame Gigabyte for this situation as the G.Skill DDR5 is great but in this case, ADATA seems a safer option.


As usual, feel free to comment or add your own results on the ADATA XPG Lancer DDR5 memory series.

 

[EarthDog]

Just got a set of these for the overclocked results! Thanks for adding the info!

 

[Woomack]

It's a nice kit and I noticed that the price is going down. In my local stores, I can find it for about $400 inc 23% VAT.

 

[EarthDog]

$499 here (without tax, so around $535 total) on newegg. Price is still quite high.

David's review of these sticks is on the front page.

XPG LANCER RGB DDR5 6000 Review - Overclockers

ADATA's new XPG LANCER RGB combines an elegant design, speedy XMP profile, and excelelnt overclocking capabilities due to SK Hynix ICs.

www.overclockers.com

 

[Woomack]

Yep, I mentioned that in the first post. His kit uses Hynix IC so the results are different. Somehow, I wonder how high he can stabilize DDR5, as he only said that didn't try 6600 as 1.5V was too high. There are kits at 1.55V QVL (just not in mass production) so I'm not sure if it's too high. On the other hand, the default voltage for DDR5 is 1.1V so for sure there are users that feel uncomfortable with 1.4V+.

Edit:
I added some photos ... finally can show my new teflon-covered power cable extensions

 

[Sabishiihito]

I bought a kit of the Caster DDR5 6000 and those turned out to be Samsung as well. I no conspiracy theorist but it does seem like the review samples that were sent out are using the much better Hynix ICs while actual retail is Samsung.

 

[Woomack]

I guess you are right and it's not only a theory. All early kits and review samples seem to be Hynix. Every ADATA Lancer kit on early QVL from ASUS, MSI, or Gigabyte was Hynix (Samsung was added about 3 months later). Every retail kit had Samsung for a long time, while now some kits are mixed and it's a matter of luck. The same, every early G.Skill on QVL was Hynix but in stores almost every 6000 CL36/40 kit was Samsung, and also many review samples were Hynix too.
If we exclude 2-3 motherboard models then it doesn't matter as most motherboards won't run at much more than 6400 and results on Hynix or Samsung are about the same. The problem is only for that small group of overclockers who expect the best IC to pass 7000 at tight timings, and then Hynix gives better results.

Actually, I don't mind if there is Samsung or Hynix as Samsung can make some good results too. The problem that I have are motherboards, especially ASUS Apex. I'm after 7 motherboards right now and the best is still ASUS Strix Z690-I Gaming. It looks about like below:
ASUS Apex - max 2 slots 6400-6600, when the better slot was stable at 7200+
MSI Unify-X - max 6800 on 2 slots when the better slot can make 7000+
ASUS Strix - max 6933 on 2 slots, max 7200+ on the better slot
max is what passed memtest as it can post or pass easier benchmarks at a higher clock

Only on MSI, I still see improvements because of the BIOS version, so I hope it will finally make 7000+. On ASUS there is no significant difference since maybe December, and there are a lot of betas around. ASUS Apex has production problems and there are a lot of returns with the same slot issues. Lucky few overclockers have a mobo with two 7200+ slots but most of them passed multiple motherboards to get that.

The reviewed ADATA/Samsung kit could pass memtest at 6800 on MSI Unify-X A22/A24 beta, but I don't remember timings.

 

[Sabishiihito]

I had an early Apex (purchased November 2021) that could boot 7K dual channel with Hynix, but I stupidly damaged the socket and even though I had "insurance" on it, the retailer didn't have any more Apex boards in stock so I had to settle for a Hero -_-

I didn't even know review samples of G.Skill 6K C36/C40 were using Hynix, I assumed all kits were Samsung. Oh well, right now it seems the best deal is Team 6200 for $399.

 

[Woomack]

I had enough of exchanging Apex and switched to Unify-X. Maybe lower max clock but at least guaranteed it works at 6800. However, I see that all my kits OC worse on MSI than on ASUS. Corsair, ADATA and G.Skill run a bit lower for benchmarks but at least all of them can be stabilized at 6800 and tight timings. I only don't know why RTL/IOL adjustment doesn't work on MSI. No matter what I set, it's the same as auto.

Kingston Fury 5600 and 6000 are all Hynix and are one of the cheapest around. Dominator 6200 is Hynix too and costs as much as 6000 G.Skill. Everything 6200+ CL36 or less is right now also Hynix but prices are high. New 6600/6800 CL40/42 kits that will be released soon (G.Skill is on the way) are all Hynix and listed on some QVL (I think it was on ASUS mobos). On ASUS/MSI/Gigabyte QVL are a lot of 6800-7000 kits but all of them are unreleased/test versions. I guess that manufacturers don't even want to try with 7000 right now when there is not even one motherboard that guarantees that clock. Most models still struggle to guarantee 6600, but I highly doubt that for most of them a new BIOS is the answer.

ADATA still seems like one of the best options because of its better compatibility than other brands and low price. At least no one complains about ADATA on Gigabyte or cheaper 4-slot mobos. It also works fine on Z690 Master which still has problems with Corsair or G.Skill.

 

[Sabishiihito]

Also sort of off-topic but sort of on-topic...I have the Z690 Strix ITX board and the same EK Velocity CPU block. Did you have issues mounting it? The row of 4x4 capacitors on the back seem to interfere with the backplate.

 

[Woomack]

I installed it only for like 2-3 days, but I don't remember any problems. I wouldn't install it if I saw it can damage the motherboard. These blocks have terrible backplates and I already had problems with some other motherboards. In general, these blocks are of lower quality than they look at the first sight, but the price is high. I don't get how the price went up by 300%+ for CPU blocks in the last couple of years. Higher series cost as much as i5 CPUs and it's only a CPU block.
There is one thing you can't see in the photos. I used a different mounting frame on top but it shouldn't matter as the backplate is the same. I had the Velocity with AMD mounting kit and a Classic block for Intel. However, it shouldn't change anything.

Do you have any luck with that Strix mobo? I went up to 6933 on 2 slots so it's not bad, but the better slot still can pass memtest at 7200+. Surprisingly, it's the A1 slot which usually is worse. Yesterday I was checking the latest MSI BIOS but it's worse than the previous one and it can't even boot at 6800 with 2 sticks. I guess we will see Z790 soon so I may just skip searching for a satisfying Z690 mobo. All three of my DDR5 kits can make 7200+ but only on a single slot. On two slots, the Strix is the best from my mobos.

 

[EarthDog]

Also sort of off-topic but sort of on-topic...I have the Z690 Strix ITX board and the same EK Velocity CPU block. Did you have issues mounting it? The row of 4x4 capacitors on the back seem to interfere with the backplate.

Pretty sure they just came out with a new skt 1700 backplate?

Alphacool Announces Apex Aluminum Backplate for LGA1700 Coolers - Overclockers

Today, Alphacool announced the new Apex aluminum backplate designed for its LGA1700 coolers. The new backplate improves the structural rigidity of the motherboard and socket compared to the stock Intel mount while providing "significant improvements in cooling performance". The backplate is...

www.overclockers.com

 

[Woomack]

Pretty sure they just came out with a new skt 1700 backplate?

Alphacool Announces Apex Aluminum Backplate for LGA1700 Coolers - Overclockers

Today, Alphacool announced the new Apex aluminum backplate designed for its LGA1700 coolers. The new backplate improves the structural rigidity of the motherboard and socket compared to the stock Intel mount while providing "significant improvements in cooling performance". The backplate is...

www.overclockers.com

It's about EK, not Alphacool... also that Alphacool backplate looks much better than EK.

 

[Sabishiihito]

I installed it only for like 2-3 days, but I don't remember any problems. I wouldn't install it if I saw it can damage the motherboard. These blocks have terrible backplates and I already had problems with some other motherboards. In general, these blocks are of lower quality than they look at the first sight, but the price is high. I don't get how the price went up by 300%+ for CPU blocks in the last couple of years. Higher series cost as much as i5 CPUs and it's only a CPU block.
There is one thing you can't see in the photos. I used a different mounting frame on top but it shouldn't matter as the backplate is the same. I had the Velocity with AMD mounting kit and a Classic block for Intel. However, it shouldn't change anything.

Do you have any luck with that Strix mobo? I went up to 6933 on 2 slots so it's not bad, but the better slot still can pass memtest at 7200+. Surprisingly, it's the A1 slot which usually is worse. Yesterday I was checking the latest MSI BIOS but it's worse than the previous one and it can't even boot at 6800 with 2 sticks. I guess we will see Z790 soon so I may just skip searching for a satisfying Z690 mobo. All three of my DDR5 kits can make 7200+ but only on a single slot. On two slots, the Strix is the best from my mobos.

I can barely boot 7200 with one stick in slot A1.

 

[Woomack]

Some guys have better luck with MSI Z690I Unify, but I don't want to spend the next $500+ only to check if it can work at 1 memory ratio higher. On the QVL, Z690I Unify has kits up to 7000 while Z690 Unify-X has up to 6800. Barely anyone can make more than 6800 on Unify-X but nearly everyone can make 6800, and this is max guaranteed by MSI right now. On the other hand, ASUS just added 6800 (unreleased) kits to APEX and Strix ITX QVL. In both cases, it won't work on every motherboard, but both models have only DDR5-6400/6600 in specs, so ASUS protected themselves. APEX had 6400 but I see they changed it recently.
There is still Gigabyte Tachyon and I saw that someone could run it at 7000, but again, I don't want to spend money on one more memory ratio. At least not now as Z690 is on the market for 6 months already and BIOS updates didn't help as much as I thought.

 

[Sabishiihito]

Found some settings over on HWBot that let me boot 2x8GB 7000C32, but I ended up returning the board anyway. Awaiting delivery of a Unify-X now.

 

[fbsrkc06]

hello sir
i have the same ram

msi z790 carbon wifi + 14900k

please give info about oc timing

ty ty ty

Post magically merged: Nov 19, 2023

result

 

[Woomack]

I'm not sure if IC is the same in older and newer kits. ADATA was using Samsung and Hynix, and recently Hynix is different too. If you have Hynix IC under the heatsinks (even CPUZ says that), then you can set something like 6400-7000 CL32-38-38/34-42-42 1.35-1.45V. If there is Samsung, then something like 6400-6600 CL36-40-40/CL38-40-40 1.35-1.40V will be about max.
I recommend trying on your own how high it will go at relaxed timings like 42-48-48 and 1.40-1.45V VDD/VDDQ. Once you find the max clock, then play some with timings. Motherboards typically handle sub-timings well. Maybe not the best, but it should be stable.
On the other hand, I wouldn't count on any significant performance gain over what it's already running.