Essencore KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB 32GB DDR5-8000 Memory Kit Review

Since the premiere of DDR5 memory, Essencore has been playing safe, and we haven’t seen KLEVV-branded memory modules at very high frequencies or very tight timings. Recently everything has changed, and the expanded product portfolio now includes memory kits up to 8000MT/s and also lower frequency kits at tight timings. In this review, we will focus on the fastest available KLEVV memory kit, which seems the most interesting for gamers and overclockers.

The tested memory kit is designed for the latest Intel chipsets and supports XMP, so our tests will be performed on the ASUS Maximus Z790 APEX motherboard, which shouldn’t limit the hidden potential of the KLEVV CRAS XR5 memory kit. Let’s begin with specifications and features so we know more details about the tested memory kit.

Specifications and Features

Key Features

• Unique Circular Light Bar Design
  The special top diffuser shape design delivers an unprecedented lighting effect from the top view.
• Diversified RGB Color Display
  Support 16.8 million RGB color displays for various combinations/customizations.
• Superior Aluminum Heatsink
  Aluminum heatsink with premium quality to bring extraordinary cooling effects at all times.
• Built-in PMIC for Improved Power Management
  Featured with onboard PMIC for enhanced power supply stability as well as efficiency.
• On-die ECC for Efficient Error Correction
  Long-term reliability through ODECC technology.
• Intel® XMP 3.0 Ready
  Support Intel® XMP 3.0 one-click overclocking to unlock blazing-fast performance in no time.

All the product specifications and features come from KLEVV, and you can also find them on the product website.

Essencore KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB 8000MT/s – Test Rig 3

Essencore KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB 8000MT/s – Test Rig 4

Essencore KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB 8000MT/s – Test Rig 6

Specifications

The tested memory kit contains two memory modules, 16GB each. The total of 32GB is more than enough for gaming, and only in particular titles can more be required. However, a higher capacity is usually needed for more professional work like rendering, graphic or video editing, and more. Even highly demanding gamers will be OK with 32GB.

KLEVV surprised me by using quite a high voltage in the XMP. The profile has a programmed 1.55V memory voltage, while most competitive brands try not to exceed 1.50V. It’s not an issue, but it will cause the memory modules to run hot, especially in smaller computers with limited airflow. On four-slot motherboards, temperatures won’t be so high, but on our test rig, we could see up to 80°C in extended, high-load tests. Even at such high temperatures, the memory kit was fully stable. The maximum operating temperature for DDR5 is 95°C, so it’s still safe.

The tested memory kit uses Hynix A-die IC, so the best overclocking IC on the market nowadays. This is the only IC used in 7000MT/s+ memory kits available in retail stores. Some manufacturers were experimenting with Hynix M-die, and you can find these memory kits on various motherboard QVL, but in the end, we haven’t seen them in stores.

The KLEVV CRAS  has one XMP profile. I wish to see one lower, like 7200MT/s, for all those users who don’t have the best motherboards. On the other hand, everyone should check the compatibility list before the purchase in the first place. The manufacturer made it harder for us, as motherboards for the 8000MT/s are not listed on the CRAS XR5 product website. In this case, we have to check if the memory kit appears on the desired motherboard QVL.

Only a few motherboards officially support 8000MT/s or higher memory speed. Luckily, ASUS APEX has the tested CRAS XR5 8000MT/s on its compatibility list. It also passes our tests at XMP settings without issues. Other motherboards that maybe don’t have this memory on QVL but still should support such a high memory clock are MSI MEG Z790 Ace, MSI MPG Z790I Edge, Gigabyte AORUS Z790 Tachyon, and EVGA Z790 Dark Kingpin. As you can see, only the top and the most expensive motherboards officially work with the fastest RAM.

Above is a screenshot from ASUS Mem TweakIt software which shows a list of more essential timings when RAM works at the XMP #1 profile – the rated speed of 8000MT/s. Sub-timings may vary depending on the motherboard and its training capabilities. ASUS usually does the job well, and motherboards have no problems with training or running at optimized settings.

Packaging and Product Photos

Packaging

Essencore KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB 8000MT/s -Package 2

Essencore KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB 8000MT/s -Package 3

Essencore KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB 8000MT/s -Package 1

The memory kit arrived in a retail package which is well described. On the back, we will find key features, product and serial numbers, and support’s contact information which, hopefully, we won’t ever need.
There isn’t much inside the package,  only the memory modules. On the other hand, we don’t need much for the installation, and memory installation manuals are always with motherboards. I assume that anyone who buys this type of memory already knows how to install it, but of course, there will be users lured by the top frequency who are new to PC building.

Above, you can see the KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB modules. This series has been on the market for some time but was refreshed with new speeds recently. It’s probably my favorite design as it’s simple but still eye-catching, and the light bar is unique. It’s also one of the few memory kits available in white. Even though we can see more white memory kits in the last weeks, most competitive series are still mainly black or silver.

As the product name suggests, the memory kit is equipped with RGB illumination, and it looks exceptional, as you can see in the photos in this review. The RGB illumination is fully supported by all leading motherboard manufacturers and works on other, less popular brands.

As was expected, under the heatsinks are already well-known Hynix A-die memory chips, as it’s the only IC that we can find in such high-frequency memory kits. Under the heatsinks is also a Richtek PMIC, which is the best option if we think about overclocking. This combo is the best nowadays and has the widest motherboard compatibility. The heatsinks are also equipped with thermal pads on the whole surface, which let modules run at high voltages keeping stability. Let’s move to performance tests.

Test Results

Stability at Rated Speed

The XMP profile was tested in AIDA64 System Stability Test and passed without problems.

The memory kit passed more extended stability tests at XMP settings on the ASUS Z790 APEX motherboard. There were no problems during various tests that took us many hours. ASUS APEX is one of few motherboards that officially supports KLEVV CRAS XR5 8000MT/s memory. It is also recommended if we consider further overclocking, as it has the best BIOS support from available motherboards. Other options give good results but usually require more work on manual settings and more knowledge regarding various timing settings. It doesn’t mean that ASUS APEX will provide us with a one-click overclocked setting, but it’s for sure more user-friendly.

Before starting the comparison tests, here are a couple of photos of the test rig that shows the environment in which the KLEVV CRAS XR5 was tested. There were no other fans, and the memory kit was fully stable during all tests.

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Comparison Tests

Tests were performed on popular synthetic benchmarks and benchmarks included in popular games. The list consists of tests that react well to memory performance. Older popular benchmarks and tests based on pure CPU performance were skipped as we wouldn’t see any difference.

For readers’ convenience, I added the overclocking result for comparison so you see if it’s worth the overclocking.

Benchmarks list includes:

• AIDA64 Cache & Memory Benchmark
• PCMark 10 – default benchmark
• 3DMark: Time Spy, Time Spy Extreme, and Fire Strike Extreme
• Superposition Benchmark – 8K Optimized
• Final Fantasy XV Benchmark – 4K High Details
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider – 1080p, high details, default benchmark
• Far Cry 6 – 1440p, high details, default benchmark
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – 1440p, high details, default benchmark 

AIDA64 Cache & Memory Benchmark

AIDA64 Memory and Cache Benchmark is probably the most popular software to measure RAM bandwidth and latency. Results are scaling great with memory frequency. The memory profile of the KLEVV memory suggests that the performance should be similar to that of the Patriot 8000MT/s memory kit. Still, additional timings are tighter, and memory bandwidth is each run about 2GB/s higher. We could reach 124GB/s bandwidth and about 57ns latency at the XMP profile.

Overclocking pushed it up to nearly 130GB/s and around 51ns latency. Even though there is a significant difference, then at this frequency, we should focus more on timings and related latency. Again, this is the highest memory bandwidth out-of-the-box we have seen, as KLEVV memory is by a hair better than the Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 in our tests.

PCMark10

PCMark 10 is not reacting well to memory settings, as many more components affect the total score. We can still see that the higher frequency RAM provides a bit better results.

3DMark – Time Spy

3DMark series benchmarks are already showing a broader gap in results. We can see up to a 1000-mark difference between the slowest and the fastest RAM kit. The overclocked settings will always be the fastest, but the XMP is also giving us very respectable results, and again slightly higher than Patriot.

3DMark – Time Spy Extreme

A similar performance scaling is visible in the Time Spy Extreme benchmark, and once more, the KLEVV memory beats Patriot, but not much.

Unigine Superposition

The Superposition benchmark shows a couple of points higher results on Patriot Viper Xtreme 5. Both 8000MT/s memory kits are very close to each other in all tests, but one or another is always in front, even after multiple runs.

Final Fantasy XV Benchmark

Final Fantasy XV benchmark shows the same story as Unigine Superposition. Barely better results on Patriot memory, but still better.

Shadow Of The Tomb Raider

In popular games, we are back to slightly better results on the KLEVV memory kit. It’s only up to 1FPS, but repeatable in all games. On the other hand, high memory frequency gives us anything between 7 and 30 FPS in popular games at 1080p and 1440p. The performance gain depends on the title, as not all react the same way on RAM performance. The lower the display resolution, the more critical RAM performance. This affects more avid gamers and power users who love to compete, and every FPS is important for them.

Far Cry 6

In more demanding games or games with higher display resolution, the performance gain from fast RAM is not so visible but still notable. In our tests, KLEVV 8000MT/s memory could achieve a similar maximum FPS whether memory was overclocked or run at the XMP profile.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla results give us the same conclusion. As long as the faster RAM helps, most users can live with a lower frequency and cheaper memory. The 8000MT/s is not for everyone, but it gives users a choice as long as we want the top-of-the-line memory kit. Looking at our results, the optimal for current gaming computers seems to be DDR5-7200, and this option is also available in the KLEVV offer. Results in games should be only slightly worse, but the number of compatible motherboards is much higher. Most Z790 motherboards support 7200MT/s, while barely any can reach 8000MT/s or higher.

Overclocking

Temperatures and Voltages

As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, I was surprised that KLEVV decided to use 1.55V in the XMP profile. Most brands try not to exceed 1.45V because of high temperatures during extended high loads. On the other hand, the memory kit is perfectly stable, as confirmed in a couple of days of various tests. Because of the already high voltages, I decided not to set them any higher for review purposes. I highly doubt anyone would use even higher voltages in daily usage.

The KLEVV CRAS XR5 memory could run perfectly stable at 8000MT/s and 1.45V, so 1.55V was clearly too much. Competitive memory kits at 8000MT/s also typically have 1.45V in the XMP. Since all available 8000MT/s or higher memory kits use a similar Hynix IC, this is the expected voltage at CL38, while additional timings may vary.

As long as mixed-load tests and not the most demanding games give us around 60°C, then once we run extended stability tests that load RAM to about 97%, we will see over 70°C and even close to 80°C. This temperature proved stable, confirming the high quality of KLEVV memory modules. This is, after all, a Hynix brand, so they know best how to pick the best IC and how to design modules for the best results. A similar situation we can see in Crucial, which as a Micron brand, delivers the best Micron IC-based memory kits. Of course, other brands proved their binning can be exceptional, so we can see a pretty tough competition between all the available 8000MT/s memory kits.

Below you can see Hwinfo64 readings on memory kit sensors and the mentioned peak of 79.8°C after a couple of hours of stability test. In the above chart, you can see how it matches a regular voltage of 1.45V at 8000MT/s.

DDR5-8400 CL38-48-48 1.55V

On our test platform, we could reach the DDR5-8400 at primary timings and voltages from the XMP profile, so CL38-48-48 and 1.55V VDD/VDDQ. Since the voltage wasn’t a problem at the XMP settings, it also wasn’t causing overheating at the overclocked settings. The screenshot with mentioned settings is below. It’s not including additional fine-tuning, so if we spend more time, we can easily pass 130GB/s bandwidth and go below 50ns latency.

The overall performance is only slightly better than the XMP setting. At the same time,e anything above 8000MT/s is hard to stabilize, and the list of motherboards that will support higher frequencies is even shorter. The high performance of the XMP profile suggests it’s the easy way to optimal performance, and the saved time that we won’t waste on hours of overclocking can be spent on our favorite games. Of course,e we are on Overclockers, so we encourage everyone to overclock and share results in our community. Our forums are open to anyone who wish to show off or ask questions.

Conclusion

The 8000MT/s is not the first memory kit from the CRAS XR5 RGB that I had a chance to review. I’m glad that the same high quality can be found in every KLEVV memory kit. The manufacturer cares about stability and optimal results; however, this time, the used voltage was too high for the given settings. Hard to say if it’s a matter of an average memory kit that requires a higher voltage or something else. The competitive Hynix A-die memory kits are widely available at lower voltages, which doesn’t change anything besides maximum temperatures. In our case, temperatures were not an issue as the memory kit was fully stable, even up to 80°C. It’s still considerably below maximum safe temperatures for DDR5 memory, but some users won’t feel comfortable. After the temperatures, all disadvantages end as the memory kit performs exceptionally well and overclocks up to DDR5-8400, or even higher if you are lucky with a perfect CPU and motherboard combo.

There were no problems with the compatibility or stability of the tested memory kit. The main problem for most users is the need for an expensive motherboard, as only a few models will work at 8000MT/s or higher. The list is even more limited if we want to be sure, as the only officially supported is ASUS Maximus Z790 APEX. With the new AMD AGESA, we can expect that the fastest DDR5 memory kits will soon be available with EXPO profiles. For now, it’s guaranteed to work only on Intel chipsets.

Since prices have dropped for all DDR5 memory kits in the last months, we can expect 32GB 8000MT/s memory kits to cost about $300 or less. This is the expected price for the KLEVV CRAS XR5 RGB 32GB DDR5-8000 memory kit. However, I couldn’t find it in any popular online store. I assume the product is still fresh and will be available soon. The mass production of the refreshed, top-speed memory kits is on the way, and the product samples are pretty limited, so I’m glad that KLEVV picked us as one of the few reviewers.

The KLEVV CRAS XR5 32GB DDR5-8000 memory kit is one of the most interesting options on the memory market, and it’s highly recommended by Overclockers if we are thinking of achieving exceptional results on the latest Intel platform. I hope anyone who buys this memory will have as much fun as I had while testing it for our review.

Click the stamp for an explanation of what this means.

Bartosz Waluk – Woomack

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