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High-speed RAM kits belong to the final optimization devices of powerful platforms. With the appearance of modules of the DDR5 standard, new horizons for tuning their systems have opened up for enthusiasts. Today we have a unique dual-channel kit Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 with a capacity of 32 GB (2×16 GB) based on the famous SK hynix A-die chips for review. What features do such high-speed kits have? Which platforms are suitable?
Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 line
The Kingston company, having a leading position in the segment of RAM modules, usually tries to satisfy the needs of mass consumers first, focusing on solutions with the maximum potential demand. However, recently the manufacturer has been experimenting more actively with niche products for the most demanding customers. With the advent of RAM of the DDR5 standard, developers have more space to realize their potential.
For fans of maximum speeds, the company offered the Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 line. The series includes individual modules (16 GB and 32 GB), as well as dual-channel sets of DDR5-6000, DDR5-6400, DDR5-6800, and DDR5-7200 with a total capacity of 32 GB and 64 TB. Latency – CL32, CL36 and CL38, supply voltage – 1.35V, 1.4V and 1.45V.
As you can see, even the starting modules of the series already exceed the officially recommended modes for Intel Core 13th generation (DDR5-5600) and AMD Ryzen 7000 (DDR5-5200) processors. So it’s an offer for those who don’t want to be limited by standard frameworks and are trying to get more out of their platform.
Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 is equipped with additional assembled radiators. Initially, the cooler was decorated in dark colors. Later, the manufacturer offered versions in white silver colors in the case of the general design of the system in such a range, or vice versa – for the organization of an additional contrasting zone as part of the platform.
The modules are Intel XMP 3.0 certified with support for the appropriate profiles that provide set modes with optimal settings of delays and supply voltages for certain speed modes.
Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 32GB (KF572C38RWK2-32)
We have the top kit of the line – Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 32 GB (KF572C38RWK2-32) – for review. Two-channel set with a pair of speed modules 7200 MT/s (mega-transactions per second).
The memory comes in a cardboard box. Inside there is a damping protective insert made of Plexiglas, in which the modules themselves are fixed. In the kit, you can find a sticker with the Kingston FURY logo.
As you can see, in the case of the KF572C38RWK2-32 set, the cooling system is designed in silver and white colors. This visually contrasts well with the black PCB of the modules.
The coolers have a combined collapsible structure of symmetrical shape. The base uses an aluminum plate, which is covered with additional plates of natural color. Such “decor” with a complex profile shape adds certain visual aggression.
On one side of the module, in the central part of the radiator plate, there is a rather large logo of the Kingston FURY series.
On the reverse side, there is a sticker with some additional information, such as the name of the kit, the total capacity, the module’s membership in the paired kit, and the supply voltage. We also note the mention that the modules are assembled in Taiwan.
Even without dismantling the cooling system, it is clear that we are dealing with peer modules. The memory chips are located on one side of the PCB. Thermal pads are used to improve heat transfer from DRAM chips to radiators. Additional thermoplastic material is also used to contact the PMIC power management chip located in the central part of the module.
In general, it should be noted that Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 has quite compact dimensions. Taking into account the radiator, the total height of the modules is 39.2 mm. This allows you to use chunky cooling systems for the processor.
XMP 3.0 support allows the Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 32 GB (KF572C38RWK2-32) kit to offer several profiles with different operating modes at once. JEDEC mode is initially activated. In this case, it is DDR5-4800 CL40-39-39-77 with a supply voltage of 1.1 V.
The main profile assumes a mode of DDR5-7200 СL38-44-44-105 at 1.45 V. If the motherboard is not able to provide this level of supply voltage, a second XMP profile is available with DDR5-6800 СL36-42-42-105 at 1.4 V. For the AMD platform and Intel 12/13-th non-K chips, a third profile has been prepared – DDR5-6400 CL32-39-39-80 1.4 V.
Test bench configuration
- Motherboard: ASUS PRIME B760M-A WIFI (Intel B760, DDR5)
- CPU: Intel Core i5-13600KF (6/12+8; 3.5/5.1 GHz + 2.6/3.9 GHz)
- Cooling: ASUS ROG RYUO III 360 ARGB
- Video card: MSI GeForce RTX 4070 GAMING X TRIO 12G
- Drive: Kingston KC3000 1024GB (M.2 NVMe; PCI-E 4.0 x4)
- PSU: ASUS ROG STRIX 1000W GOLD (1000 W)
Operation
Considering the speed characteristics, Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 kits do not support Plug N Play technology. When first turned on, the kits work in the mode according to the JEDEC standard – DDR5-4800. So, to activate the target DDR5-7200, you need to select the appropriate XMP profile in the BIOS.
It should be noted that to use the potential of modules with speeds at the level of 7200 MT/s, you will need LGA1700 platforms from Intel. In addition, an important nuance is that such modes are available only to processors with unlocked multipliers. That is chips with the indexes “K” or “KF” in the model name. We encountered this nuance during testing of the Core i9-13900F processor, with which memory worked only in DDR5-6400 mode. The same thing happened with the Core i5-13400F, which was used for comparison.
(screenshot 1-2 work with memory on Non-K)
So, as it turned out in practice, the notification “improved memory operation” for CPUs with an unlocked multiplier is full of practical meaning. It’s not just a marketing term. This is also reported by motherboard manufacturers, noting the possibility of working with high-speed RAM kits only if there are chips of the enthusiast line with unlocked multipliers.
Returning directly to the Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 32 GB (KF572C38RWK2-32), before practical tests we will get more technical information about the composition of the modules using the Thaiphoon Burner application ((https://www.softnology.biz/). Even before the experiments began, we already knew that the kit uses SK hynix A-die memory chips, which are usually found in 7000+ kits.
The utility really confirms the presence of top 16-gigabit chips with additional frequency potential. We are dealing with peer-to-peer modules for which 8-layer printed circuit boards are used. The memory modules were manufactured at the beginning of this year in Taiwan.
Among the features, we note that the power management chip (PMIC) APW8502C from Anpec Electronics is used here. As we have already mentioned, this controller is also additionally cooled by contacting the main radiator of the modules through a thermal pad.
Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 are equipped with M88SPD5118 SPD chips with an integrated temperature sensor. Therefore, if necessary, you can monitor the heating of the modules.
We started the practical experiments by determining the memory bandwidth and latency using AIDA64. For comparison, we also used the base mode DDR5-4800 (40-39-39-76) and also simulated the extended profile of DDR5-6000 (36-38-38-80). As you can see, in DDR5-7200 mode, the dual-channel kit in read mode crosses the landmark of 100 GB/s, and approaches it in write and copy operations. Compared to DDR5-4800, the increase is a very significant 43%.
The difference in the total latency of the memory subsystem is very noticeable – 81.8 vs. 62.8 ns. Compared to DDR5-6000, the difference in all indicators also takes place.
For practical tasks, we used the 7-Zip archiver for evaluation. The internal performance test usually reacts to changes in the capabilities of the memory subsystem, but in general, the difference even in extremely opposite modes is much more modest. If with DDR5-4800 the platform received 122,259 GIPS, then with the use of DDR5-7200 mode – 133,012 GIPS. The difference is about 9%.
We also experimented with transcoding an almost 5-minute 4K clip into 1080p (H.265) using HandBrake for the conversion. Apparently, such a task also does not have special requirements for the capabilities of the memory subsystem, so the difference in indicators is relatively small.
Not surprisingly, the difference in 3DMark Time Spy results was more noticeable. As the memory subsystem improved, both the processor subtest scores and the total score increased.
In order not to rely only on synthetics, we also evaluated the changes in several real games. The increase in fps when using high-speed kits depends on the specific project, however, we register a double-digit percentage increase in performance only in Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
At the same time, we will usually note a noticeable increase in the minimum fps. For example, in the same Cyberpunk 2077, the use of DDR5-7200 mode increased this indicator by as much as 21% compared to DDR5-4800.
Overclocking
Although the Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 32GB kit (KF572C38RWK2-32) already initially offers a very high-speed mode, we were interested in experimenting with the kit’s capabilities. We will remind you that for the tests we used the ASUS PRIME B760M-A WIFI on the Intel B760 chipset. An ordinary model for which support for DDR5-7200+ memory modules is nominally indicated. However, it is obvious that in terms of RAM overclocking something extraordinary should not be expected from it. Efforts to further improve computer performance on just such a model will demonstrate what you can count on when using such a platform.
First, we tried to reduce the CL timing from 38 to 36 without changing the rest of the formula and the supply voltage parameters. The set worked without problems in regular mode at 36-44-44-105. In this case, AIDA64 registered an increase in read speed of 1 GB/s, and a minimal decrease in total latency, from 62.8 to 62 ns.
Returning to the starting delay formula, we used the DDR5-7400 mode. The set also reached this milestone without nuances and additional settings.
When using DDR5-7600 (38-44-44-105), the AIDA64 test stage passed without problems, but during additional load tests, certain stability issues appeared. Immediately after completion, 3DMark Time Spy failed to obtain a result, indicating that there are problems with the operation of the platform.
In DDR5-7800 mode with the same timing settings and 1.45 V supply voltage, it was only possible to pass the AIDA64 test, after which the system immediately froze. So you can notice that the resulting picture with the results is no longer a screenshot, but a photo of the screen. Frankly speaking, even such results on a simple board with Intel B760 are rather unexpectedly good. Probably, on more expensive models with Intel Z690/Z790, it will be possible to get stable DDR5-7600/7800 but to switch to DDR5-8000+, specialized overclocking boards with a two-slot configuration are usually required, which involve the use of one module per channel. However, this is a completely different story.
Heating
Taking into account the peculiarities of the power supply system of DDR5 modules, the temperature regime of the memory of this standard requires special attention. Especially when it comes to high-speed kits with increased supply voltage. Given the presence of an SPD chip with an integrated thermal sensor, it is quite easy to assess the operating mode.
In rest mode, the temperature of the modules on the open stand was kept at 31C and 25C indoors.
During the extreme load in the specialized AIDA64 test, the temperature rose to 58C. This is an acceptable value, taking into account the fact that the declared operating range is 0–85С.
In addition, it should be taken into account that the experiments were carried out on a platform with a liquid cooling system. That is, the area around the processor connector was not blown at all.
If you focus on the indicators in modes with more realistic loads of the memory subsystem, the heating of the modules will be significantly lower. For example, after 100 consecutive cycles of the 7-Zip internal test, the temperature of the modules rose to 48.5C. For DDR5-7200 with a supply voltage of 1.45 V, the indicator is good. At the same time, it’s a reminder that for such high-speed DDR5 modules, additional cooling is a must-have option, not just a decorative element.
Price
At the time of preparation of the review, Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5-7200 32 GB (KF572C38RWK2-32) kits are still expected to be sold in Ukraine. Taking into account the fact that dual-channel DDR5-7200 kits with a capacity of 32 GB (2×16 GB) already available on our market cost ~9000 UAH (~$240), it is not surprising that the expected recommended price of the tested kit is – 9200 UAH. Although the price of DDR5 standard memory has decreased significantly recently, the high-speed modules (DDR5-7000+) have a significantly higher cost than the average kits.
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