v-color Manta XSky RGB DDR5-6600 CL34 Memory Review

One of the Few DDR5-6600 Options Out There

We recently took a look at some DDR5 memory from v-color, which was a 32 GB SCC Kit of the company’s Manta XPrism memory, rated for 6200 MT/s at CL36. Today we are raising the DDR5 performance level considerably, as v-color has sent over a 6600 MT/s CL34 kit for our inspection.

This kit is part of the Manta XSky RGB series, and the 6600 MT/s speed is the highest currently offered for DDR5 RAM by v-color – or anyone else (as of this writing, anyway). Thankfully, we had a motherboard that could support it, and set about seeing what sort of performance impact the faster speed might have on our Z690 system.

The XSky RGB Memory

Our test kit, SKU TMXSL1666834SWK, is one step below the top of v-color’s lineup, with its 6600 MT/s speed accompanied by timings of 34-40-40-105. A lower latency CL32 version (32-39-39-102 timings) is also available, which is SKU TMXSL1666832SWK in this silver finish.

Speaking of finish, the Manta XSky RGB memory is available with four color options: white, black, gold, and silver (we have this last one, even though it looks rather gold due to reflections in the photos). Of course these also feature RGB lighting effects, and each DIMM is “equipped with re-designed 16 LEDs for ultra-smooth and bright RGB lighting”.

Another way to personalize the experience is … personalization. As in, v-color offered to engrave our sample for us. We sent over the requisite file, and they produced this:

Only one of the DIMMs has the PCPer logo, with the other sporting the XSky branding instead. I’m not sure if this was intentional, but I will obviously be placing the PCPer side out for maximum visibility in the shadowy recesses of an enclosure. Well, the RGB-illuminated recesses, I guess.

Performance

After updating the BIOS on our ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO to version 1601 (the most current release at the time of testing), I removed the modest little DDR5-4800 DIMMs that had been propagating the system and replaced them with this shiny silver set. The CPU was an Intel Core i9-12900K, set to stock speed.

There is a note about motherboard compatibility with this 6600 MT/s kit on the product page, reproduced below:

6600MHz Overclocking is compatible with the following motherboards:
– MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X
– MSI MEG Z690I Unify
– ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO

It turns out that getting to 6600 MT/s CL34 at 1.4v on our updated MAXIMUS Z690 HERO board was as simple as enabling X.M.P. profile 1. No arguments here.

I generally offer a Thaiphoon Burner screenshot here, but that only produced a bunch of “Undefined” values with this kit, so I won’t. HWiNFO64 was capable of reading all of the requisite values, however, which you can enlarge by clicking on the image below (if you enjoy tiny text via PNG files):

We didn’t perform a bunch of gaming tests at 720p to show scaling or anything excruciating like that, but I at least ran the same tests as with the last DDR5 kit we looked at, a DDR5-6200 kit also from v-color. Performance with this faster kit was expectedly higher; though you will rarely see nice linear scaling like this outside of synthetic benchmarks.

If you’re curious, I ended up manually setting the timings to match the CL32 SKU, and no, it didn’t make much of a difference in performance. It is measurable in synthetic benchmarks, but comparisons of CL34 vs. CL32 at DDR5-6600 are not going to produce interesting results with any sort of real-world testing.

Pricing and Conclusion

I was initially confused about v-color’s pricing with the XSky RGB, as the DDR5-6600 kits are priced at $399.99 USD for the CL34 SKU we tested – while the CL32 SKU is the same price. I imagine that as DDR5 availability and pricing continue to improve, situations like this won’t happen – but it is still listed this way on v-color’s online store as of this writing.

A look at the results from a search for DDR-6600 on Newegg this morning shows why $399.99 is the going rate, regardless of latency:

As many as TWO different listings, with one out of stock! When these search results improve, so will pricing. For now, you really can’t do better. Such is life on the bleeding edge.

In closing, I really don’t have any complaints about the XSky RGB memory we looked at. Unlike the previous DDR5 kit we received from v-color, which offered a pair or “dummy” RGB-only modules in addition to the DIMMs, this XSky RGB kit is all business. Just two 16 GB DIMMs providing the latest memory standard at the industry’s fastest speed right now.

A look at all four finish options from the XSky RGB family, along with a taste of the RGB lighting these DIMMs offer (via v-color).

While pricing and availability continue to be a big part of the DDR5 story, we can report that v-color’s efforts are solid options in the market. As to the engraving on our kit, I don’t know if that’s just a PR perk or if v-color will offer that to customers on their store as well.