Team Group has announced (opens in new tab) the launch of some updated RAM Modules in its Elite range, bringing DDR5 speeds to its range of DIMMs for desktop and laptop use. There’s both SO-DIMMs and U-DIMMs available, for desktop and laptop use.
Running at a respectable 5600 MHz (we have yet to discover what their CL timings will be, though the lack of ostentatious heat spreaders suggests it will be quite ordinary) and with an operating voltage of 1.1V (again, not unusual) the modules could, Team Group claims, ‘[extend] the life of computers it is installed on’. DDR5 features such as same-bank refresh and optimized circuit structure are supported, and Team Group thinks they’ll be excellent for multitasking.
Team Group already has one set of DIMMs – DDR4 in this case – in our big list of the best RAM (opens in new tab) for 2022, and the 5600MHz speed of this DDR5 puts it ahead of the Samsung DDR5-4800 (opens in new tab) currently sitting in second place. It can’t outstrip the G.Skill Trident DDR5 (opens in new tab) that’s holding down the first place spot, however, as this hits the DDR5-6000 spec.
Those CL timings will be crucial for getting a good place on the list, as the G.Skill is extremely tight at CL36, while the Samsung languishes at a relatively sedate CL40 yet has excellent overclocking potential. The lack of obvious heat spreaders on Team Group’s new modules, again, makes us wonder about its overclocking abilities, though it’s possible the company has simply chosen to supply images of its naked chips, and the retail units will be replete with all sorts of aluminum fins and other passive cooling devices. The Samsung chips are, likewise, thrust rudely from the circuit boards’ surface with nothing to adorn them, so there’s always hope.
First seeing release as 16GB modules, we expect to see a wider range of capacities from at least 8GB to 32GB once the range has established itself, and hopefully up to the DDR5 maximum of 128GB on a single stick.
Retail pricing also joins the list of things we don’t know about these RAM modules, though they should be available on Amazon (no other retailers are mentioned) near the end of this month.