Overview & Hands-On – PNY XLR8 Gaming MAKO EPIC-X RGB DDR5 6400MHz

DDR5 memory has become more common nowadays and of course, the pricing is way better than how it was back when Intel first launched its 12th-gen desktop Core processors. PNY was one of the earlier brands to have a rather reasonable DDR5 memory kit at the time which uses the SK Hynix M-die that has plenty of overclocking headroom if you’re looking for more performance out of it. This time, we’ll be taking a look at the PNY XLR8 Gaming MAKO EPIC-X RGB DDR5 6400MHz, the latest model from PNY which uses a different memory chip – the SK Hynix A-die.

Specifications

Unboxing

Design-wise, the XLR8 Gaming MAKO EPIC-X RGB DDR5 is identical to the MAKO RGB DDR5 we’ve tested before, except that it now comes available in both black and white variations. The box provides key details, including the kit’s capacity, speed, and compatibility with supported RGB software. It’s very similar to the other MAKO RGB DDR5 which we have previously tested but a closer inspection of the box shows that this kit is both Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO certified.

While there are no changes in the overall design, the kit we have here actually uses the Hynix A-die memory chips that offer better overclocking headroom for those who are looking for higher memory clocks. As we have already tested DDR5 kits with Hynix A-die in the past, we expect similar behavior from this kit, which is the lower operating voltage at higher memory clocks but higher tRFC compared to DDR5 kits with Hynix M-die.

Test System

Overclocking

As previously stated, the MAKO RGB DDR5 is equipped with both XMP and EXPO profiles. However, these profiles appear nearly identical at a surface level despite their distinct names. In contrast to certain DDR4 kits where activating the XMP or DOCP profile suffices, it is advisable to fine-tune the timings on your DDR5 kits for optimal performance. This optimization is essential to extract the maximum capability from the DDR5 modules.

Compared to the older MAKO RGB DDR5, we can see a much lower CAS latency at CL32 instead of CL40 and latency at roughly 67ns, which is better than older CL40 kits that usually give a latency of an average 70ns+ most of the time and require some manual adjustments if you want to get sub 70ns on the latency.

If you’re not feeling that adventurous but somehow still want to optimize a bit for slightly better performance, you can lower the value of the following:

• tRFC to somewhere around 380
• tRAS to 30
• tRRDS to 4
• tRRDL to 6
• tRTP to 12
• tFAW to 16
• tCWL to 30
• leave the rest on auto

Other timing values and voltages may vary depending on your CPU and motherboard, but 1.435V should be enough for the minimal adjustments shown above.

DDR5-7200+ will be way easier to achieve on newer CPUs and motherboards such as Intel 13th-gen or higher and Z790 chipset motherboards, which will give you a significant performance boost on games that take advantage of higher memory clocks of DDR5 memory. We, as usual, did a quick test on this, and from here we can see that the XLR8 Gaming MAKO EPIC-X RGB DDR5 can achieve DDR5-7600 CL36 with a bit more tweaks. Higher voltages are required of course, and we settled with these settings using 1.51V for both VDD and VDDQ, and 1.415V for TX VDDQ.

And just for the fun of it, we tried to push things a bit further and finally settled down with DDR5-8000 CL36. The memory kit can get pretty hot at this point and air cooling is not going to get you any higher, so you’ll need to hop on to liquid cooling if you intend to push it any further. In our case, we’re able to get past about 10 hours with Karhu RAM Test but with a fan running at 1800RPM blowing directly at the kit – which is not a feasible cooling solution in the long run.

Final Thoughts

If you compare the default timings on the XLR8 Gaming MAKO EPIC-X RGB DDR5 to an older DDR5 memory kit, it’s better for sure and it doesn’t need much adjustment if you want to lightly optimize. This doesn’t mean that the older kit is inferior, of course. They work just fine as it is but for those who don’t want to go through the trouble optimizing a DDR5 memory kit with Hynix M-die (the CL40 ones), the newer kits with Hynix A-die that usually come with a lower CL value are the easier choice for them. As for those who are looking for a free performance boost, this kit can reach DDR5-7200 without much hassle and it requires lower operating voltage as compared to memory kits that use Hynix M-die to achieve the same memory clock.

Price-wise, the XLR8 Gaming MAKO EPIC-X RGB DDR5 will cost a bit more compared to the MAKO DDR5 RGB, which is RM 619 for the black variant and RM 629 for the white variant. Is the price okay and is it worth switching from a Hynix M-die kit to a Hynix A-die kit? I think it’s a yes from me although it can be subjective to some users.

Presently, achieving DDR5-6000 CL30 is quite reasonable on both Intel and AMD platforms, and it can be easily accomplished with both Hynix M-die and A-die kits. But as more titles released nowadays can take advantage of higher memory clocks to achieve a better experience, switching to a Hynix A-die kit that can run at DDR5-7200 at a lower operating voltage is a cost-effective way if you don’t want to spend extra bucks on DDR5-7200 kits that will usually cost a few hundred more.

Where to buy? (Affiliate links)

• Shopee

By the way, all Malaysians, do keep an eye out for the yellow “FTS” sticker on the GPU. That signifies authenticity from the distributor and will be expedited for a speedy RMA process if anything goes wrong.

To get your warranty process, contact either of these two Facebook pages:

1. https://www.facebook.com/FTSMY/
2. https://www.facebook.com/PNYMalaysia