The release of the Intel 12th generation Core and AMD Ryzen 6000 chips have finally brought DDR5 memory to the mainstream PC market, bringing with it a slew of benefits. For this review, we will be looking at the Lexar Ares OC DDR5 desktop memory kit, which is specced at 5200MHz.
The release of the Intel 12th generation Core and AMD Ryzen 6000 chips have finally brought DDR5 memory to the mainstream PC market, bringing with it a slew of benefits. For this review, we will be looking at the Lexar Ares OC DDR5 desktop memory kit, which is specced at 5200MHz.
Lexar indicates that their new memory kit is optimized to pair with the latest Intel Core processors. We will also be comparing it to other DDR5-5200 kits (like the recently reviewed Kingston Fury Beast) and benchmarking it at DDR5-4800 to find out if the upgrade and additional cost of DDR5-5200 are worth the higher price tag.
Lexar Ares OC DDR5-5200 Features
DDR5 debuted in 2021 as the replacement for DDR4, which had been the mainstream standard since 2015. Among the new benefits of DDR5 technology (specifically with this Lexar kit as well) are built-in on-die ECC, and real-time data error correction (to improve stability and reliability when you push the memory to its limits).
Moreover, its built-in Power Management IC (PMIC) means better power control and power delivery when operating at 1.25V (a low voltage XMP Profile). This will help improve overall power efficiency.
Higher performance is also a huge advantage with DDR5, as Lexar indicates an improvement of more than 1.6x the bandwidth compared to DDR4 memory.
The Lexar Ares OC DDR5-5200 desktop memory kit is designed specifically for enthusiasts, gamers, overclockers (as its product name indicates) and creative applications. We will be reviewing the 32GB kit via two 16GB DIMMs. Currently, it goes for $250 on Amazon, which makes it a bit pricier than the Corsair Vengeance (on sale at $198 on Amazon) and the Kingston Fury Beast (on sale at $185 on Amazon), and slightly less than the XPG Lancer ($279 on Amazon).
These prices are certainly higher than its DDR4 predecessor; however, prices seem to be driven down as they become more mainstream adopted. In addition, the Lexar Ares DDR5 will be on sale during the Amazon Prime Day promotion from July 12-13, 2022, for $199.99.
As far as its design goes, the Lexar Ares OC features a slick-looking aluminum build with a nice heat spreader to keep it running cool under pressure. It feels sturdy, well-made, and simple to install. The kit is backed by a lifetime warranty.
Lexar Ares OC DDR5 Desktop Memory Specifications
| Interface | 288PIN |
| Speed | 5200Mbps (XMP 3.0) |
| Operating Temperature | 0°C to 85°C (Surface) |
| Storage Temperature | -55°C to 100°C |
| Dimension (L x W x H) | L140 x W43.25 x H7.9mm (with heat spreader) |
| Memory Type | DDR5 |
| Standard | JEDEC 79-5/XMP 3.0 |
| CAS Latency | CL38-38-38-74 (XMP 3.0) |
| Voltage | 1.25V (XMP 3.0) |
| Application | Gaming / Creating |
| Warranty | Lifetime (with certain limitations) |
Lexar Ares OC DDR5-5200 Performance
We use our self-built StorageReview desktop to test DDR5 memory; its specifications are as follows:
- Intel Core i9-12900K CPU (slightly undervolted)
- Asus ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi motherboard
- Microsoft Windows 11
- Seagate FireCuda 530 2TB SSD
The Lexar Ares DDR5-5200 kit under review is two 16GB modules (32GB total). For perspective, we benchmarked it at DDR5-4800 (no XMP) and DDR5-5200 (XMP I and II), using the following settings:
- DDR5-4800 CL40-40-40-58 (no XMP)
- DDR5-5200 CL38-38-38-60 (XMP I)
- DDR5-5200 CL40-40-40-61 (XMP II)
The XMP II timings at DDR5-5200 are slightly looser than they are at our motherboard’s default settings. That said, the timings are essentially the same between DDR5-4800 and DDR5-5200, so the effective latency should go down while operating at the higher frequency.
We are comparing the Lexar Ares DDR5-5200 memory to the following kits and settings:
- 32GB (2x 16GB) Kingston Fury Beast
- DDR5-4800 CL40-39-39-58 (no XMP)
- DDR5-4800 CL38-38-38-57 (XMP II)
- DDR5-5200 CL40-39-39-61 (no XMP)
- DDR5-5200 CL40-40-40-61 (XMP II)
- 64GB (2x 32GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR5-4400
-
- DDR5-4000 CL32-32-32-54 (no XMP; would not run at rated DDR5-4400 without XMP)
- DDR5-4400 CL36-36-36-59 (XMP II)
- 32GB (2x 16GB) XPG Lancer RGB DDR5-5200 CL40-40-40
- DDR5-5200 CL40-40-40-61 (no XMP)
- DDR5-5200 CL38-38-38-60 (XMP II)
- 32GB (2x 16GB) Team Group T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-5200 CL40-40-40
- DDR5-5200 CL40-40-40-61 (no XMP)
- DDR5-5200 CL40-40-40-61 (XMP II)
Note that it’s certainly not an apples-to-apples comparison, as we’re using different memory sizes and DIMM configurations.
SiSoftware Sandra 2021
First up is the SiSoftware Sandra 2021 suite where higher numbers are better in all subtests. In this test, we will look at the kits running at DDR5-5200 both with and without XMP II profiles engaged. Note: The Corsair kit is excluded from this group since it can’t run at DDR5-5200.
| Lexar Ares DDR5-5200 (Note: Both XMP I and II are set at 5200, while no XMP dropped to 4800) |
Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-5200 | Team Group T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-5200 | XPG Lancer RGB DDR5-5200 | ||||||
| XMP I | XMP II | No XMP | No XMP | XMP II | No XMP | XMP II | No XMP | XMP II | |
| Memory Bandwidth | 63.108 GB/s |
62.147 GB/s |
58.458 GB/s |
62.758 GB/s |
61.811 GB/s |
62.352 GB/s |
62.243 GB/s |
62.560 GB/s |
62.94 5GB/s |
| Cache & Memory Latency | 32.6ns | 33.1ns | 35.0ns | 32.9ns | 33.4ns | 32.9ns | 33.4ns | 32.9ns | 34.0ns |
| Cache & Memory Bandwidth | 516.279 GB/s |
510.62 GB/s |
497.493 GB/s |
493.096 GB/s |
484.779 GB/s |
487.508 GB/s |
487.176 GB/s |
485.656 GB/s |
487.290 GB/s |
| Overall Memory Score | 2.53kPT | 2.49kPT | 2.38kPT | 2.48kPT | 2.44kPT | 2.46kPT | 2.45kPT | 2.46kPT | 2.44kPT |
The Lexar Ares DDR5-5200 memory displayed better performance with XMP I (compared to XMP II and no XMP), showing solid performance across the board with a leading overall memory score of 2.53kPT (XMP I). That said, without XMP, it had the weakest results with an overall memory score of 2.38kPT.
7-Zip Compression Benchmark
The 7-Zip file archive tool features a very useful built-in compression benchmark. Here, we ran 10 passes using a 128MB dictionary size and all 24 CPU threads of our Core i9-12900K; higher numbers are better. Like the SiSoftware Sandra, we will look at the Lexar Ares DDR5-5200 kit and compare it to the other DDR5-5200 kits first.
| Lexar Ares DDR5-5200 (at 4800) (Note: Both XMP I and II are set at 5200, while no XMP dropped to 4800) |
|||
| XMP 1 | XMP II | No XMP | |
| Compressing | |||
| Current CPU Usage | 2035% | 2063% | 2043% |
| Current Rating/Usage | 5.040 GIPS | 4.961 GIPS | 4.664 GIPS |
| Current Rating | 103.440 GIPS | 102.358 GIPS | 92.293 GIPS |
| Resulting CPU Usage | 2059% | 2054% | 2042% |
| Resulting Rating/Usage | 4.958 GIPS | 4.912 GIPS | 4.555 GIPS |
| Resulting Rating | 102.092 GIPS | 100.895 GIPS | 93.018 GIPS |
| Decompressing | |||
| Current CPU Usage | 2340% | 2255% | 2313% |
| Current Rating/Usage | 5.824 GIPS | 5.753 GIPS | 5.710 GIPS |
| Current Rating | 136.273 GIPS | 129.736 GIPS | 132.194 GIPS |
| Resulting CPU Usage | 2320% | 2242% | 2241% |
| Resulting Rating/Usage | 5.820 GIPS | 5.766 GIPS | 5.748 GIPS |
| Resulting Rating | 135.009 GIPS | 129.281 GIPS | 128.828 GIPS |
| Total Ratings | |||
| Total CPU Usage | 2189% | 2148% | 2141% |
| Total Rating/Usage | 5.389 GIPS | 5.339 GIPS | 5.152 GIPS |
| Total Rating | 118.550 GIPS | 115.088 GIPS | 110.923 GIPS |
Here is a rundown of the comparables’ performance:
| Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-5200 | Team Group T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-5200 | XPG Lancer RGB DDR5-5200 | ||||
| No XMP | XMP II | No XMP | XMP II | No XMP | XMP II | |
| Compressing | ||||||
| Current CPU Usage | 2022% | 2014% | 2021% | 2040% | 2020% | 2012% |
| Current Rating/Usage | 4.846 GIPS | 4.898 GIPS | 4.878 GIPS | 4.810 GIPS | 4.914 GIPS | 4.952 GIPS |
| Current Rating | 97.977 GIPS | 98.664 GIPS | 98.558 GIPS | 98.109 GIPS | 99.263 GIPS | 99.645 GIPS |
| Resulting CPU Usage | 2024% | 2017% | 2025% | 2023% | 2021% | 2022% |
| Resulting Rating/Usage | 4.847 GIPS | 4.855 GIPS | 4.858 GIPS | 4.850 GIPS | 4.875 GIPS | 4.908 GIPS |
| Resulting Rating | 98.098 GIPS | 97.934 GIPS | 98.369 GIPS | 98.142 GIPS | 98.499 GIPS | 99.257 GIPS |
| Decompressing | ||||||
| Current CPU Usage | 2264% | 2306% | 2314% | 2325% | 2300% | 2298% |
| Current Rating/Usage | 5.764 GIPS | 5.661 GIPS | 5.839 GIPS | 5.703 GIPS | 5.856 GIPS | 5.822 GIPS |
| Current Rating | 130.510 GIPS | 130.539 GIPS | 135.102 GIPS | 132.588 GIPS | 134.663 GIPS | 133.801 GIPS |
| Resulting CPU Usage | 2276% | 2298% | 2304% | 2300% | 2300% | 2292% |
| Resulting Rating/Usage | 5.781 GIPS | 5.737 GIPS | 5.806 GIPS | 5.776 GIPS | 5.811 GIPS | 5.774 GIPS |
| Resulting Rating | 131.604 GIPS | 131.818 GIPS | 133.791 GIPS | 132.838 GIPS | 133.669 GIPS | 132.347 GIPS |
| Total CPU Usage | 2150% | 2157% | 2165% | 2162% | 2160% | 2157% |
| Total Ratings | ||||||
| Total Rating/Usage | 5.314 GIPS | 5.296 GIPS | 5.332 GIPS | 5.313 GIPS | 5.343 GIPS | 5.341 GIPS |
| Total Rating | 114.851 GIPS | 114.876 GIPS | 116.080 GIPS | 115.490 GIPS | 116.084 GIPS | 115.082 GIPS |
The Lexar Ares performed better than the Kingston Fury and Corsair in both XMP I and XMP II engaged. For example, it had a compression resulting rating of 102.092 GIPS with XMP II, which was a 4% faster than the Kingston and Team Group kits and a 3% improvement over the XPG.
However, it fell behind slightly in some of the results without XMP (from 5-6%), which was true during the SiSoftware Sandra test as well (seen above).
Conclusion
The Lexar Ares OC is a solid DDR5-5200 memory kit that had a great showing during our benchmarking. Unsurprisingly, it performed its best with XMP I and II enabled where it was faster than the DDR5-5200 kits we tested from Kingston, Team Group and XPG (though it fell a bit behind without XMP).
The results of our tests also demonstrated the benefits over the DDR5-4800 standard, specifically during the 7-Zip compression benchmark. Like in our other reviews, this proves that the cost increase of DDR5-5200 technology over DDR5-4800 is well worth it.
As far as its design goes, the Lexar Ares is a solid, slick-looking memory kit and would definitely look great in a gaming rig. It also features heat spreaders that generally keep it cool during heavy workloads and comes embedded with other important features like built-in power management, on-die error-correcting coding, and a low CAS latency rating of CL38-38-38-74 (with XMP 3.0 support). The Lexar Ares OC, however, does not feature any RGB lighting capabilities, so if this aesthetic feature is important to you when building a new system, you should probably consider the XPG or Team Group kits.
Overall, we certainly recommend the Lexar Ares OC DDR5-5200 memory to those looking to get the most out of their high-end PCs.
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