Crucial takes aim for the sweet spot with DDR5 Pro Memory Overclocking Edition running at DDR5-6000

Announced today, Crucial has launched the its new DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition series to compete with the best RAM on the market. The new DDR5 memory kits target the latest generation of AMD and Intel consumer processors.

It’s been a while since Crucial released enthusiast-grade memory. Micron discontinued the Ballistix brand two years ago, and while we’re not looking at a comeback, Crucial has finally put out memory kits that are not JEDEC speeds. The Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition only comes in one flavor: DDR5-6000. The reason is that DDR5-6000 is often considered the sweet spot regarding performance and pricing for AMD and Intel processors.

Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition memory modules embrace chips from both teams. There is XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO support, so you won’t have to look for specific SKUs for specific processors. Support starts at the 12th Generation Alder Lake for Intel and Ryzen 7000 for AMD. Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition memory kits enable one-click overclocking on both platforms. 

Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition Specifications

Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition memory modules come in 16GB and 24GB capacities. However, only the former is readily available, as the latter won’t hit the retail market until late 2024. You can choose between a single module or a kit. There are two options regarding kit capacity: 32GB (2x16GB) or 48GB (2x24GB).

Crucial bin the DDR5-6000 memory modules for 36-38-38-80 at 1.35V. The memory timings are more or less in the middle ground of the performance spectrum. With high-performance DDR5-6000 memory kits hitting CL (CAS latency) of 28 or 30, the Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition’s timings are hardly impressive on paper.

Marketed toward overclocking, it’ll be interesting to see if Micron has developed a new DDR5 integrated circuit (IC). Micron A-die ICs weren’t very popular among overclockers as you couldn’t overclock the ICs very far, even when pumping loads of voltage into the memory modules. SK hynix’s A-die ICs are the current reigning king for pushing high frequencies.

Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition memory kits are available as of today. As usual, Crucial backs the memory kits with a limited lifetime warranty.