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

Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition
Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition (Image credit: Crucial)

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

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Part NumberCapacityData RateTimingsVoltage
CP16G60C36U5B1 x 16GBDDR5-600036-38-38-801.35V
CP2K16G60C36U5B2 x 16GBDDR5-600036-38-38-801.35V
CP24G60C36U5B1 x 24GBDDR5-600036-38-38-801.35V
CP2K24G60C36U5B2 x 24GBDDR5-600036-38-38-801.35V

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.

(Image credit: Crucial)

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.

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • bit_user
    How they can have a "Pro" line without even an ECC option is mystifying to me.

    I'm aware that you can buy ECC DIMMs under the Micron brand, but they badly lag behind on speed and I doubt they support XMP or EXPO.
    Reply
  • hotaru251
    why pro when could of just re-started ballistix line up ;/
    Reply
  • Sleepy_Hollowed
    bit_user said:
    How they can have a "Pro" line without even an ECC option is mystifying to me.

    I'm aware that you can buy ECC DIMMs under the Micron brand, but they badly lag behind on speed and I doubt they support XMP or EXPO.
    ECC is less about speed and more about reliability.

    Most "enthusiast" RAM is actually way outside of the specified standards, so when ECC sticks with the standards, people complain, but that's actually what DDR4/5 have specified, much much slower than what the "gaming" RAM speeds achieve, and for a very good reason.

    If you do not care about accuracy and reliability, just steer away from it, since that is the only concern for ECC users, and comments like yours just show how outside of the target users you are.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Sleepy_Hollowed said:
    ECC is less about speed and more about reliability.
    Which is what most Professionals I know want from their machines. Because, if you're using your PC for your livelihood, then reliability is the most important thing.

    Sleepy_Hollowed said:
    Most "enthusiast" RAM is actually way outside of the specified standards, so when ECC sticks with the standards, people complain, but that's actually what DDR4/5 have specified, much much slower than what the "gaming" RAM speeds achieve, and for a very good reason.
    Yes, most ECC memory tends to adhere to JEDEC standards. However, there are exceptions:
    https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/ddr5/ddr5-7800-rdimms-coming-to-ryzen-threadripper-7000
    Sleepy_Hollowed said:
    comments like yours just show how outside of the target users you are.
    If it's not really intended for professionals, maybe they shouldn't call "Pro", then? There are countless other things they could've called it...
    Reply
  • setx
    Those modules look absolutely pathetic unless they are dirt cheap.

    No ECC for "Pro", < 32GB, just DDR5-6000 that you can do with pretty much anything non-Micron starting from a year ago and that at 1.35V (my 4800 Samsung does 6000 at just 1.17).

    So pretty much everything is bad about those modules.
    Reply
  • systemBuilder_49
    Ballistix was ballistix (and not "Crucial") because they used memory chips from other manufacturers. I guess Crucial isn't doing that anymore and so there is no sense of wasting money promoting a brand when the brand has no meaning...

    People that are bragging they could get this performance from other brands don't realize that crucial ram is probably the most conservatively rated ramp in the universe so the fact that it does DDR5-6000 means it probably does DDR-6600 in nine times out of 10
    Reply
  • phxrider
    Jeezus people, get over the name already. It's mid-range enthusiast memory, and like the previous poster said, being Crucial, it's probably conservatively rated.
    Reply