Predator Hermes RGB DDR5-6800 C32 2x16GB Review: Imposing Looks And Performance

Predator Storage's latest Hermes series of DDR5 memory looks competitive, and the Hermes RGB DDR5-6800 C32 is ready to take on the best RAM on the market. Predator Storage, Acer's high-end gaming brand, whose products are built by Biwin, is far from a household brand in the memory market. Nonetheless, the company has strived to get its name out there. Like many memory vendors, Predator Storage has jumped to DDR5. Its current DDR5 portfolio comprises the Hermes, Vesta, and Pallas II series, with the first being the top-tier lineup with glaring frequencies spanning up to DDR5-8000 and capacities up to 64GB (2x32GB). On this occasion, we'll look at the Hermes RGB DDR5-6800 C32, a more demure memory kit out of the Hermes army.

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The Hermes memory modules have an aluminum heat spreader that can come in white, silver, or black. It's 1.9mm-thick, which helps with heat dissipation. The heat spreader's design certainly stands out, combining a honeycomb pattern and diagonal highlights complemented with some serious RGB lighting. It's excellent that the brand kept the marketing to a minimum with a sole Predator logo on the heat spreader. A small "5" is situated in the corner to denote that the memory module is DDR5.

Predator Storage includes an optional auxiliary 40 x 40mm cooling fan with the corresponding bracket and screws to latch onto your motherboard to provide the modules with extra cooling. The Boosfan JD4010M is a brushless fan that delivers a maximum airflow of 4.72 CFM at a noise level of 29.9 dB. Unfortunately, the cooling fan is designed for motherboards with four memory slots, so it isn't compatible with overclocking-centric motherboards with dual memory slots.

The Hermes memory modules are 51.20mm (2.02 inches) tall, so you want to look into the clearance space for your CPU cooler, especially if you're using a big air cooler. As usual, liquid cooling users have nothing to worry about. The RGB light bar provides the Hermes with vivid illumination across eight independent lighting areas. Luckily, you can use your motherboard's software to customize the lighting. The Hermes memory modules are compatible with Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome Sync.

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The memory modules utilize a 10-layer PCB dipped in black. It's a 32GB memory kit, so you receive two 16GB DDR5 memory modules with a single-rank design. The integrated circuits (ICs) are from SK hynix, specifically the H5CG48AGBDX018 (A-die) ones that are great for overclocking. The memory modules leverage the 2GB variant, housing eight A-die ICs. The markings on the power management IC (PMIC) were faint, but it shows the 5100 module, which is from Global Mixed-mode Technology (GMT).

Without user intervention, the Hermes memory modules default to DDR5-5600 with 46-45-45-90 timings. Since the memory kit caters to Intel chips, it comes with XMP 3.0 support. The DDR5-6800 profile will set the necessary timings and DRAM voltage to 32-45-45-108 and 1.4V, respectively. See our PC Memory 101 feature and How to Shop for RAM story for more timings and frequency considerations.

Comparison Hardware

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The Intel test system runs the Core i9-13900K on the MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X with the 7D28vAA firmware. In contrast, our AMD system pairs the Ryzen 7 7700X with the MSI MPG X670E Carbon WiFi changed to the 7D70v18 firmware. The Corsair CUE H100i Elite LCD liquid cooler keeps our Raptor Lake and Zen 4 processor operating temperatures under check.

The MSI GeForce RTX 4080 16GB Gaming X Trio tackles the more graphics-intensive workloads, ensuring that there isn't a graphics bottleneck in our gaming RAM benchmarks. The Windows 11 installation, benchmarking software, and games reside on Crucial's MX500 SSDs. Meanwhile, the Corsair RM1000x Shift ATX 3.0 power supply provides our systems with clean and abundant power, directly feeding the GeForce RTX 4080 with a native 16-pin (12VHPWR) power cable. Lastly, the Streacom BC1 open-air test bench is vital to organizing our hardware.

Intel Performance

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The Hermes performed within expectations. It couldn't compete with the DDR5-7000 and above memory kits. However, it was the fastest of the two DDR5-6800 memory kits we tested, thanks to the tighter memory timings.

AMD Performance

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Unexpectedly, the Hermes beat the Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-7200 C34 on the AMD platform. Although the latter is binned at a higher data rate, Predator Storage's memory timings were lower, which helped in this case but not on the Intel platform.

Overclocking and Latency Tuning

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The Hermes memory kit didn't exhibit jaw-dropping overclocking potential despite using SK hynix A-die ICs. However, it did peak at DDR5-7200, which was higher than the DDR5-7000 that the Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-7200 C34 achieved. No compromises to the memory timings were made. We got the memory stable at 32-42-42-92 and 1.45V, slightly better than the XMP timings.

Lowest Stable Timings

We obtained the best timings for a DDR5-6800 memory kit with the Hermes. Increasing the DRAM voltage from 1.4V to 1.45V allowed us to move the timings from 32-45-45-108 down to 30-40-40-90. It could have just been silicon lottery luck since A-die ICs aren't famous for running tight timings.

Bottom Line

You shouldn't have any complaints with the Hermes RGB DDR5-6800 C32 regarding performance or appearance. The memory possesses solid performance straight out of the box. It helps that the Hermes presently has the lowest memory timings for a DDR5-6800 memory kit on the market. Including a 40mm cooling fan is a good concept but doesn't serve a significant purpose. The design limits it to four DIMM motherboards, and unless you're aggressively overclocking the memory or there is little room for airflow inside your case, it doesn't need the extra cooling that the fan provides.

The Hermes RGB DDR5-6800 C32 is another example of a good product ruined by limited availability. At the time of this review, the memory is absent from U.S. retailers. It's amusing because the memory kit is available in other markets. Biwin assured us availability would improve soon but failed to provide a specific date. In the meantime, the Hermes RGB DDR5-6800 C32 retails for around $157 overseas, placing it in the middle of the bracket in terms of DDR5-6800 pricing. Therefore, it's purchasable, but you'll have to pay for international shipping and whatnot, so it may be better to wait until the memory kit hits U.S. stores.

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