Adata XPG Lancer RGB Mera Edition DDR5-7200 C34 2x16GB Review: Very Kawaii, Very Limited

The Lancer RGB Mera Edition DDR5-7200 C34 looks fast, but it remains to be seen if it deserves a seat on the list of best RAM. Having launched in 2020, the pace at which DDR5 has evolved is astonishing. It doesn’t look like it will stop to take a breather, either. We’ve already seen DDR5-10000 in action, so it’s just a question of time before the retail memory kits arrive on the market. But the thing is that not everyone will pay for bleeding-edge technology. There will always be a place for slower memory kits - not that DDR5-7200 is slow because it's still one of the fastest data rates for DDR5.

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XPG, Adata’s gaming outfit, launched an animated series called ”Xtreme Saga” a couple of years ago with Mera as the main protagonist. Xtreme Saga has garnered a sizable following, and XPG has consequently released a novel and comic around the series. To further satisfy Xtreme Saga fans, XPG has released a bunch of special edition hardware and peripherals that revolve around Mera as the brand ambassador.

The Lancer RGB Mera Edition shares similar aesthetics with the vanilla Lancer RGB memory modules. Unlike the latter, which comes in white or black colors, the Lancer RGB Mera Edition is only available with a black aluminum heat spreader. The overall design is the same except for a more futuristic pattern on the heat spreader, and of course, an image of Mera’s face, our heroine, must also be present.

The Lancer RGB Mera Edition measures 40mm (1.57 inches) tall, the same as the regular memory modules. The RGB lighting on the Lancer RGB Mera Edition looks as good as ever. Adata provides the XPG Prime software for user customization but also allows you to personalize the memory with your motherboard’s lighting software. If you favor the latter, the Lancer RGB Mera Edition is compatible with Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome Sync.

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The Lancer RGB Mera Edition DDR5-7200 C34 is a dual-channel memory kit with a capacity of 32GB, so you receive two 16GB DDR5 memory modules from the package. Each memory module has a single-rank design and eight SK hynix H5CG48AGBDX018 (A-die) 2GB integrated circuits (ICs). The power management IC (PMIC) is also a familiar face. These partícular memory modules utilize the 0D=90 774 PMIC from Richtek.

Out of the box, the memory will operate at DDR5-4800 with 40-40-40-77 timings. It's a memory kit tailored to Intel chips, so the memory modules are equipped with an XMP 3.0 profile for DDR5-7200. Once activated, it'll automatically configure the timings to 34-46-46-116 and crank the DRAM voltage to 1.4V. 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 system runs the Core i9-13900K on the MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X with the 7D28vAA firmware. In contrast, the 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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Cumulatively, the Lancer RGB Mera Edition ranked around the middle of the pack. The memory performed best in the Microsoft Office and HandBrake benchmarks, specifically the x265 conversion workloads.

AMD Performance

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The memory kit showed a more robust performance on the AMD platform. It trailed behind the Cras XR5 RGB DDR5-8000 C38. It excelled in the Photoshop 2022, Microsoft Office, and Cinebench R23 tests.

Overclocking and Latency Tuning

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The Lancer RGB Mera Edition had the highest overclock out of our DDR5-7200 memory kits. All three utilize the same SK hynix A-die ICs, so it's up to the silicon lottery. This specific sample got to DDR5-7800 with ease. We set the timings to 34-46-46-116 and increased the DRAM voltage from 1.4V to 1.45V for stability.

Lowest Stable Timings

We optimized the DDR5-7200 timings to 32-42-42-84 after upping the DRAM voltage to 1.45V. The CAS Latency (CL) was two clock cycles better than the T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-7200 C34 and Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-7200 C34. The two rival memory kits showed slightly better margins for the other three memory timings.

Bottom Line

Sometimes, a piece of hardware is marketed toward a specific platform. However, it doesn't mean it won't work superbly on other platforms, either. Such is the case with the XPG Lancer RGB Mera Edition DDR5-7200 C34, which runs faster on AMD even though the memory kit is designed for Intel. DDR5-7200 is fast enough for the average consumer, but the SK hynix A-die ICs will allow some overclocking if you're brave enough to push the memory.

Two caveats with the XPG Lancer RGB Mera Edition DDR5-7200 C34 go hand in hand. First of all, there's minimal availability on a global scale, so you'll have a near-impossible time looking for the memory kit in the U.S. market. The XPG Lancer RGB Mera Edition DDR5-7200 C34 retails for around $285 overseas, a hefty premium for a DDR5-7200 memory. You also have to take into consideration the international shipping fees.

However, if you can live without having Mera's face in your memory, the vanilla XPG Lancer RGB DDR5-7200 C34, which should offer the same level of performance, sells for $199.99 on Amazon and it even lets you pick between a black or white theme.

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