Silicon Power Xpower Zenith RGB DDR5-5600 C40 Review: Big Overclocking Margins

We put the Silicon Power Xpower Zenith RGB DDR5-5600 memory kit through the wringer and found that it has great overclocking headroom that makes it a contender for our list of best RAM. Silicon Power doesn't have an ample selection of DDR5 memory products yet. In addition to your typical run-of-the-mill memory modules, the Zenith series also hails from the company's Xpower gaming division. Silicon Power introduced the Zenith series with its DDR4 memory kits. The company has since expanded the Zenith series to the latest DDR5 standard. Like the previous generation, Silicon Power's Zenith DDR5 memory kits will give consumers the choice of a standard trim or an RGB trim. Regardless of the flavor, Zenith DDR5 memory kit capacity varies between 16GB (2x8GB) to 64GB (2x32GB), whereas the available frequency spans from 5,200 MT/s to 6,000 MT/s.

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Silicon Power didn't bother redesigning its Zenith RGB DDR5 memory modules. They look the same as the Zenith RGB DDR4 counterparts. If the company didn't specify the type of memory on the heat spreader, consumers wouldn't have a way to tell them apart. Silicon Power always offers the Zenith DDR5 memory with and without RGB in white or black colors.

Regardless of the version, the memory boasts a non-intrusive aluminum heat spreader with a height no taller than 38.5mm (1.52 inches). Overall, it's a clean design with minimum marketing. The RGB version of the Zenith DDR5 memory relies solely on your motherboard's lighting software. It's compatible with Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome Sync.

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The Zenith RGB DDR5-5600 C40 is a 32GB memory kit that comprises two 16GB DDR5 memory modules. They are single-rank memory modules with SK hynix H5CG48MEBDX014 (M-die) integrated circuits (ICs). Each chip is 2GB in capacity, so there are eight of them on each memory module. The power management IC (PMIC) is from Richtek, specifically, the 0D=8K J4N solution.

The memory defaults to DDR5-4800 with very loose timings at 40-40-40-77. It's a memory kit that caters to Intel processors, so only one XMP 3.0 profile is onboard. Activating the profile will make the memory modules hit DDR5-5600 and set the timings and DRAM voltage to 40-40-40-76 and 1.25V, 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 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 7D70v176 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 Zenith RGB DDR5-5600 was slightly slower than the ToughRAM XG RGB DDR5-5600. Silicon Power's memory kit fell behind its rival in almost all performance and gaming benchmarks, except for Watch Dogs: Legion.

AMD Performance

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The ToughRAM XG RGB DDR5-5600 continued to prevail on the AMD platform, outperforming the Zenith RGB DDR5-5600 in just about all the workloads. The Zenith RGB DDR5-5600's strongest showing was in the HandBrake x265 conversion test, which faintly outpaced the ToughRAM XG RGB DDR5-5600.

Overclocking and Latency Tuning

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SK hynix M-die ICs are hands down the best for overclocking right now. We easily pushed the Zenith RGB DDR5-5600 memory to DDR5-6800 with 1.4V. The CAS Latency (CL) had no issues going from 40 cycles to 34 cycles. However, we had to increase the tRCD and tRP from 40 cycles to 45 cycles to achieve stability. Overall, it was a great overclock and well within expectations from the M-die ICs.

Lowest Stable Timings

Most users that want an SK hynix M-die memory kit will likely overclock it. Nonetheless, seeing how tight the timings can get on the Zenith RGB DDR5-5600 memory kit is interesting. By applying a 1.4V DRAM voltage, we tweaked the timings to 28-34-34-76.

Bottom Line

The Xpower Zenith RGB DDR5-5600 C40’s out-of-the-box performance is nothing to marvel at. Instead, the memory kit’s greatest asset is its SK hynix M-die which enables it to hit high frequencies.

There are two aspects to consider, though: Nothing in life is guaranteed, so neither is overclocking headroom. Even though Silicon Power employs SK hynix M-die ICs, you are still at the mercy of the silicon lottery since no two memory kits overclock s the same. Furthermore, there is no reassurance that the company will continue using M-die ICs on this model. It certainly isn't unheard of for vendors to swap raw materials during a product’s midlife due to difficulties in securing supply. 

The Xpower Zenith RGB DDR5-5600 C40 retails for $78.97 on Newegg. The black version is also available with the same price tag. You can save a few bucks with the non-RGB version, which sells for $73.97.

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