TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-6000 C40 Review: Out of the Box Powerhouse

Intel's 12th Generation Alder Lake processors opened the doors for memory manufacturers to release their DDR5 products to market. TeamGroup, like many other vendors, took the opportunity to revamp one of its existing memory lineups up to the new standard. Coming as no surprise, TeamGroup updated the Delta RGB memory kits, one of the fastest and flashiest series in its arsenal. The Delta RGB DDR5 series, in particular, offers data rates ranging from DDR5-6000 to DDR5-6400 with a static capacity of 32GB (2x16GB) per memory kit regardless of the frequency. 

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TeamGroup equips the Delta RGB DDR5 memory modules with an aluminum heat spreader with a matte black finish, so they look similar to the DDR4 variants but come with a slightly revamped exterior. Unfortunately, the company has implanted a fair bit of marketing on one side of the heat spreader, which you might not like. Other than that, the Delta RGB DDR5 looks aggressive and sleek at the same time.

The memory modules measure 46.1mm (1.81 inches) in height, so we aren't worried about compatibility with big CPU air coolers. However, it never hurts to double-check if you own a CPU cooler with towers over the memory slots on the motherboard.

As the name implies, the Delta RGB DDR5 comes with RGB lighting via the RGB diffuser at the top. In addition, a small "R" cutout on the heat spreader helps add to the RGB light show. The Delta RGB DDR5's illumination is compatible with five motherboard RGB ecosystems: Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0, MSI Mystic Light Sync, ASRock Polychrome Sync, and Biostar Advanced Vivid LED DJ.

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TeamGroup has gone out of its way to disguise the ingredients in the Delta RGB DDR5, so it took a bit of digging to find out which components it uses for the memory modules. The manufacturer marked the integrated circuits (ICs) with T5D20488HT-48, which didn't produce any results. However, CPU-Z picked up that the chips are from SK hynix. To our knowledge, M-die is currently the only SK hynix DDR5 IC in production, so these should be M-die.

Unfortunately, the numbers and letters (0D=8H 35N) on the power management IC (PMIC) don't correspond to any known device, so we dumped the SPD via CPU-Z. Assuming that TeamGroup filled out the field correctly, Richtek should be the manufacturer behind this PMIC.

When you install the Delta RGB DDR5 memory modules into your system for the first time, they'll run at DDR5-4800 at 40-40-40-76. Flipping the XMP switch will jack the memory up to DDR5-6000 with timings and DRAM voltage set to 40-40-40-84 and 1.35V, respectively. For more on timings and frequency considerations, see our PC Memory 101 feature, as well as our How to Shop for RAM story.

Comparison Hardware

Our Intel testbed for DDR5 utilizes the latest Intel Core i9-12900K processor with Corsair's CUE H100i Elite LCD liquid cooler. The flagship Alder Lake chip rests on an MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi motherboard that runs the 7D32vH0 firmware. Meanwhile, the MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio tackles the gaming workloads from our RAM benchmarks.

Our Windows 11 installation, benchmarking software, and games are stored on Crucial's MX500 SSDs, whereas the RM650x feeds our entire system with the necessary juice. Lastly, the Streacom BC1 open bench table houses all of our hardware.

Intel Performance

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The Delta RGB DDR5 memory came in second place on our application performance chart but topped the gaming chart. In addition, we saw the memory kit's best performance in the Microsoft Office 2021 workloads, where it separated itself from the slowest memory kit by a 1% margin.

Overclocking and Latency Tuning

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When you run hardware outside of the manufacturer's specifications, there's always a potential risk of damage. That's the standard caveat with overclocking any piece of hardware, not just memory. We've already reached out to SK hynix to inquire about the maximum safe voltage for its ICs, but we haven't received any feedback on the topic of safe voltages for overclocking. However, after speaking with various memory vendors, they've agreed that 1.4V is the maximum voltage you would want to pump into DDR5 for an extended time.

TeamGroup left some good overclocking headroom on the Delta RGB DDR5 memory. Overclocking it from DDR5-6000 to DDR5-6400 only required a 0.05V increase in DRAM voltage. The memory even lets us maintain the XMP timings (40-40-40-80).

Lowest Stable Timings

With the same 1.4V DRAM voltage, we could get the Delta RGB DDR5-6000's timings down to 38-38-38-78. However, the memory utilizes SK hynix M-die ICs, so there wasn't a huge margin for optimization.

Bottom Line

If you're specifically looking for a DDR5-6000 memory kit, the TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-6000 C40 has a lot of things that you'll like. The memory will blend smoothly into any build and has enough bling. It also works fast out of the box without any manual tweaking. If overclocking is your cup of tea, the memory won't let you down, either. It has considerable overclocking potential and could get to DDR5-6400 on the correct motherboard. But, of course, your mileage will vary.

The semiconductor shortage hasn't improved; therefore, DDR5 is pretty much still out of stock everywhere. Likewise, pricing won't go down anytime soon. The TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-6000 C40, when available, retails for $459.99. It's more costly than other options, but the price tag is fair for a memory kit of this caliber and performance.