While some of the best RAM kits reach speeds as high as 8,400MT/s, many users stick to DDR5-6000 or less and do just fine. However, the future of RAM lies in even higher frequencies, and we’re not far from entering five-digit territory. Asgard, a company that manufactures memory and storage, just unveiled its new DDR5-9600 RAM, claiming that it’s the first consumer memory in the world to reach this kind of speed. The company also teased that it’s already working on DDR5-10000 RAM.
Asgard’s RAM isn’t your standard, run-of-the-mill dual-in-line memory module (DIMM). It’s a clocked unbuffered DIMM (CUDIMM), which might one day become the default in desktop RAM (unless another standard, such as CAMM2, takes off in a major way). At higher speeds, maintaining signal integrity becomes challenging. One of the ways manufacturers combat this problem is by adding a clock driver (CKD) chip. The CKD handles the base clock signal, buffers and amplifies it, and then distributes it to various parts of the module.
As explained by Tom’s Hardware, Asgard was only able to reach the staggering 9,600MT/s speed by combining the CUDIMM tech with select SK hynix DRAM integrated circuits (ICs). Only the most performant chips were chosen for these kits, and no wonder — 9,600MT/s is quite a feat to achieve. Asgard beats the recently announced V-Color Xfinity DDR5-9200 RAM by an additional 400MT/s.
The new RAM, branded Asgard Thor, will be available in two variants, including kits that come with two 16GB modules and kits that offer two 24GB modules. Both run at 1.50V. No matter the capacity, both kits also come with the same CL44-56-56-136-192 CAS timings. Unfortunately, Asgard’s Thor currently doesn’t support RAM overclocking with AMD EXPO — only Intel XMP profiles are available. Owners of AMD processors can potentially still overclock with manual adjustments in the BIOS.
It’s unclear when these DDR5-9600 RAM kits will be available, or how much they will cost. The rivaling V-Color Xfinity is also yet to receive a release date, although it would make sense for both manufacturers to release the RAM soon, what with Intel Arrow Lake right around the corner.
The leap in RAM performance is interesting, but something about the mention of DDR5-10000 is even more exciting. Of course, 10,000MT/s speeds are still far away, but Asgard says that such kits are in the works. And while it might not make much of a difference — 9,600MT/s to 10,000MT/s might run largely the same to most users — hitting that kind of frequency will still mark a milestone in consumer RAM.
