Corsair Dominator Titanium 7200MHz 48GB DDR5 Memory Review

Corsair has long been a leader for enthusiast PC builders when it comes to high-performance memory. Their Dominator memory has won many awards over the years for its relentless focus on extreme performance, class-leading build quality and, if we're being honest, exorbitant prices too. Of course, it's often been a case of "you get what you pay for" but there's no getting away from the fact that Dominator memory kits are often some of the most expensive on the market. Of course, they're not asking for more money for nothing! And just like the Dominator Platinum that came before it, the new Corsair Dominator Titanium is packing some impressive features of its own. Being Corsair, it packs 11 addressable RGB LEDs per DIMM, there are swappable top bars, and there's a choice of three colours, black, grey and white, giving you many customisation options to play around with. The memory is picked via a tight screening process, ensuring only the best high-frequency components go into each kit, and all come with support for both XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO profiles, optimized for Intel 600/700 series as well as AMD 600 series DDR5 motherboards. The kit we have is 48GB (2 x 24GB) rated at 7200 MHz, and with 36-46-46-116 timings at 1.4v. Corsair Dominator Titanium The memory launches today with a range of speeds up to 8000 MT/s, and capacities up to 192GB (4 x 48GB) with CAS latencies as low as 30 on some of the SKUs. However, only 500 of each SKU is being made available, but Corsair say that even faster editions will be coming in the future, so if you miss out, keep an eye out for the next batch! Elegant styling combined with premium build quality Push your system to new heights with the latest DDR5 memory 11 individually addressable vibrant RGB LEDs Create your dream look with swappable top bars Patented DHX cooling ensures you get the most from your DRAM Customizable Intel® XMP 3.0/ AMD EXPO profiles Unlock dynamic RGB lighting control with iCUE software Tightly screened high-frequency memory Custom high-performance PCB Optimized for Intel® 600/700 series / AMD 600 series DDR5 motherboards Available in Black/White (Intel) and Cool Grey (AMD) Limited lifetime warranty Find out more on the official product page here. When you're ready, let's move onto the next page and take a closer look at what the Corsair Dominator Titanium has to offer! Packaging & Accessories The packaging is a premium-looking thing to behold right away, with an all-black design and a foil print that reads "First Edition". Around the back, there's not a lot of information, but again, it's a very nice box overall. Open it up, and you'll find this insert that says congratulations on purchasing a very rare collection of first edition memory. The memory is beautifully presented in a layer of protective foam and a plastic cover to keep it safe. There's also a set of swappable top rails included so you can customise it later. Corsair even includes one of their premium screwdrivers in the same box, along with all the appropriate heads to disassemble your memory kit. Then you will find those custom rails with their fins design which you can attach to the top of the memory. A Closer Look There's no doubt about it, this is a stunning-looking set of DDR5 memory! As you can see, we have the white version in for review, but it will be available in black or grey variants too, so you can find one that best suits your style. They are quite large too, so if you have a PC case or build that's height-limited, do keep that in mind, as this would likely conflict with some air coolers too. The design looks amazing though, with the matte white looking clean and tidy. Of course, there's the subtle Dominator Titanium logo in the middle, and there are three two strips of lighting down the sides, as well as a third visible section that runs down the spine. There is a small seam just above the screws and below the RGB lines, this is where you can separate the spine to swap out for the alternative one. Of course, if you need a tool to open it up, remember that came included in the box too! With the top part removed, you can see that it really is a completely separate module, with a port to plug it into the PCB to provide power and data to the RGB modules at the top. It plugs into the top, then you just fix it down with the two screws on the spine, which is really cool. I wonder if we'll see something similar trickle down to their less premium models in the future. The alternative spine features these stunning fins, with a small opening on the side where you can see them passing vertically through the top section. This spine design is actually what the older Corsair Dominator editions looked like, so it's a nice callback to be able to have the old design included alongside the new design in one bundle. However, this top part isn't equipped with RGB, nor does it improve or affect the cooling, it's purely a style choice. Corsair says that 3D printing schematics should also be available soon. Opening them up, the main body is constructed through two beautifully finished pieces of aluminium, with a large adhesive thermal pad ensuring excellent heat distribution throughout the modules. Depending on which variant you order, the number of ICs is likely to change, and of course, their rated speeds can vary too, but Corsair offers this in speeds of up to 8000 MT/s, with the promise of even more extreme and faster modules in the future. The memory uses SK Hynix H5CGD8MGBD DRAM ICs, which are most certainly among the best on the market right now, so it's hardly a surprise to see them included here. There's also a plethora of hardware dedicated to dealing with voltage regulation and stability here, which will help this memory maintain its promised performance levels. It's all laid out in a way that it's all cooled by the heatsink too. RGB Corsair has long been a leader when it comes to RGB technology, and the Dominator are no exception. The colours, effects, transitions and brightness are second to none. There's a short video above and a few images below to showcase what's on offer. How We Test Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose vital information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their hardware. When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there's always a margin for error when using any software. Therefore, your experience may vary. Testing Your Own System Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you're looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using our benchmarks and settings where possible. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware we tested to give you a ballpark figure of how much an upgrade this will provide you with. Test System ProcessorIntel Core i9-13900KMotherboardGigabyte Z790 AORUS MasterMemoryChanges Per ReviewGraphicsXFX RX 6800 XT MERCStorageSeagate Firecuda 530 1TBPower SupplyNZXT C1000SoftwareWindows 11 Pro 22H2DriversAMD Adrenaline 23.7.1 Software Used CineBench R23 (download) AIDA 64 Engineer (download) WPrime (download) 3DMark (download) HWMonitor (download) CPU-Z (download) Methodology In our RAM reviews, we keep things relatively simple. We put the RAM kit that is being tested into our test system and benchmark it at its first XMP profile using a variety of benchmarks and tests. Once complete, we apply a reasonable overclock where possible and benchmark the same software with the overclocked values. The CPU clock speed is set to default for both runs. AIDA64 As you can see, we've recently been very busy retesting a LOT of memory kits, these are all new results and are not comparable to our old reviews, as it's a completely new test bench. The 48GB titanium kit set a blistering speed in AIDA64, with only a couple of kits beating it; not bad for the first benchmark, that's for sure An important one is always Latency, and while not the lowest, it's certainly a competitive time, matching that of the equally high-end Thermaltake Toughram, and Fury Beast kits. Calculation Performance In rendering performance, the scores were again on par with other high-end kits. Keep in mind, we've tested mostly high-end DDR5 memory, so it's not surprising to see Corsair matching rather than beating the competition here. A great time in WPrime too, but the standard Vengeance actually scored a tiny bit better. However, it did set the best decompression time 7z. Rendering Performance Due to these being the only 24GB DIMMS we've tested, it actually scored lower in Cinebench, as it increases the access time, and this test doesn't benefit from the larger pool of memory. This isn't a bad score, but it's clearly dropped below that of everything else. Corona lagged behind too, with a higher rendering time at 0.39, but again, not terribly far behind others. But then, flip the coin again, it's lagging behind in Blender, it really is all over the place! However, this is due to the 24GB modules, the trade-off is, of course, more memory, but if a program doesn't benefit from more memory, it also slows things down a little. FutureMark Performance In Futuremark, the score wasn't the fastest, but overall, it's a very competitive score and within a margin of rival products. But it did favour much better in Time Spy Extreme, with a score of 13215 putting it roughly in the middle. Assassin's Creed Valhalla Become Eivor, a Viking raider raised to be a fearless warrior, and lead your clan from icy desolation in Norway to a new home amid the lush farmlands of ninth-century England. Find your settlement and conquer this hostile land by any means to earn a place in Valhalla. Available now on Steam. Now we move onto gaming, and again, not the fastest here, but a competitive score overall. Interestingly, the older Dominator Platinum scored better, but again, 16GB vs. 24 modules are likely the culprit here. Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the megalopolis of Night City, where you play as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival. Improved and featuring all-new free additional content, customize your character and playstyle as you take on jobs, build a reputation, and unlock upgrades. The relationships you forge and the choices you make will shape the story and the world around you. Legends are made here. What will yours be? Available now on Steam. Cyberpunk is a more memory-intensive game though, so the tables turned here and it's the Titanium leading against the older Platinum DIMMs. Dying Light 2 Humanity is fighting a losing battle against the virus. Experience a post-apocalyptic open world overrun by hordes of zombies, where your parkour and combat skills are key to survival. Traverse the City freely during the day, but watch the monsters take over during the night. Available now on Steam. Dying Light 2 lagged a bit, but again, I won't lose any sleep at getting over 150 FPS. FarCry 6 Welcome to Yara, a tropical paradise frozen in time. As the dictator of Yara, Antón Castillo is intent on restoring his nation to its former glory by any means necessary, with his son, Diego, following in his bloody footsteps. Their oppressive rule has ignited a revolution. It does seem the Vengeance is the go-to kit for gaming here, but at least the Titanium outpaced the Platinum here again. Available now on Epic. Forza Horizon 5 Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Explore the vibrant and ever-evolving open world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars. Available now on Xbox.com. A solid score here, actually ahead of the Vengeance, albeit by a very small margin, not that it matters much at a staggering 280+ FPS. Horizon Zero Dawn Experience Aloy’s legendary quest to unravel the mysteries of a future Earth ruled by Machines. Use devastating tactical attacks against your prey and explore a majestic open world in this award-winning action RPG! Available now on Steam. Horizon Zero Dawn is surprisingly consistent regardless of the memory kit! Hogwarts Legacy Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Available now on Steam. As is Hogwarts, even though the Titanium is lower down here. Microsoft Flight Simulator From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and accurate aircraft in the next generation of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Test your piloting skills against the challenges of night flying, real-time atmospheric simulation and live weather in a dynamic and living world. Create your flight plan to anywhere on the planet. The world is at your fingertips. Flight Simulator did great too, with a strong 1% low from the Titanium. Available now on Xbox.com. Watch Dogs: Legion Build a resistance from virtually anyone you see as you hack, infiltrate, and fight to take back a near-future London that is facing its downfall. Welcome to the Resistance. Recruit and play as anyone in the city. Everyone you see has a unique backstory, personality, and skill set. Available now on UPlay. And a strong 1% and average for Watch Dogs: Legion, scoring 166 FPS. Red Dead Redemption 2 Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are outlaws on the run. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. Available now on Steam. Finally, Red Dead Redemption scores well at 98 FPS, with a 76 FPS 1% low. Overall Average FPS Overall, some are great, some not so great, but when you average out all of the kits, there's actually very little difference between them all and only a 4 FPS difference on average between the best and the Titanium! Overclocking Strangely the memory had a second XMP profile which pushes the speed to 7400MHz with slightly looser timings and a CAS latency of 38, and upon retesting at this secondary profile, we found performance to not really benefit. We also tried going back to the primary XMP profile with tighter timings to see how far we could push the memory, but sadly, even 7400MHz wasn't possible and instead would result in you needing to manually loosen the timings, likely to the ones set in profile 2. When it comes to overclocking, I have no doubt that these modules can go a little further with tweaks to the primary and secondary timings in favour of speed, but the issue with that is that while you will gain in raw bandwidth, you will falter in terms of latency slightly so in terms of real-term gains, there really isn't any, and that's been the case for memory for quite some time, especially when it comes to DDR5. If you're after a faster speed, simply buy a faster kit that's tuned with relevant timings too. How Much Does It Cost? The Corsair Dominator Titanium is being released in limited supply, with only 500 sets of each variant being made available across a number of speeds and capacities. With that in mind, stock is unlikely to last very long, and prices on these are going to be both high and likely quite variable. I wouldn't be overly surprised to see a little scalping going on too, unfortunately, as these will be in high demand for extreme builds. Check out the official product page for further details. The 7200MT/s 48GB 2x24GB DIMM, Unbuffered, 36-46-46-116 DOMINATOR TITANIUM First Edition White that we reviewed is $284.99/£269.99. However, you can purchase additional accessory kits, such as the GT Fin Style Top, non-RGB, Black, grey or white for $29.99/£39.99. Overview Corsair has a long history of high-performance computer memory. After, memory is what they started with in the early 90s as they were an OEM manufacturer before they moved into making DRAM in the early 2000s, so it's safe to say they know what they're doing with about three decades of being one of the biggest names in the business. Of course, their portfolio has expanded significantly in that time, and Corsair is easily the leading name for enthusiast PC gaming hardware right now. The Corsair Dominator series has long been the absolute pinnacle of DDR memory too. Where there are competitive kits out there, even some that can push higher overclocks, the Dominator series has been less focused on one thing, they try to be a premium product in every regard, such as build quality, material and component choices, aesthetics, capacities, and of course, performance. Obviously, performance is not an issue here. With 48GB running at 7200 MHz, the kit Corsair provided us with more than enough DRAM for most high-end and enthusiast users. However, it also had a 7400 MHz profile with slighter looser times. It's also exceptionally fast and has decent timing, so again, there's really nothing to complain about there. However, if you did want to go even faster, Corsair has the Dominator Titanium available at speeds of up to 8000 MT/s, should you need it. Should I Buy One? I suspect many who want this memory don't really need it. As we saw in testing, using 24GB modules does slow down some testing, but provides benefits to memory-intensive tasks. It was all over in gaming performance but largely averaged out on par with its rivals. It's just a cool thing to have and the specifications are good bragging rights, even if they're not really always relevant to say... a gaming PC, there's no getting away from their performance, but you have to be willing to pay up, as the price difference between consumer kits and these premium ones is going to be bigger than the performance gap.