Alongside the release of Intel 12th Generation Alderlake processors are a skew of products due to the new technologies available on the platform such as PCI Express Gen 5 and DDR5 memory. While PCIe 5.0 remains to be paper spec, DDR5 is gaming a steady adoption with brands releasing entry-level and high-end products. One of those products is the Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB for this review. Let’s see how this generation of Dominator Platinum memory dominates other DDR5 memory modules.
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 Specs
| Model | CMT32GX5M2X5600C36 |
| Release Date | December 2021 |
| Type | 288-pin DIMM DDR5 |
| Speed | DDR5-5200MHz |
| Size | 32GB (2 x 16GB) |
| CAS Latency | 40 |
| Timing | 40-40-40-77 |
| Voltage | 1.25V |
| Heat Spreader | Anodized Aluminum |
| Color | Black |
| LED Color | RGB |
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 Unboxing and First Impressions
The Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 sports the same packaging style as its DDR4 brother. The front of the octagonal box has a front view of the Dominator Platinum RGB memory with its RGB lighting turned on and on the upper right side is its memory size and speed. The back shows key features of the memory kit in different languages.
The Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 comes in either a white or black anodized aluminum heat spreader. Our specific 32GB kit has a speed of 5600Mhz and a rated timing of 40-40-40-77. The Dominator Platinum is also available 5600MHz CL36 up to 6600MHz CL32.
There are 5 LED cutouts on each side on the top of the signature Dominator Platinum aluminum light bar to pass through. The Dominator text on the center is also translucent and therefore lights up as well.
The twelve Capellix RGB LEDs are more than enough to light up the Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 as it’s simply the most vibrant memory module we’ve reviewed so far. There’s a well-balanced distribution of lighting with no uneven brightness across the whole module. Moreover, RGB lighting can be customized on the Corsair iCUE app or have the Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 sync with motherboard lighting software such as ROG AuraSync.
Benchmarks Setup and Methodology
Gadget Pilipinas’ testing philosophy is to provide detail-oriented results as accurately as possible so that our readers can replicate our tests given that these conditions are met. Different benchmarking apps and sequences are used depending on the component or device being tested.
| Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR5 RGB Review Test Bench Specs | ||||
| CPU | Intel Core i9 12900K | |||
| COOLER | ASUS ROG Ryujin II CPU Cooler – Noctua NT-H2 Thermal Paste | |||
| MOTHERBOARD | ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming Motherboard | |||
| MEMORY | TForce XTREEM ARGB DDR4 16GB(2x8GB) 3600Mhz CL14 | Patriot Signature DDR5 16GB(2x8GB) 4800Mhz CL40 | Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 32GB(2x16GB) 5200Mhz CL40 | Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB(2x16GB) 5200Mhz CL40 |
| GPU | Inno3D RTX 3080 Ti iChill X4 | |||
| STORAGE | WD Black SN850 2TB SSD | |||
| POWERSUPPLY | FSP Hydro PTM Pro 1200W Platinum | |||
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows 11 Pro Build 22000 | |||
| DISPLAY | Lenovo Legion Y27Q Gaming Monitor | |||
We use CapFrameX 1.6.6 as our FPS capture and analysis tool for all our gaming benchmarks. The latest build version of Windows 10 and WHQL certified drivers are used for our benchmarks. Readings such as temperatures and power draw are recorded using HWMonitor, HWInfo64, and other relevant software for cross-checking.
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 Benchmarks
SuperPI 32M
SuperPI is a single-threaded benchmark application that lets the CPU calculate Pi(π) to the nth digit. In this benchmark, we selected the Pi calculation to 32M, the highest available for the app.
AIDA64 Memory Benchmark
AIDA64 is a very popular and powerful monitoring tool, as well as a benchmarking application. AIDA64 is commonly used to stress test CPUs, especially testing if an overclock is stable. We used AIDA64’s Memory Benchmark to measure the data transfer bandwidth of the system memory.
GeekBench 5
Geekbench is a multi-platform benchmark used to gauge CPU performance and compare them across Windows, Mac, and Mobile. Geekbench 5 is the latest version and doesn’t rely on memory than the previous Geekbench 4, making it a great tool to measure both single-core and multi-core CPU performance.
CINEBENCH R20 & Cinebench R23
Maxon’s Cinebench benchmark is one of the most iconic benchmark applications used by reviewers and enthusiasts. The latest Cinebench R20 uses the latest rendering architectures, including Intel’s Embree ray tracing technology and other advanced features from AMD and Intel that allow users to render the same scene on the same hard. Cinebench R20 uses a larger and more complex testing scene than Cinebench R20 by about 8x computational power and requires 4x the memory.
GOOGLE OCTANE 2.0
Google Octane 2.0 is a benchmark that measures a Javascript engine’s performance by running multiple tests representing different use cases of JavaScript applications. While Google Octane is retired and no longer maintained, it is still a good representation of today’s dynamic, interactive web applications. Our Google Octane 2.0 is run on Microsoft’s latest Chromium-based Edge browser.
V-RAY
V-Ray Benchmark is a stand-alone version V-Ray developed by Chaos Group. It is designed to test the CPU and GPU by rendering sample scenes for a fixed amount of time. V-Ray is a plug-in mostly utilized by 3D computer graphics software applications mainly for industrial design, product design, architecture, film, and video game production. V-Ray is not limited to 64-threads as it supports multi and mega-threading.
HANDBRAKE
Handbrake is a top-rated open-source video conversion software that is used by professionals, enthusiasts, and even reviewers as a reference point mainly because of its wide variety of media codecs. The rise of streaming and blogging makes video content, both encoding, and transcoding important for these people, regardless if they’re seasoned professionals or just starting out. Handbrake also takes advantage of AVX-512 and OpenCL to accelerate certain types of media codecs. Our Handbrake benchmark converts a 500MB MP4 video to H.264 to measure the processor’s performance.
CORONA RENDERER
Corona Renderer is an unbiased photorealistic render available for Autodesk 3Ds Max, Maxon Cinema 4D, and as a stand-alone application. Its popularity, similar to Blender, led Chaos Group to develop a benchmark version of the app which runs using Corona Renderer 1.3. Workstation systems, especially CPUs, can utilize Corona Benchmark as up to 72 threads can be used in the benchmark, making it very suitable for CPUs with various price segments.
PCMark10
From the same developers of the popular game benchmarking tool 3DMark, PCMark 10 is a benchmarking app for measuring a whole PC’s performance. It covers a wide variety of tests to reflect common tasks performed in a modern workplace. We selected PCMark 10’s extended benchmark and reported both the overall score and Digital Content Creation Score.
3DMARK
3DMark is the go-to benchmark for gamers because of the ability to share and compare results online. We tested the Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 both in Fire Strike and Time Spy to get a good gauge of DX 11 and DX 12 API performance.
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 Temps
Throughout our benchmark suite, the Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 managed to stay under 40°C despite the various heavy load experienced by the system. The anodized aluminum is not just for show as it clearly played a big factor in keeping the DDR5 chips away from high temperatures which is very impressive considering DDR5 memory is still relatively new to the consumer market.
Conclusion – The Legacy Continues
The Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 lives up to the legacy of the very first DDR3 Dominator Platinum and exceeds it in so many ways. The Dominator Platinum RGB carries multiple improvements over its predecessor namely better overall build quality, a more premium aesthetic, vibrant RGB lighting, cooler temperatures, and superb performance. One key aspect I like to point out is the wide selection of this generation’s Dominator Platinum memory modules with two color options, either 32GB or 64GB capacities, and memory speeds ranging from the base 4800MHz all the way to 6600MHz. It’s rare for a memory brand to have this many SKUs considering DDR5 is relatively new so kudos to Corsair for giving the users a wide range of options to fit their needs and budget. That said, the Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 is one of the best performing DDR5 memory in the market and is a must-have for people wanting maximum DDR5 performance and overclocking enthusiasts provided you have the money to spare.
Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.
