Adata & MSI Unveil 4-Rank DDR5 Modules For Massive Memory Capacities

DDR5 memory runs objectively high transfer rates; JEDEC specs go as high as 6.4 Gbps, and overclockers have taken DDR5 beyond the fastest LPDDR5X: all the way to over 13 Gbps. At these speeds, signal integrity becomes a first-order concern, and most systems can maintain peak performance only when running one module per channel. That generally limits you to two DIMMs total and thus caps practical capacity at around 128 GB with conventional dual-rank DDR5 modules.

If you need high bandwidth and the maximum possible capacity, you might be better off with ADATA and MSI's new "High Capacity DDR5 4-Rank CUDIMM Memory Modules". That's right: quad-rank memory modules, conventionally the exclusive purview of servers and workstations, have finally come to the desktop platform.


At least, to the Intel platform, anyway. See, these are CUDIMMs, which have on-board clock drivers to clean up signaling at high speeds. CUDIMMs are only officially supported on Intel's Z890 platform for its Core Ultra 200 series processors; you can use them on AMD Socket AM5 boards, but you'll have to run them in "bypass mode," which disables the on-board clock drivers, and as a result, may not guarantee the same speeds.

However, unlike other CUDIMMs we've seen, these are actually only clocked at the JEDEC standard 5600 MT/s, likely due to the extremely high density: 128GB per module, allowing for a maximum of 256GB of RAM in a two-slot configuration. ADATA's product page doesn't specify if they can work in a 4-DIMM configuration, but we expect you could get it working—albeit at an even lower transfer rate than four 64GB DIMMs.

ADATA says these new memory modules are designed "not only for enthusiast gamers seeking ultimate performance but also for content creators, AI developers, and engineering professionals who demand powerful computing capability." The latter categories could certainly make use of the mega-capacity modules, but we can say with great certainty that gamers would be better served by a pair of lower-capacity, lower-latency modules like one of these kits:


These modules aren’t cheap—because nothing in the memory aisle is right now. DRAM prices have spiked dramatically in the last month, with contract prices for some DDR5 chips rising by 30% to 60% compared to just a few months ago, largely driven by the explosive demand from AI datacenters. This demand isn't likely to let up anytime soon, so unless you're willing to wait 6+ months for production to potentially catch up, you might as well bite the bullet and buy now.

ADATA hasn't announced pricing on its new quad-rank DIMMs, but they won't be cheap, either. We expect the 128GB DIMMs to run at least $500 apiece, and potentially even more, depending on how much ADATA wants to charge for the privilege of packing a quarter-terabyte of RAM into two sticks.