WTF?! In a sad example of how the AI-driven memory crisis has affected the consumer DRAM market, V-Color plans to released a 1 + 1 Value Pack DDR5 memory kit that includes a single DDR5 module and a fake "filler" module. The idea is to make a system look cleaner and more symmetrical, though the response has been pretty much what you'd expect.
Fake memory kits that are used to fill empty DIMM slots have been around for a long time now, though V-Color's value pack is pretty unusual.
The kits come with either a 16GB DDR5 module (Manta DDR5 XSky) or a 24GB DDR5 module (Manta DDR5 Xfinity), both 6,400 MT/s. They are packaged with a matching fake filler module featuring RGB lighting that synchronizes with the real RAM stick. No word yet on price or release date.
In its press release, V-Color is positioning the kit as being especially well suited for AMD X3D systems such as the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Ryzen 7 9850X3D. The company writes that in the case of the former CPU, tests have shown more than 30% stronger gaming performance with single-module DDR5 configurations in certain scenarios compared with older DDR4 dual channel-based gaming builds.
"This advantage comes from both the DDR5 platform and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D's 96 MB L3 cache, which helps keep more game data on chip and reduce dependence on memory traffic," the release states.
V-Color attempts to justify its product by arguing that users can start with this 1+1 (real + fake) configuration and later expand to a 2+2 setup when they can afford it, thereby filling all their RAM slots – even if only 50% of them are actually doing anything other than look pretty.
V-Color admits this approach is a response to the current DRAM market conditions. There are new reports on the impact of the memory crisis arriving daily – the most recent, from TrendForce, warned that mainstream laptops could soon cost 40% more at retail.
The general response to V-Color's product has been almost entirely negative, with many noting how this is a bad solution to a very real problem.
There's also the potential for this product to be used in scams. In December, someone who sent Corsair a 96GB DDR5 kit, worth about $1,000 at the time, for an RMA received $35 lighting-only fake modules as a replacement.