Colorful iGame Shadow II DDR5-6000 UDIMM 32GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review

TweakTown Rating: 95%

Our Verdict

The RGB could be brighter, but the performance and unique look is what will sell the iGame Shadow II for Colorful.

Pros

• Artistic aesthetic
• Performance
• Hynix A-die
• OC headroom
• XMP / EXPO

Cons

• Availability

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

Colorful is still a bit of an outsider to us. During our time as a RAM reviewer, we have seen one other set of DDR5 from them. On an entirely different system, we saw a kit named CVN from Colorful's Icicle series. One thing we can say is that in what we have seen from that kit and what we have in store for you today, they are not shy with the aesthetics, as it appears a plain black set of DDR5 is not in their DNA.

Much like when we looked at the Icicle kit, with this new set, Colorful isn't ready to sell them on this side of the pond, maybe not ever. Taking that a step further, we have these sticks prior to any product listing, pricing information, or release date. They exist, as we have them in hand, but for many on the US side of the globe, you may never catch these in the wild, as we always need to change browser regions to locate them after release. Even so, Colorful is no slouch when it comes to stylish RAM with performance to back them up, and we find more of the same with our newest kit to hit the lab.

We were not able to test the original kits that inspired this lineup, but now we are looking at kits from the Shadow II series. This is a subset of the iGame label that Colorful uses for its high-performance memory kits, designed specifically for gamers and overclockers. With that clarified, let's see what the new iGame Shadow II RGB kits offer. We'll examine both their unique visual design and how well a 6000 megatransfers per second (MT/s) kit performs against faster alternatives in our charts.

Our Colorful iGame Shadow II features RGB lighting. The packaging and IG16G6000D5YP28W part number do not reveal this. The part number provides key specs: IG for iGame, 16G for each stick's density, 6000 for speed, 28 for CAS timing, and W for white. Shadow II also offers a unique look that we have never seen before. Faces are painted on the heat spreaders in a messy-looking, yet traditional style, with a shadowy character staring back at you. If that does not hold your interest, let's see what the chart shows next.

The head spreaders are white with black accents, and not only are they made of aluminum, but they are also the heaviest heat spreaders we have ever held. While we will not have to worry about slot pressure, you have hefty hunks of aluminum to dissipate all the heat coming from the components on the PCB. Speaking of components, we have Hynix A-die ICs and an unlocked Richtek PMIC under the hood.

Unlike others, Colorful did not speed up their JEDEC profile, as it shows up at 4800 MT/s with 40-39-39-77 2T timings, using 1.10 volts. Following the trend, only one of the three profile slots was programmed with the EXPO/XMP option you will want to use. 6000 MT/s is strong for Intel, but with 28-38-38-75 2T timings at 1.40 volts, it screams for a newer AMD CPU to push them.

Further DDR-5 Memory Reading – Our Latest Reviews

• Crucial DDR5 Pro OC Memory DDR5-6400 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review
• KLEVV CRAS V RGB DDR5-9200 CUDIMM 48GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review
• Patriot Viper Venom RGB DDR5-6400 UDIMM 32GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review

The Shadow II is heavy at 91 grams per stick. They are slightly tall but will fit the designated area. End-to-end, they measure 133.4mm, with the PCB as the widest part. At 8.25mm, these are the thickest spreaders to date. Height can be an issue for many air coolers at 49.25mm, but this can be worked around with proper planning.

Even though we have had this kit in the lab for a hot minute, availability and pricing information are elusive. It's likely non-existent, at least to the public. This seems to be Colorful's usual approach; last time we reviewed their memory, getting information was a pain, too. Pricing is currently insane. While we hope RAM manufacturers offer the best possible deals, you will pay a large sum to acquire these. Given the limited availability and price uncertainty, Colorful offers a three-year warranty rather than a limited lifetime warranty to top everything off.

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Packaging and Colorful iGame Shadow II UDIMM

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The packaging, with its contrast of black and white, may seem simple, but it tells us a lot about what we need as consumers. In tiny font, to not detract from the face at the right, we see Colorful iGame DDR5 at the top and iGame Shadow II 6000c28 16GBx2 at the bottom.

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The reverse offers the site address, which currently offers no information on Shadow II. On the right, we see all sync methods for RGB control, and a product sticker at the bottom.

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The white layer is just a sleeve; inside is this much thicker matte-black container. Sliding it open exposes the sticks, set into dense foam for protection, with literature above, for those who have never used DDR5. Very high-end in the feel and user experience, which we did not expect this early.

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Fresh out of their fancy digs, The Shadow II design is something unseen and virtually unexplained. On the left side of the white heat spreader is a splash of black with the iGame name, backed by RGB. At the other end is a face, well, most of it. While unusual, we cannot say we hate it; in fact, the more we look at it, the more we like it. On top of everything else, Colorful also protects the gold fingers with plastic protectors.

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Both sides of the RAM are identical, except for one change on the back of each. At the left end of the DIMM, you will see a product sticker. On it is the density, speed, timing set, part number, and serial number.

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Even stacked behind one another, the visual appeal of the iGame Shadow II is not lost. All that white with just enough contrast in the art and name placement to keep it from giving us snow blindness. While not everyone's cup of tea, we dig it.

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Each side of the heat spreader reaches up past the PCB and encases both sides of the tubular diffuser. The largest portion of the diffuser is hidden and delivers light to the bars we see here and the iGame names on the sides.

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We do not advise opening your Shadow II, as even with added heat, we had a hard time fighting the grip of their adhesives. The PMIC and ICs get thermal pads for better heat transfer, and we see a row of SK Hynix H5CG48AEBD ICs staring back at us.

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The programmable SPD chip at the top left is made by FMD, but more importantly, the PMIC is made by Richtek and is unlocked for those wanting to push boundaries a bit.

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With gray and black as the backdrop, the white Shadow II sticks stand out and complement the ring on our THICC Q60. The lights are bright in the booth, but the RGB out the top is a bit dim, while the iGame logo on the side seems much brighter.

28-38-38-76 2T is what we were told these should run, which is a good start. We also see that Colorful keeps the tRFC tight at 480, and the tREFi is set to 5851, which is great. Scanning the rest of the timings, we see a little wiggle room, but Colorful did a terrific job with tuning.

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When we can, we will be adding these HWiNFO screenshots from the memory portion, which not only show the clocks, channels, gear mode, and timings but also confirm the die type at the top, if the SPD is programmed to show it. With Thaiphoon Burner dead in the water, this is another way to check.

Test System Details

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To obtain the Intel CPU-Z screenshots, you will see directly following this image; this is the system we used to do it, as well as to get the results seen in the following pages. Thanks to ASRock, our wallet, HYTE, Patriot, GIGABYTE, and be quiet! for supporting us with this venture. Detailed specifications of the system can be found below.

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Enabling the only profile option Colorful provided, we have our iGame Shadow II running as shown on the box. The speed is 6000 MT/s with 28-38-38-76 2T timings. Voltage-wise, the VDIMM is at 1.40V, the I/O is at 1.280V, and the SA is at 1.024V.

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Looking for flexibility in the timing set, we were able to get decent results. 26-36-36 will run at 1.40V, but to get here, we needed 1.50V VDIMM to stabilize the 26-34-34-76 2T timings we are using. We needed no changes to the voltage otherwise.

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After 6200 MT/s, we had to increase the VDIMM to 1.50V to go any further, and 6400 MT/s was the most for CAS 28. However, opting for CAS 30 allowed us to reach 6666 MT/s with full stability, but no matter what we tried with our voltages, this was where the fun stopped.

Chad's Intel DDR5 Dual-Channel Test System Specifications

Intel Performance

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At 6000 MT/s, Colorful takes on the Patriot Viper 6400s and even hangs tight to the 6400 JEDEC results with their start in the AIDA read segment at 93,253 MB/s throughput. We lost 1440 MB/s trying to tighten timings, but with more speed behind them, the Shadow II had another 9545 MB/s in the tank over what XMP offered.

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Write performance in AIDA is similar, where the iGame Shadow II is slightly behind the newer JEDEC spec at 84,460 MB/s. Little was gained for the tighter timing set, but again, with added speed, these ICs are ready to deliver. The free boost for using that setting comes in at 6163 MB/s more than XMP.

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Copy performance is quite strong, surpassing the new JEEDEC and within 1000MB/s of the Patriot Viper 6400. At 87,167 MB/s to start things off is great, roughly 820 MB/s boost when lowering the timings is nice too, but the 6195 MB/s boost with added speed just goes to show what Colorful is delivering.

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Out of the box, latency is decent at 82.2 ns, which outshines anything slower than 8000 MT/s in our chart. Impressively, at CAS 26, we got it down to 80.1, but beat that with a bit more speed, delivering that 79.2 ns result that tops the chart.

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Finally, a set of RAM delivers in Super Pi without needing more than 8000 MT/s to clean house. Out of the gate, the iGame Shadow II is strong with an impressive second-place overall. A reduced set of timings was worth roughly a second of time, but we got nearly three seconds off of XMP at 6666 MT/s, closing in on that Viper Extreme 5 8200 MT/s result at the top.

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PCMark 10 is an efficiency metric over many types of tests, and is a hard test suite to excel in. However, Colorful seems to have its number. With a base run on XMP of 10040, we did not expect it to improve. As seen, we achieved better performance with both overclocking options, though speed prevailed over tighter timings.

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In real-world applications like 7-Zip, Colorful's compression rate is impressive. Faster out of the box than everything there under 8000 MT/s. Not only did XMP deliver more than expected, but we also took six seconds off that with tighter timings, and ten seconds off XMP with a few ticks on the memory speed in BIOS.

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Insert wow emoji here. We thought the compression results were overly impressive, but the transcoding results blow the competition out of the water. At 6000 MT/s, Colorful jumped into first place, ten seconds faster than a much quicker set of RAM. Overclocking has little merit for this metric, unless lower-than-XMP performance is your thing.

Final Thoughts

On this side of the pond, Colorful is known, but we would not go as far as to say they are a go-to company for most of you that share this side of the ball; however, they are worth keeping an eye on. In the past, availability eventually happened, but the number of kits available was usually quite low in the US. Even with so many points against it for things that should be non-issues, Colorful has impressed us with its iGame Shadow II DDR5. If you can get your hands on a set of these, we would strongly suggest it.

The level of performance across most metrics shows that at 6000 MT/s, colorful keeps pace with the 6400 MT/s kits, and in some instances, blows the doors off everyone else in the race. Based on Hynix A-die, we are not shocked that there is as much movement as we found with overclocking, but the level of performance Colorful dug out of the ICs with just the flick of an XMP pr EXPO flag in BIOS has given us a different look at what is possible with kits designed for the mainstream user.

As slick-looking as the Shadow II is, we do find the RGB to be a bit dimmer than most others through the top diffuser. We feel they may have gone too tall, and the lighting cannot get there as bright as we see in shorter options, but the iGame logos glow like mad. The artwork on the side carries the aesthetic, and the white heat spreaders help them stand out even more. However, with all the good, like our opening experience, the level of detail and thought put into them, and even as well as they stomped our charts, there is too much up in the air to make a well-informed decision.

With no price set, no real-world availability outside of reviewers, the lack of Colorful products on this side of the pond, and the fact that we get a three-year warranty on what is expected to be a hefty investment, we feel slighted in how we continue. While we would wholeheartedly tell you to grab a set a month ago at normal pricing, we must assume that such a kit will demand a premium price. Currently, this segment runs from $559.99 to $799.99, and if that will be the reality for the iGame Shadow II, even as good as they are, it makes it like selling ice to an Eskimo, rather rough.