Chinese DRAM maker CXMT achieves DDR5 overclocking milestone despite US sanctions

ChangXin Memory Technologies has demonstrated DDR5 speeds of 8,800 MT/s on AMD’s platform using 16GB modules, highlighting its growing competitiveness amid US sanctions and global chip shortages.

ChangXin Memory Technologies, the Chinese DRAM maker better known as CXMT, has taken another visible step up the performance ladder after Colorful demonstrated DDR5 speeds of 8,800 megatransfers per second on AMD’s X870E platform using CXMT-based memory. Tom’s Hardware reported that the result was achieved with Colorful’s iGame Shadow II DDR5-6000 C34 kits, putting the company in the same conversation as SK hynix at the top end of the market.

The result is notable because it was reached with 16GB modules, not the 24GB parts that are now more commonly associated with very high DDR5 clocks. Tom’s Hardware said most DDR5-8600-and-above kits rely on SK hynix M-die chips, which benefit from a more advanced process and EUV production. CXMT does not have access to EUV equipment because of US sanctions, and its DDR5 chips are made using DUV tools instead.

That makes the latest overclocking display more than a marketing exercise. CXMT was founded only about a decade ago, yet it has grown into China’s largest memory maker and the world’s fourth-largest, helped by the global chip shortage and by rapid adoption from Chinese brands including Asgard, Colorful, Gloway and Kingbank. The Zoomit report also said Corsair has used CXMT parts in some products, while HP, Asus and Acer have already started shipping systems with the company’s memory.

Still, the performance gains do not erase earlier concerns about consistency and tuning. Tom’s Hardware reported that early testing found CXMT DDR5 less responsive to voltage scaling and manual timing adjustments than SK hynix equivalents, with noticeable batch-to-batch variation. That matters because another recent report from Tom’s Hardware showed a 32GB Lexar Thor RGB kit using domestically produced Chinese DRAM priced at 3,999 yuan, or about $592, suggesting that local supply is expanding but not yet translating into the lower prices some buyers had expected.