Photos and Aesthetic
The first of the two kits that Lexar sent over was their new Hades RGB DDR4 kit. This is their new gaming kit and in my opinion the most important of the kits that they brought out. The packaging gets right to the point and has a large photo of the kit on the front. This is important because if you are shopping in retail, this is the only way you can see what the memory looks like. They let you know that it's an RGB kit by having the lighting filled in with RGB colors on the memory itself Then also up on the top edge, it has all of the RGB control software integration logos for each big motherboard brand are along the bottom to showing compatibility. The Lexar logo is also along the top and is the largest font along with the Lexar logo visible on the memory as well. Then down along the bottom, they have the Hades logo and they let you know this is RGB DDR4 with the capacity and speed on a sticker over on the right. Our kit is the 32GB 2x16GB kit running at 3600 MHz. The only thing missing here are the memory timings as well, but beyond that, they touch on everything people will be interested in seeing right away. The back of the box talks about Lexar’s own software to control the lighting and has the barcode and serial number. What also surprised me is they even have a specification listing back here that includes the dimensions of the memory which can be helpful if you are worried the tall kit might not fit.
When you open the packaging up, the memory comes in a plastic tray with a clear plastic cover. I did notice our kit was popped out slightly, but overall it is designed to give a small buffer to prevent damage and to keep them from moving around. Nothing else comes with the kit, you get the box, tray, and the memory not that anything needs to come with it.
In addition to needing to be fast memory, “gaming” focused kits typically have heatspreaders to spread out heat and (mostly) for aesthetic reasons. The Lexar Hades kit isn’t any different. They have the regular Hades kit and the RGB version we have today and they both have the same heatspreader design. They use a black aluminum design that covers nearly the entire memory with just a touch of the black PCB sticking out on the bottom edge and at the ends where the hold down clamps clip in. I like that Lexar’s design is more than just a basic panel, the heatspreader design angles down and gets thinner near the bottom, and those clips and above the clip area they use the full width of the memory. The black wraps up around on the ends but the RGB light bar at the top is still very visible with nearly a half-inch of it wrapping down on the sides. On one side they have just the Lexar logo showing and then on the other side they have that same logo in the center as well as a sticker which has the required certification logos as well as the model information and speeds of the memory including the timings and each sticks serial number as well.
On the top edge, the RGB light bar that they use to diffuse the LED lights out to a softer/more blended look runs all the way to the ends and you can see how the aluminum heatspreader holds it in place on both ends. It’s a little harder to see, but I like that they slipped in the Lexar branding on the top edge with it debossed into the plastic.
In addition to the gaming lineup, Lexar does also now have their standard desktop memory as well and they sent over a pair of those. I should note that here in the US they sell this kit as a dual-channel kit but as you can see the packaging we have are the individual sticks which aren’t available here. The memory is the same, but the packaging if you buy the dual-channel kit is going to be different. That said the packaging does have a very different look than the Hades kit. The background is white on the top half and the bottom half has a grey stripe design. The Lexar logo is the biggest font once again with the DDR4 and the memory speed (which is 3200 MHz) and the capacity are in the bottom right corner. The front has a small window to show the sticker right on the memory for access to the serial number which saves the packaging from having to have the serial number sticker on the box as well like on the Hades kit. Then on the back, they have just a short description then a full specifications breakdown which I love including the dimensions.
Inside the packaging, the Lexar Desktop Memory has a black plastic tray with a clear top cover similar to the Hades kit but smaller. It keeps the memory safe and these did come with a quick installation guide as well where the gaming kit did not.
So the Lexar UDIMM Desktop Memory follows more of the KISS method where they keep it simple stu.. well we don’t need the last word there. There aren’t heatspreaders or any fancy lighting. But they did still stick with the all black PCB which looks great. The back of the sticks have the white sticker on them with the serial number, model information, capacity, timings, and of course the certification logos that are always needed. But beyond that, there isn’t much going on on the back. You can see a few traces around the sticker area and resistors down by the connection but that’s it. Then on the front side, you have the RAM chips visible. They are laid out like a dual stacked memory layout but if you look closely there aren’t traces up in the top section for a dual stick layout. What I think they are doing however is using the same layout that they use on the Hades kits and they have this configuration to make room for the lighting. You can even see small spots along the top of the PCB where they would put the LEDs. I like that they are being efficient with their design and are able to get a few variations out of it including this which in some ways IMO looks just as good as the kits with the heatspreaders.
