G.Skill TridentZ 3200 MHz 32GB Quad Channel DDR4 memory review

Memory (DDR4/DDR5) and Storage (SSD/NVMe) 367 Page 13 of 13 Published by

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Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words

I have mentioned in many MANY DRAM related reviews that your focus really shouldn't be faster memory yet your focus should be more volume. The truth admittedly is a bit in the middle. You can gain a bit of performance with faster clocked low latency memory, but you do need to put logic into place and define what you need the DRAM for. For transcoding videos and movies, faster memory helps and shaves off transcoding time, for content creation multiple cores matter more and for gaming the GPU is the all decisive factor. For gaming, as we have shown today, memory does matter .. up-to the point where your GPU will become the bottleneck, typically at 1080 or 1440P depending on your graphics cards. In CPU or GPU bound situations my advice thus stands, you are better off purchasing more memory opposed to faster memory.

By Design

G.Skill offers a terrific DDR4 memory series with the TridentZ kit as tested, not only is it performing spot on with nice tight timing it's a series that looks pleasing to the eyes as well abd that is an important factor, as a PC is not 'just a PC' anymore, we call them builds. DDR4 DIMM memory can be found for everybody, cheap, mid-range uber overclockable -- but the fact remains that there is an enthusiast segment in the market that want great performance with no hassle with that one variable, it must look great... something special. The G.Skill Trident Z modules are exactly that. Honestly each time I look at them the one thing that pops into my mind is the word "Nice". G.Skill offers different designs black/red &  black/white etc, so you can match your color preference, and yeah .. just look below ... how incredibly nice does that look eh ?

  

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 Frequency & Latency

The DIMMs we tested today are four high-density 8GB DIMM modules and as such it is impressive to see that this kit can easily run a 3200 MHz frequency. Our kit does so with a what is considered a fast latency timings (CL14) and a 1.35 Voltage. Obviously the kit tested today is targeted at the latest series Z170 and X99 Intel platform solutions with accompanying processor series that allow 3200 MHz on that memory, and that's where this 32 GB kit is nice and works nice. Overclocking wise we fooled around with it a little and you will be limited alright, changing CL from results into crashes. Testing a nice chunk over 3200 MHz also was a no-go. So if you are not an uber enthusiast pro-overclocker, your best bet is to simply use the XMP configured timings. Then again at the XMP default you can already run 3200 MHz at 14-14-14-34-2N
 

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Conclusion

So should you buy a 3200 MHz CL14 kit over say a 2133 MHz one ? The truth is that on quad-channel that higher-frequency is a bit harder to justify as you already will have so much memory bandwidth. But these TridentZ DIMMs will be more expensive then your average 2133 MHz memory modules, but not that much. A 4x8 GB kit can go from as low as 220 EUR (2133MHz DIMMs) while the kit as tested today at 3200 MHz was merely 20 euro extra. So that relatively low price difference is very acceptable and you do get a bit of a benefit. Remember, this 32GB kit costs 240 EURO, that's only 7.5 Euro per GB. The TridentZ series DIMMs are powerful product series aimed at a very specific group of people, the people that want the uber fastest stuff at the high-end of the spectrum and with the niche designed PC, then enthusiast class PC gamer. The kit remains easy to configure and offers nice quality. From an aesthetic point of view the new TridentZ kits honestly are great looking DIMMs. The performance is great, but slower clocked memory with slightly faster timings (especially on quad-channel configurations) will get you the very same end-results. High frequency 3200+ MHz kits remain trivial when it comes to actual real-world performance benefits, but the reality is that this kit does run rock solid at 3200 MHz with a whopping ~70GB/s memory bandwidth available. If the difference is only two tenners why not go with the faster DIMMs? Keep in mind, volume matters more than frequency - our advise anno 2016 goes a, little somethin' like this; 16GB will be the sweet-spot for a gaming rig. Realistically 3200 MHz / 32GB / CL14 at 240 EURO is a great deal. To top things off, G.Skill covers these DIMMs with a limited lifetime warranty as well. The DIMMs perform incredibly stable and have proven to be working on many brands and platforms perfectly. G.Skill moved into the A-class of memory products, and as such we can highly recommend their DIMM products in your PC as a Guru3D Top Pick.

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