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FRONTPAGE G.Skill Trident Z 16GB DDR4-3200 C16 Memory Review

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By the way, the new 1.43 beta BIOS seems to solve the XMP issues of the Z170I :)

The 3000mhz TridentZ now works as expected too
 
I'm confused about the difference between the Ripjaw V series and the Trident Z series. The voltages are generally the same for a given speed. The Tridents seem to top out a little higher in speed, but in the middle of the range (say, DDR4-3000), they offer both Ripjaw V and Trident Z kits with the same timings, same voltages, etc. Is it just the heatspreader that's different?
 
I'm confused about the difference between the Ripjaw V series and the Trident Z series. The voltages are generally the same for a given speed. The Tridents seem to top out a little higher in speed, but in the middle of the range (say, DDR4-3000), they offer both Ripjaw V and Trident Z kits with the same timings, same voltages, etc. Is it just the heatspreader that's different?

I'm no expert, but the prices seem very close too, there are mentions online that they use the same IC's too

It could be that the TridentZ IC's are binned a bit better, but it's most probably just the heat spreaders and minor differences

(I've also ran my TridentZ at some lower-timing/lower-voltage settings, like the 1.25V 2666/2800's etc. - it seemed to work without issues - a bit off topic but related)

Just checked the photos, the PCB's seem much different, so there is probably differences that aren't advertised
 
All higher G.Skills are based on similar Samsung IC. Just the bin in some series is better. Ripjaws V and Trident Z have only different heatsinks but Trident Z is avilable also in higher frequency. Up to ~3466 nothing is really different but only Trident Z are available above 3600.
Simply both series have a chance to run at the same maximum frequency but only Trident Z was tested above 3600 and is guaranteed to run higher ( depends from memory kit you have ).
Trident Z also looks much better ;)
 
Woomack, the newer GSkill release sets have the same speeds but higher timing yet cost more. For example, I just picked up a 2x8 PC3200 16,16,16 for $99.00 but the other sets with 16,18,18 were $134.00 Did they change something or is it just demand driving the price up on newer releases? Why not the older sets too?
 
I think it's the delivery date. 3200 16-18-18 were available earlier in stores. Last time when I was checking then 16-16-16 cost ~$20 more.
3200 16-16-16 are kits after additional binning. Even though all are on the same Samsung IC, not all will work at 3200 16-16-16. It's pretty tight for Samsung at 1.35V.
I had a chance to test both kits, 2x8GB 3200 16-16-16 and 16-18-18. 16-16-16 is overclocking slightly better but both kits ( 32GB in total ) on Z170 motherboard are working stable @3600 17-18-18.
 
I believe the pricing difference was because one kit was on sale and the other wasn't.
 
I think he might have bought a Ripjaws 4 too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231808
(When he says older, he might be referring to the R4's)

By the way, I've been using my 3000mhz TridentZ's with XMP after the BIOS fix, indeed the extra temps, issues were all BIOS related, after the fix, the CPU acts the same with/without XMP, also even with 1.35V fed to the RAM's, the RAM temps are always at in-case-ambient - so you guys were right, in optimal circumstances
 
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I bought the V version and yes they were on sale. It still seemed odd to me that they released a new version, granted with new colors, with looser timings then put the slightly older version with tighter timings on sale. Usually these companies charge more for "higher performance" even if we all know it is a simple setting change.

I was just curious if it was a new ic or something like that which Woomack answered above. I couldn't resist the $99 deal on 2x8g pc3200 but I also didn't want to miss out on a new version that might do better in the long run.
 
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Both Ripjaws V and Trident Z are overclocking good. If there are any issues with overclocking then I suggest to check BIOS. In most cases it's the limiting factor for Samsung based kits. I will only say that on old BIOS ASUS M8 Hero couldn't run above ~3333 on 2x8GB kit. After next updates reached 3466 on the same kit while on last beta it's working stable @3600 on 4x8GB Trident Z.
 
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