G.SKILL has put  an amazing bundle in that little blister package. With clock speeds of 1600MHz, running at CAS 9 latency, they will outperform most Value RAM that is used in most notebooks. Usually we see SO-DIMM speeds of 1333MHz C9 and in more mainstream notebooks we regularly see  1600MHz C10/11 pop up.

The performance gain coming from single channel towards a dual channel setup is really worthwhile. Especially if you do a lot of multitasking, the extra bandwidth plus extra amount of RAM, will allow you to switch far snappier between programs.

Comparing the results of the 1333MHz C9 versus the 1600MHz and even versus the 1866MHz results, we spot that 1600MHz is a valid alternative over the mainstream 1333MHz variants. Again a boost is observed, albeit smaller then when going dual channel mode. Running at 1866MHz speeds unleashes that tiny extra performance, but if we express the gain in percents, it will become hard to justify the extra price.

Keep in mind that if you utilize the onboard graphics solution, alike the HD3000-4000 or the AMD HD7660D, these will really profit from extra RAM speed, similar to their desktop variants.

Now here comes a small warning though, to get the max out of these 1600MHz or higher specced kits, you need to have an adequate chipset on your motherboard. If I install this kit in my entry level ACER 7570 laptop, the max speed it will give me is 1333MHz, no matter the SPD programming, that's all the chipset can do for you as it doesn't support any higher RAM dividers.

Priced at around 68 euros, these kits retail just over most 1333MHz C9 8GB kits. The heat spreader-less SQ variants are 5-8 euros cheaper. So there's no reason to not opt straight for 1600MHz, even if it might not be fully supported by your setup, it still might be beneficial for a future notebook.

G.SKILL has released an attractive and good performing SO-DIMM kit. The warranted 1600MHz C9 speeds might not seem that special at first glance, however for notebook systems these are pretty high-end specced SO-DIMMS. The black aluminium heat spreader might enhance the longevity as our sticks got barely warm during testing. In case of a failure G.SKILL covers them with a lifetime warranty. The price is amongst the competitor's offering, so nothing wrong with that either.

If you are looking for some extra RAM quantity or just want to benefit from some extra speed, then certainly take a look at these little speedy G.SKILLs !

I wish to thank Kaysta from G.SKILL for the F3 SO-DIMM kit

And Koen from MSI for borrowing us the MSI GT 60 OND laptop