G.Skill DDR Memory Roundup: 7 Extreme Kits Tested!

Memory by MarkElmer @ 2005-08-04

Welcome to our little endeavor to try and sort through the massive DDR1 line-up of the new upcoming enthusiast memory company, G.Skill. We will take a closer look at 7 Dual Channel kits from the Extreme Series and test their overclockability.

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4800FF/4800FR/4800FA

PC4800FF 1GB

Madshrimps (c)


Since March 2005, this is the highest rated memory kit from G.Skill on the market. The PC4800FF is the most expensive kit of the extreme series: DDR600 at 2.5-4-4-8 1T. This speed is only guaranteed if you use a DFI NF4 motherboard. This quality however, comes at a price, is this product worth the ~$310 price tag?

If money isn’t a problem, you don’t have to fear for an overclock that is below DDR600. These are the best chips that G.Skill has to offer. These modules are also rated at DDR550 2.5-3-3-7 1T (PC4400LE speeds).

Madshrimps (c)
Package1024MB kit (2x512MB) dual channel pack
IC SpecSamsung TCCD
CAS LatencyCL2.5-3-3-7 (PC4400) / CL2.5-4-4-8 (PC4800)
Test Voltage2.7 ~ 2.9v
PCB Board6 Layers PCB




PC4800FR 1GB

Madshrimps (c)


PC4800FR is the 2T-brother of the kit mentioned above. This kit is rated at DDR600 CL2.5-4-4-8 2T. G.Skill doesn’t guarantee other speeds. DDR550 on 1T timings might be troublesome.

These modules are equipped with the lower performing TCCD-440 chips. The price is below the price of the PC4400LE kit, so it looks like G.Skill wants to give their less fortunate modules nice specifications for reasonable price. Nevertheless we think G.Skill still has a stronghold with this PC4800FR kit. Nowhere in the market can you get a guaranteed PC4800 memory kit for this price (~$235).

Madshrimps (c)
Package1024MB kit (2x512MB) dual channel pack
IC SpecSamsung TCCD
CAS LatencyCL2.5-4-4-8 (PC4800) 2T
Test Voltage2.7 ~ 2.9v
PCB Board6 Layers PCB



PC4800LA 512MB

Madshrimps (c)


This was the first set of PC4800 G.Skill brought out. It’s almost identical to the PC4800FR, the only difference is that these modules are capable of working with a Cas latency of CL2-2-2-5 at DDR400. That’s likely the reason that they cost a little more. However, with the PC4800LA you have a higher chance to overclock a bit further.

Unfortunately, we only have a 512 MB-kit (2x256), so you cannot really compare this kit with the others, as 256Mb modules tend to overclock better then their larger 512Mb/1024Mb brothers.

Madshrimps (c)
Package
  • 512MB kit (2x256MB) dual channel pack
  • 1024MB kit (2x512MB) dual channel pack
  • IC SpecSamsung TCCD
    CAS LatencyCL2-2-2-5 (PC3200) / CL2.5-4-4-8 (PC4800) 2T
    Test Voltage2.7 ~ 2.9v
    PCB Board6 Layers PCB
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