G.Skill’s DRAM Extremes: DDR4-4000 on AMD Ryzen, DDR4-5066 on Intel Core i7

Stefan Mileschin · 13th June 2018, 07:44

In the constant race to one-up the other memory vendors in the highly commoditized DRAM market, at Computex last week G.Skill demonstrated its Trident Z RGB memory modules running at rather unprecedented data transfer rates. While operating DDR4 at 5000 MT/s in dual-channel mode is not considered a breakthrough these days, running memory at 4000 MT/s on an AMD Ryzen system is something rather unique.

One of the peculiarities that AMD’s first-gen Ryzen platform has is a memory sub-system that cannot handle data rates significantly higher than 3200 ~ 3466 MT/s. With the second-gen Ryzen platform AMD partially fixed the problem by altering the caching sub-system and upgrading firmware, yet without actually changing the memory controller. Therefore, running memory at high frequencies is still a challenge with the Ryzen 2000-series.

Nonetheless, as the things are getting better, companies like G.Skill can push DDR4 modules all the way to 4000 MT/s with CL18 22-22-42 timings on a Ryzen 7 2700X CPU, as well as with CL20 22-22-44 on a Ryzen 5 2600 processor. Obviously, DDR4 memory modules have to use 1.35 V at high speeds, but G.Skill has not specified voltage for the memory kits in question.

Without any doubts, it has taken G.Skill quite some time to figure out precise sub-timings for a DDR4-4000 operation on a Ryzen 2000-series/X470 platform. Moreover, the company is only demonstrating two dual-channel 16 GB kits, so some luck with the modules and the processors may be involved. Meanwhile, it is also worth mentioning that G.Skill supplies memory for AMD’s Ryzen review kits sent to journalists and other partners of AMD, so it gets to spend more time tweaking SPD settings for AMD Ryzen systems than any other supplier of memory modules.

Intel’s memory controllers and memory sub-systems on the latest platforms have their perks, but G.Skill has a lot of experience with Intel’s CPUs in general. Therefore, it was not surprising to see that the company could hit DDR4-5066 with its latest Trident Z RGB memory modules albeit with very loose CL21 26-26-54 timings at a high voltage.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12946...0-on-amd-ryzen

13th June 2018, 07:44	#1
Stefan Mileschin [M] Reviewer Join Date: May 2010 Location: Romania Posts: 148,597	G.Skill’s DRAM Extremes: DDR4-4000 on AMD Ryzen, DDR4-5066 on Intel Core i7 In the constant race to one-up the other memory vendors in the highly commoditized DRAM market, at Computex last week G.Skill demonstrated its Trident Z RGB memory modules running at rather unprecedented data transfer rates. While operating DDR4 at 5000 MT/s in dual-channel mode is not considered a breakthrough these days, running memory at 4000 MT/s on an AMD Ryzen system is something rather unique. One of the peculiarities that AMD’s first-gen Ryzen platform has is a memory sub-system that cannot handle data rates significantly higher than 3200 ~ 3466 MT/s. With the second-gen Ryzen platform AMD partially fixed the problem by altering the caching sub-system and upgrading firmware, yet without actually changing the memory controller. Therefore, running memory at high frequencies is still a challenge with the Ryzen 2000-series. Nonetheless, as the things are getting better, companies like G.Skill can push DDR4 modules all the way to 4000 MT/s with CL18 22-22-42 timings on a Ryzen 7 2700X CPU, as well as with CL20 22-22-44 on a Ryzen 5 2600 processor. Obviously, DDR4 memory modules have to use 1.35 V at high speeds, but G.Skill has not specified voltage for the memory kits in question. Without any doubts, it has taken G.Skill quite some time to figure out precise sub-timings for a DDR4-4000 operation on a Ryzen 2000-series/X470 platform. Moreover, the company is only demonstrating two dual-channel 16 GB kits, so some luck with the modules and the processors may be involved. Meanwhile, it is also worth mentioning that G.Skill supplies memory for AMD’s Ryzen review kits sent to journalists and other partners of AMD, so it gets to spend more time tweaking SPD settings for AMD Ryzen systems than any other supplier of memory modules. Intel’s memory controllers and memory sub-systems on the latest platforms have their perks, but G.Skill has a lot of experience with Intel’s CPUs in general. Therefore, it was not surprising to see that the company could hit DDR4-5066 with its latest Trident Z RGB memory modules albeit with very loose CL21 26-26-54 timings at a high voltage. https://www.anandtech.com/show/12946...0-on-amd-ryzen

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
G.Skill Unveils 16GB DDR4-4700 Trident Z RGB DRAM Kit	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	12th February 2018 05:31
G.Skill Shrinks Latencies of DDR4-4000+ Kits for Coffee Lake	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	1st December 2017 05:11
G.Skill Announces DDR4 SO-DIMM Kits up to DDR4-3800: Ripjaws for SFF	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	28th October 2017 08:04
DRAM and Motherboard Makers Demonstrate Quad-Channel DDR4-4000+ Operation	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	12th June 2017 05:02
G.SKILL Announces DDR4-4333MHz 16GB (8GBx2) Memory Kit and Achieves DDR4-4500MHz	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	16th April 2017 06:20
G.Skill introduces Trident Z DDR4 3466MHz and DDR4 4500MHz modules	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	1st June 2016 05:41
G.Skill Reveals 2x8GB DDR4-4266 C19 and 4x16GB DDR4-3466 C14 Kits	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	23rd May 2016 06:12
G.SKILL Demos DDR4 4266MHz and DDR4 4133MHz Memory Kits at IDF 2015	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	19th August 2015 09:56
G.SKILL Demos DDR4 4266MHz and DDR4 4133MHz Memory Kits at IDF 2015	leeghoofd	WebNews	0	19th August 2015 08:21
G.Skill Announces DDR4-4000 and DRAM in Dual Channel Kits	Stefan Mileschin	WebNews	0	31st July 2015 07:41