G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1600 MHz CL9

G.Skill was kind enough to send us one of their new G.Skill Ripjaws series kits. This time around we get to take a look this dual channel kit, running at 1600 MHz CL9. While this does not really seem like something extordinary, remember that this is an 8 GB dual channel kit - not one with only 4 GB capacity. This kit is intended for LGA 1156 and LGA 1155 systems, requiring only 1.5V to achieve the rated speed.

Starting out the memory was set to 1600 MHz CL9 and 1.5 V, with which the system worked flawlessly. Next the memory was pushed, and pushed and pushed. At 1.5V 2050 MHz was the end of the line, additionally that was the most I was able to tickle out of our test bench too, so the memory may be capable of a tad bit more as voltage does seem to help out a bit. Still a 550 MHz increase is huge and I do have some doubts if every G.Skill Ripjaws kit can manage this speed - but hey, that may even be the case.

The next step meant dropping the latency as far down as possible, starting with CL5-5-5-15. With this setting the G.Skill Ripjaws were not able to boot, so on to CL6-6-6-18 it was. At this point doing 1333 MHz worked flawlessly right at the JEDEC Voltage setting and I was able to push them to a very respectable 1460 MHz without changing any settings. Pushing the voltage higher did yield some better overclock ability with a maximum of 1540 MHz at CL6. Next, with CL7-7-7-21, the 1600 MHz milestone was easily conquered with a mere 1.5 V once more and pushing things further, 1680 MHz was the end of the line with this configuration. Once again, raising the voltage did yield more headroom up to 1770 MHz. At this point it is safe to say that an increase in voltage does help out, but only to a certain point. Over 1.7 volts, the memory did not allow me to push further.

Next, using CL8-8-8-24, the G.Skill Ripjaws blew past 1800 MHz, but the end of the line was reached once more with 1.7 V at 1870 MHz. So it seems additional voltage always yields around 70-90 MHz more. As mentioned before, with CL9 the kit ran past 2000 MHz and pushed the limit of our testing rig - impressive for a high-capacity kit. The end of the line was 1025 MHz across the board - no matter which voltage was applied. This seems to be the most we could tickle out of the kit with our X58 board and the limiting factor could very well be our system, not the memory.

For those who require a high capacity kit with the fastest speeds possible, the G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 MHz kit is rather interesting. Even though it is sold at such speeds, it has many of the characteristics of the Trident 2000 MHz CL8. The one big difference between the two seems to be the inability of the G.Skill Ripjaws to scale with voltage. While this is not really a deal breaker at all, the G.Skill Ripjaws will only set you back around 90 Euro. The Trident kit still sells for 300 Euro at the moment. So considering the average price, the excellent performance and overclocking abilities, the G.Skill Ripjaws are an excellent choice and should also work well on Sandy Bridge boards. With a whooping 400 MHz overclock at stock settings, the kit is bound to put a big smile on your face!

source:techpowerup.com