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G.Skill RIPJAWS DDR3-1600 CL7 1.6V Dual-Channel Kit
If you're in the market for some DDR3 memory these days, you will see a lot of sets being advertised as "Optimized for use in Intel i5 and i7 systems". There's a lot of confusion in the marketplace about whether these products are suitable for use in other applications. The truth is that most all of them can be used in any system that uses DDR3 memory, as long as the BIOS on the motherboard can supply the correct voltage, usually around 1.6V for most sets. In this article Benchmark Reviews will examine how a dual-channel kit of 1600MHz CL7 RIPJAWS modules from premier maker G.Skill performs on an AMD 790FX platform.
This pair of DDR3 DIMMs is rated at 1600MHz with tight timings of 7-8-7-24 at a measly 1.60 volts. In keeping with their target application in the marketplace, they feature an XMP profile on the F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM model, which can set these SPD timings in the BIOS automatically on Intel-based P55 and X58 series motherboards.
We're going to look at several memory clock and timing configurations, to see how flexible this new low-voltage kit is on an AMD AM3 platform, with a Black Edition CPU that has an unlocked multiplier. We'll also try to overclock them a bit and see if we can wring any additional performance from them.
G.Skill RIPJAWS DDR3 Features
The Ripjaws product line from G.Skill is relatively new for them. It is aimed toward the gaming market, where many products combine a healthy dose of performance with a bit of attitude. G.Skill is no stranger to performance memory; their Pi series is well regarded in enthusiast circles for both stability out of the box, and being very willing performers when overclocked.
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G.Skill Ripjaws Gaming Series Memory is designed to optimized the high performance DIMMs for reliability in order to get gamers consistently fantastic FPS, while maintaining a solid overclock to prevent a mid-game PC failure from memory errors.
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G.Skill Ripjaws Gaming Series Memory features the latest heat spreader design for the ultimate in extreme aesthetics and sleek aluminum cooling.
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G.Skill Ripjaws Gaming Series Memory features the usual industry leading limited lifetime warranty and ever ready technical backup that all G.Skill performance memory is sold with.
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Ripjaws series memory was designed specifically to complement Core i7 processors and the X58 Express Chipset.
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Optimized for speed, low latency and high stability, Ripjaws memory is the perfect solution to faster programs and quicker load times.
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Heat management is always important for any PC builder and enthusiast. G.SKILL understands this concern, which is why each Ripjaws Series DIMM comes with a stylish comb-like design heat-spreader, which dissipates heat by exposing it to cool air over a greater surface area and will look great in any case. These DIMMs also operate at a cool 1.6V for better internal temperatures and overclocking versatility.
F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM Specifications
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Brand: G.SKILL
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Series: Ripjaws Series
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Model: F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
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Type: 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
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Capacity: 4GB (2 x 2GB)
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Speed: DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
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Cas Latency: 7
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Timing: 7-8-7-24
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Voltage: 1.6V
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ECC: No
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Buffered/Registered: Unbuffered
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Multi-channel Kit: Dual Channel Kit
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Heat Spreader: Yes
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Features: Specifically Designed to compatible with Intel Core i5 and Core i7 for Intel P55 motherboard
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Manufacturer Warranty: Parts and Labor, Lifetime limited
About G.SKILL
Established in 1989 by enthusiast, is a leading memory manufacturer based in Taipei, Taiwan. The company's top priority is Quality. All of our products go through a series of the most rigorous tests and strict quality control processes. In addition to commissioning qualified IC testing houses to test our products, they are hand test 100% twice in factory and office, to ensure the highest product yield and quality.
G. SKILL strives to achieve the highest and most advanced quality from the initial design, through manufacturing solder-paste printing, through surface mounting, to on-line visual inspection, system compatibility testing, packaging and finally to safely and reliably shipping our products to customers.
G.Skill operates a very active support forum for all their products, where their product specialists are quick to respond to issues, real or imagined. They also monitor major e-tail sites for customers having trouble with their products, and try to help them get on the right path towards resolution of their problem.
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Comments
1) It is unclear whether or not the G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL has XMP, can you shed any light on this please.This is further complicated that Intel limit the number of memory modules to one per channel for 16000 and/or XMP memory modules. The implications of this are not obvious.
2) Can I run more than one 16000 memory module in each channel if I underclock to 1333 ?
3) The Asus 1366 board QVL for the KHX1600C8D3K3_6GX memory states it can run with 2x 2x3 modules, contravening abovel X58 slot limits.
As for the number of memory sticks per channel, the two DIMM kit you mentioned will give you 8GB and run in Dual-Channel mode on your chosen mobo, so everything is good. If you need more than 8GB of RAM, you are doing something very speciallized, and I need to know what that is before making any recommendations.
I have read your m/b review, thank you for putting so much valuable data in one place, written in clear technical English.
The main reason for needing the memory and performance is for computing the performance of very large broadcast shortwave antennas, including the effects of powerlines. The conducting elements are cut into thousands of segments, and the amount of memory needed goes up as the square of the number of segments. Also, I like to put the "engine" (a legacy FORTRAN program) into an optimisation loop where it may run the model thousands of times making small changes to find the optimum design, less memory needed and more speed, with a heavy load on the processing. Using the Ripjaws I would hope to be able to duble the memory to 16GB later if necessary. In both cases paging to disc takes time. I have run other prgrams (at work) running on Unix machines (the first to operate 64 bit) which can take days to complete.
Thanks for the comments, I get the feeling that with the advent of nanotechnology and scouring the memory specs I am aware of the effect of industrial inertia, with many companies finding it difficult to keep up. The Asus QVL is full of anomalies and I am not sure how far to trust the Taiwanese based G.Skill, high on technology, but what about quality control and reliability?
The alternative board would have been ne of the PX58D boards. One oddity is that every page I read introduces the product as new or latest, which it might have been when it was written, but without a timeline it is not clear what really is the "latest" and whether or not the second latest may not have benefits such as fitting in better with industrial inertia, a point in question being DirectX11 which is supposed to "come with Windows 7"
Have you ever written any reviews with view to servicing the mathematical and scientific community ? I also run other legacy FORTRAN programs for ionospheric and mathematical modelling. I know a Senior University lecturer whose students run TC3D (Systat software) for their PhD projects, that gives equations to fit data representing the state of the ionsphere at any place and time. The result may take the form of 100 order or so polynomial (with 100 sines and cosines in it). This then has to be inserted into the program code, compiled, and run. This is fine for some academic case study (perhaps even using Martian data) but useless for me as I need to model the ionosphere (here on earth) for any place, time, month, and year in an 11 year solar cycle. The sheer thought of putting TC3D plus a command line FORTRAN compiler inside an optimisation loop, within a C++ program, even with the required source data, would be enough to scare the most hardened gaming overclocker out into the garden shed to pot up petunias. Then, as a colleague once put it "memory is cheap and life is short" Put that way, 24GB of ram running with a CPU that clocks bits faster than the carrier frequency of a state of the art defence radar pulse is worth every penny if it gets results required by humble penniless research students struggling under the fundopause (the height above the earth at which space funding stops).
Many thanks
Phil Ede
Don't worry one bit about GSKILL quality. They are one of the best and have a vey strong and loyal following in the enthusiast community. They are not the cheapest product, in general.