Overclocking
As we stated in our special review of
memory controllers in modern LGA 1155 CPUs, it is the operating frequency of
the dual-channel memory kits that has the greatest impact on the performance of
the platform. Therefore, increasing it above standard levels is the key feature
of overclocker-friendly memory kits that helps ensure an additional performance
boost.
The G.Skill memory kits are promising in
terms of overclocking potential. Although they include twice the normal number
of DDR3 SDRAM modules, they feature effective cooling capacity and high-quality
chips. G.Skill is also famous for its ability to provide products with a large
safety margin. All of this gives us hope that these modules can operate at
higher clock rates than specified officially and can prove that there is
nothing wrong about using a 4-piece memory kit on a platform with a dual-channel
memory controller.
Here is our algorithm of testing the
overclocking potential of DDR3 SDRAM:
·
Memory voltage is raised to 1.65V, which,
according to Intel, is the maximum value that does not result in reduced
performance of the memory controller. We also increased the VCCSA voltage to
1V, which should theoretically have a positive effect on the stability of the
memory controller.
·
Failsafe timings of 11-13-13-31-2N are chosen to
find the highest frequency that the memory kit is stable at.
·
Using the maximum frequency we have found, we
then search for the most aggressive timings at which the memory is still
stable.
The stability of
the memory subsystem is verified by 10 runs of Linx 0.6.4 AVX Edition using the
entire memory capacity and an additional 1-hour-long check with Memtest86 +
v4.20.
G.Skill
Ares F3-1333C9Q-32GAO
The simplest of our 32GB memory kits from
G.Skill is not too bad at overclocking. Indeed, with the current level of
technology, it is quite difficult to make DDR3-1333 SDRAM chips incapable of
working at higher frequencies. The Ares F3-1333C9Q-32GAO can actually be used
not only as DDR3-1600 but also as DDR3-1866.
Over
clocking of G.Skill Ares F3-1333C9Q-32GAO
We had to relax the timings and increase
the voltage to 1.65V to make them stable at 1866 MHz, so the F3-1333C9Q-32GAO kit
should be well considered as a reasonably solution when you need a large amount
of system memory.
G.Skill
RipjawsX F3-1600C9Q-32GXM
Besides the beautiful color of their
radiators, the RipjawsX F3-1600C9Q-32GXM modules can distinguish themselves
with their overclocking potential. After increasing the voltage to 1.65V, we
managed to achieve stability in DDR3-2133 mode. That is what we can expect from
the Micron chips which are very popular among enthusiasts.
Over
locking of G.Skill RipjawsX F3-1600C9Q-32GXM
The lowest timings the RipjawsX
F3-1600C9Q-32GXM kit was stable at in DDR3-2133 mode were 11-12-12-33. You may
also note that we had to pass the Command Rate to 2T. Choosing a lower value
for the memory caused memory errors at high loads.
G.Skill
Sniper F3-1866C10Q-32GSR
Describing the Sniper series kit above, we
noted that it is aimed at gamers rather than for overclockers. Therefore, we
were not surprised at its low overclocking potential. The Sniper
F3-1866C10Q-32GSR kit is rated for DDR3-1866 and we could only increase the clock
rate by 133 MHz even at a voltage of 1.65V.
Over
clocking of G.Skill Sniper F3-1866C10Q-32GSR
On the other hand, this memory could
operate as DDR3-2000 with CL = 10, i.e. with its timings close to their
defaults. The unnamed chips below the radiator of the Sniper F3-1866C10Q-32GSR modules
seem to have been inspected by G.Skill to be accepted for the positioning of
the product.
G.Skill
RipjawsZ F3-2133C9Q-32GZH
High-speed memory kits for computer enthusiasts
can but rarely express high overclocking potential because they already make
the most of the employed chips. It is even harder with the 4-piece memory kits
just because they include much more memory devices. It's pretty much like an achievement
that our DDR3-2133 kit RipjawsZ F3-2133C9Q-32GZH was stable at 2200 MHz in our
tests.
Over
clocking of G.Skill RipjawsZ F3-2133C9Q-32GZH
Moreover, we could even improve its timings.
The default timings are 9-11-11-31 but the RipjawsZ F3-2133C9Q-32GZH kit could
work at 9-10-11-31 at the increased clock rate.
We can also note that we have examined a
number of memory products from different brands with SEC HCH9 chips. Like the
RipjawsZ F3-2133C9Q-32GZH, these modules can usually be overclocked to 2200-2600
MHz, so the G.Skill product is quite a typical representative of its class.
G.Skill
TridentX F3-2400C10Q-32GTX
The fastest 32GB memory kit in this review is
rated for 2400MHz. It should be noted that G.Skill has recently announced
DDR3-2800 kits, but does not really offer them the time we wrote this article.
This might give us hope that the TridentX F3-2400C10Q-32GTX could be overclocked
a bit, but that is not so. Our sample of this memory kit wouldn’t operate even
at 2,600 MHz.
Over
clocking of G.Skill TridentX F3-2400C10Q-32GTX
So, actually, there was no overclocking. We
could only lower RAS # to CAS # Delay a bit, reducing the timings to
10-11-12-31. Overall, the TridentX F3-2400C10Q-32GTX has zero overclocking
potential but that’s no downside. It is just a characteristic feature of any
memory modules that are rated for high frequencies. Their memory chips are
overclocked to the limit without our intervention.
The results of our overclocking experiments
are summed up in the following table:
The
results of our overclocking experiments
Apart from the Ares-F3-1333C9Q-32GAO kit
which has low official specs, the memory kits from G.Skill are pretty similar
in the overclocking potential. All of them can be overclocked to above 2 GHz,
i.e. to speeds which are most popular among enthusiasts. Of course, memory rated
for a lower default frequency has better overclocking potential respectively. The
high-speed modules do not overclock well but feature SEC HCH9 chips that enjoy
an excellent reputation among overclockers.
