Why G.SKILL’s “Fastest” DDR5 memory isn’t their best

There’s more to memory speeds than clock speeds alone  

G.Skill has just revealed new DDR5 6800 MT/s memory kits, only a week after revealing the “world’s fastest” DDR5 memory, which offered 6600 MT’s speeds. 

What? Isn’t 6800 MT/s faster than 6600 MT/s? Why didn’t G.Skill reveal their 6800 MT/s last week with their “world’s fastest” claim? The short answer is “It’s complicated”, and the long answer is that there’s more to memory speeds than MT/s rates or clock speeds alone. 

Are G.Skill’s 6600 MT/s modules faster? 

Yes, and no. In terms of clock speeds and MT/s rates, G.Skill’s 6800 MT/s modules are “faster”, but when DDR5 latencies are factored in, G.Skill’s 6600 MT/s modules are “faster”. 

G.Skill’s Trident Z5 DDR5-6600 modules can offer users tight CL timings of 36-36-36-76, whereas G.Skill’s Trident Z5 DDR5-6800 can ship with CL timings of  CL38-38-38-76 or CL42-42-42-76. The fastest DRAM modules offer tight timings and fast MT/s speeds, making G.Skill’s 6800 MT/s memory more latent than G.Skill’s latency optimised 6600 MT/s modules

CL timings are the time it takes for DRAM to respond to certain scenarios. Lower CL timings are better, but these timings are counted in terms of clock cycles, not real-world time. IE, a CL timing of 18 with 3200 MT/s DRAM is the same as a CL timing of 36 when 6400 MT/s memory is used. 

In latency-sensitive scenarios, G.Skill’s CL36-36-36-76 6600 MT/s memory will be faster than G.Skill’s DDR5-6800 modules. This can result in higher framerates in games, faster operations in workstation applications and an overall faster PC experience. While DRAM with higher clock speeds (or MT/s rates) are preferred, lower latency memory is what will deliver the highest performance levels in many scenarios. 

Below is G.Skill’s Press Release about their new DDR5-6800 Trident Z5 memory modules. 

PR – G.SKILL Reaches New Extreme Speed at DDR5-6800 with Trident Z5

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world’s leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is delighted to announce yet another extreme speed DDR5 memory kit at DDR5-6800 32GB (2x16GB), designed for the latest 12th Gen Intel® Core™ desktop processors and Intel® Z690 chipset motherboards. Thus far, this is the world’s fastest DDR5 memory kit to reach such a high frequency speed and raise DDR5-enabled system performance to new heights.

Raising the Memory Performance on 12th Gen Intel® Core™ Desktop Processors & Intel® Z690 Chipset

“Intel worked closely with G.SKILL on the development and enablement of the DDR5 overclocking ecosystem to deliver high performance computing experiences to PC users,” said Mandy Mock, Vice President and General Manager of Desktop, Workstation and Channel Group, Intel. “It’s exciting to see G.SKILL’s new lineup of high frequency memory that takes advantage of the innovation and performance we’re delivering with the new 12th Gen Intel Core desktop processors and Intel Z690 chipset.”

“G.SKILL is dedicated to develop ever-faster overclocking memory on each new generation of Intel platform. And we are very excited to have worked with Intel to develop extreme performance DDR5 memory for the latest Intel Z690 platform,” says Tequila Huang, Corporate Vice President of G.SKILL International. “With G.SKILL extreme memory kits, we hope to tap into the performance potential of DDR5, and in conjunction with the latest Intel platform offering, to bring a whole new level of system performance to worldwide gamers, overclockers, and enthusiasts.”

  

Low Latency on Extreme Speed DDR5-6800

In the never-ending quest for memory performance, G.SKILL is excited to reveal the latest additions of ultra-high frequency DDR5 memory to the flagship Trident Z5 family. Reaching an astonishing memory frequency of DDR5-6800, these two upper echelon memory specifications are the ultimate memory choice for gamers, enthusiast, and overclockers.

The screenshot above shows the extreme memory kit running at DDR5-6800 with an ultra-low latency of CL38-38-38-76.

The next screenshot shows a second memory kit running at DDR5-6800 CL42-42-42-76.

  

Supports Intel XMP 3.0 Extreme Memory Profile

Just set and go. The latest G.SKILL overclocking DDR5 memory kits are programmed with the latest Intel XMP 3.0 profiles, the only thing between you and extreme memory performance is a simple setting. Additionally, XMP 3.0 enables two customizable user-defined profiles to be saved in the memory module via BIOS on supported motherboards, so your fine-tuned memory settings go wherever the modules go.

You can join the discussion on G.Skill’s 6800 MT/s DDR5 memory modules on the OC3D Forums.