# G.Skill Ripjaws Z 2133 MHz DDR3 CL9 16 GB Kit



## cadaveca (Nov 5, 2011)

G.Skill sent us their Ripjaws Z F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH kit, now that Intel's latest platform has been launched, and new memory kits are needed, due to the new quad-channel configuration that the Intel X79 Express platforms offers. We put the 16 GB G.Skill 2133 MHz kit through the paces, and push it to the max.

*Show full review*


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## erixx (Jan 13, 2012)

Great review thanks!

And to just say something not so great:
"Only available in blue/black, which will not aesthetically match all system builds, although other kits in the same product line do come in other colors."

This is totally girly/gay!!!! (in a non discriminative sense, of course, just joking) but WTF! We can paint our parts if there's need to "match" whatever project we are building... Where will this end?


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## cadaveca (Jan 14, 2012)

erixx said:


> Where will this end?








There are other kits that do offer colour choices, so it's a valid point of comparison. Not really one that affected scoring though.

In these days where we do have colour choices in motherboards, case, PSUs, and such, ram is next on the list, yep.


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Jan 14, 2012)

I've wanted red sticks for awhile, but the red variant is cas 11. Screw that. Black is a safe color but man is it boring to look at. Regardless I've been eying this set. Have you tried these on 1155? Mainly I'm wondering if they could match my current settings, 1866 8-9-8-24.


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## manofthem (Jan 14, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> There are other kits that do offer colour choices, so it's a valid point of comparison. Not really one that affected scoring though.
> 
> In these days where we do have colour choices in motherboards, case, PSUs, and such, ram is next on the list, yep.



Amen to the color options.  I'm still on the lookout for some pink ram, to match my sleeving.  Pink is for real men
ninja edit: nice review too!


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## cadaveca (Jan 14, 2012)

LAN_deRf_HA said:


> I've wanted red sticks for awhile, but the red variant is cas 11. Screw that. Black is a safe color but man is it boring to look at. Regardless I've been eying this set. Have you tried these on 1155? Mainly I'm wondering if they could match my current settings, 1866 8-9-8-24.



1155, eh? 8-10-9-26 or 9-10-9-26 is XMP profiled for 1866 MHz, depending on the board used. They run 9-10-9-28 2T @ 1.5 V no problem though, and they pull pretty good bandwidth numbers on 1155, too, quite similar to 2133 MHz 9-10-9-28, actually, again depending on the board used.

Tightening TRCD to 9 isn't all that easy, and is not likely to work, based on the kit I have.


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## manofthem (Jan 14, 2012)

So though these are quad channel, on 1155 they simply run dual channel, no?


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## cadaveca (Jan 14, 2012)

Yes, of course. And run without any problem, too; I tested 1156/1155/AM3+/FM1/2011 for functionality.


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## GSquadron (Jan 14, 2012)

At the handbrake you place on top this ram rather than mushkin which is 0.1 faster
Why?


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Jan 14, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> 1155, eh? 8-10-9-26 or 9-10-9-26 is XMP profiled for 1866 MHz, depending on the board used. They run 9-10-9-28 2T @ 1.5 V no problem though, and they pull pretty good bandwidth numbers on 1155, too, quite similar to 2133 MHz 9-10-9-28, actually, again depending on the board used.
> 
> Tightening TRCD to 9 isn't all that easy, and is not likely to work, based on the kit I have.



If that's what they're doing at 1866 I might as well just get the 1866 red variant and up the volts, see if I can get them tighter. They start at 9-10-9-28 @ 1.5v. Plus it's $30 less.


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## garyinhere (Jan 14, 2012)

> And with that in mind, we can easily give the G.Skill Ripjaws Z F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH a *"Recommended"* award.



Didn't know if you missed this on accident, it got editor's choice... good article btw


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## cadaveca (Jan 14, 2012)

garyinhere said:


> Didn't know if you missed this on accident, it got editor's choice... good article btw






I gave a recommended award, and it was upgraded after some discussion. I'm already recommending it, even.



LAN_deRf_HA said:


> If that's what they're doing at 1866 I might as well just get the 1866 red variant and up the volts, see if I can get them tighter. They start at 9-10-9-28 @ 1.5v. Plus it's $30 less.



They'll probably end up close to these sticks, but just shy @ 2133 and at the high end on X79.

For 1155, that might be the better choice.



Aleksander Dishnica said:


> At the handbrake you place on top this ram rather than mushkin which is 0.1 faster
> Why?



All the graphs follow the same format. I'm sorry for the confusion, but it'll make more sense as results are added.


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## punani (Jan 14, 2012)

ok quick question: could I put these in my system ? I have the nehalem i7 920 @ 3.6GHz which requires 1.65V, right? Currently have 6GB OCZ gold @ 1600MHz but just curious if I find these cheap somewhere..

Some mobo specs:


> CPU	Intel® Socket 1366 Core™ i7 Extreme Edition/Core™ i7 Processors
> Supports Intel® Dynamic Speed Technology
> Chipset	Intel® X58/ICH10R
> Memory	6 x DIMM, Max. 24GB, DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 Hz Memory
> ...



More detailed specs here


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## Wrigleyvillain (Jan 15, 2012)

Nice Dave. This was linked on Blues News today.


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## cadaveca (Jan 15, 2012)

punani said:


> ok quick question: could I put these in my system ? I have the nehalem i7 920 @ 3.6GHz which requires 1.65V, right? Currently have 6GB OCZ gold @ 1600MHz but just curious if I find these cheap somewhere..


They should work fine, but at what speed, I am unsure. They are pretty flexible, even at lower clocks.


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## LiveOrDie (Jan 15, 2012)

My Ram  you can get it in red with slower timmings but i liked black more


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## Hayder_Master (Jan 15, 2012)

Awesome review, i see also same product yesterday in in newegg with 1.6v, any diffrence in peeformance ?
And price is 140$ now.


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## cadaveca (Jan 15, 2012)

Hayder_Master said:


> Awesome review, i see also same product yesterday in in newegg with 1.6v, any diffrence in peeformance ?
> And price is 140$ now.



Could be a typo...could be a new model. Not too sure, honestly.

The kit is here:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231503

$163. Nice price.

C11 2133 MHz kit:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231501

$142.


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## Hayder_Master (Jan 16, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> Could be a typo...could be a new model. Not too sure, honestly.
> 
> The kit is here:
> 
> ...




ohhhh sorry bro my mistake, it was C11(n82e16820231501) and i see customers reviews it's run on C9 on 1.65v.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 18, 2012)

they seem nice but id like to see a complete timing and voltage listing of every module this set was put up against. In a Logical sense 2133 9 cas should be faster than 1866/1600 with 9 cas due to bandwidth only. But You do see 1600 with cas 7...


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2012)

You know what the answer is gonna be...you just want confirmation?

Don't take this the wrong way...I'm not sure what you are asking for...


You'd like to see results with all kits, at every speed? Not all kits can do every speed...


Anyway, first memory review, so yeah, there are definite ways that things can change to give you guys the info you are looking for. If you can explain with a bit more detail, I can see what I can do for future reviews.

And that's always the case, whether boards or ram...I take all feedback quite seriously. If I'm not giving the info you need, there's no real point in doing the review in the first place. I'm not even sure if I'll do any more at this point though, TBH.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 18, 2012)

I wanted to know what times the other kits are running in comparison to the one tested is all.



cadaveca said:


> You know what the answer is gonna be...you just want confirmation?
> 
> Don't take this the wrong way...I'm not sure what you are asking for...
> 
> ...


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> I wanted to know what times the other kits are running in comparison to the one tested is all.



What *other* kits?


There is one other kit, Mushkin 996826(2x kits to make 4 sticks) and the timings are listed/shown in screenshots in the review.

timings for the mushkin kit:








timings for the G.Skill kit:






Found on the top of this page:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/GSkill/F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH/5.html


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 18, 2012)

thx for the info, just didnt catch it initially, like where the test results are.

that really is some loose timings for the 1600 kit...



cadaveca said:


> What *other* kits?
> 
> 
> There is one other kit, Mushkin 996826(2x kits to make 4 sticks) and the timings are listed/shown in screenshots in the review.
> ...


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> thx for the info, just didnt catch it initially, like where the test results are.
> 
> that really is some loose timings for the 1600 kit...



The timing screenshots were on top of the results compare page. 



			
				 review said:
			
		

> We have tested the modules both with the JEDEC profile, as well as the XMP profile, and the results are below. We have begun our comparison using the Mushkin modules we showed in the SPD screenshot above, as well as on the last page, which have also been tested with their own 1333 MHz JEDEC profile, as well as their XMP profile. The numbers below reflect performance results with four modules installed at all times.



The 1600 MHz Mushkin does NOT have loose timings. CAS 6 is loose? The only tighter you can get with any sticks rated for 1.65v is 6-6-6-24/6-7-6-24, and those sticks are out of stock/discontinued. G.Skill currently has a 6-8-6-24 1.5v kit too.

Anyway, those are screenshots of each modules' SPD info, and as such those timings are the timings the sticks are rated for. I have no control over stock settings, and the Mushkin kits are kits I bought out-of-pocket myself, and as such, will not be reviewed, and are run at stock settings. I am not paid to do these reviews, so if I have to pay for parts to complete a review, those parts are used under my own terms. Technically, doing this review cost me $150 for the two kits, and TPU nothing.

Looking at max overclocked performance for each kit can take considerable amounts of time for testing. As it is, I tested no less than 10 boards with the G.Skill kit. As I encountered no unexpected issues, none of that is really mentioned, as most of the boards are not the platform this ram is intended for, but I know users would ask about functionality elsewhere, so I investigated.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 18, 2012)

I just run the ram for the advertised timings, and I was mentioning the Speed of the GSkill Kit, and I know GSkill has a kit with 8 and 7 timings, 6 seems the newest.



cadaveca said:


> The timing screenshots were on top of the results compare page.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> I just run the ram for the advertised timings, and I was mentioning the Speed of the GSkill Kit, and I know GSkill has a kit with 8 and 7 timings, 6 seems the newest.



Ah. well, you know, timings have some impact, but not a large impact, on INtel memroy controllers. Timings are more important on AMD, as the controller itself isn't as efficient at using all of the available bandwidth the bus and DIMMs provide.

For quad kits, you'll find many OEMs are using the same timings. G.Skill does have a few faster MHz kits, and one kit with 9-11-9 timings @ 2133 MHz, but I am not currently aware of other quad kits tighter than that @ 2133 MHz. This NOT G.Skill's best quad kit.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 18, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> Ah. well, you know, timings have some impact, but not a large impact, on INtel memroy controllers. Timings are more important on AMD, as the controller itself isn't as efficient at using all of the available bandwidth the bus and DIMMs provide.
> 
> For quad kits, you'll find many OEMs are using the same timings. G.Skill does have a few faster MHz kits, and one kit with 9-11-9 timings @ 2133 MHz, but I am not currently aware of other quad kits tighter than that @ 2133 MHz. This NOT G.Skill's best quad kit.



Ive compared pricing it seems logical to go with 2 dual channel kits considering unless the new kits have a memory controller on module like FBDIMMs or RIMMs.


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> Ive compared pricing it seems logical to go with 2 dual channel kits considering unless the new kits have a memory controller on module like FBDIMMs or RIMMs.



Secondary timings can differ on X79 vs older platforms, which use a differnt type of "XMP" profiling than previous sticks(XMP v1.2 for older stuff like SB, while X79 uses XMP v1.3, which also includes VCSSA votlage settings, instead of the VTT setting on XMP v1.2). For example, many Elpida Hyper-based or BBSE based kits need 1.8v vDIMM or more to reach what they did on other platforms(seems that X79 might provide less current). If you are going to use X79, I cannot recommend buying two dual kits. My Mushkin kits work fine, of course, but not all kits will.

So, if you are careful with what kit you buy, or know how to manually set timings, it should be fine, but if you do have issues, do not expect it to be a situation where you can RMA because the ram doesn't work as advertized. If you want plug and play, you need a kit advertized to be compatible with the platform.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 18, 2012)

I know this may sound insane but I was thinkin about kits for all machines, just not 1 platform but, 2011, 1366, 1156, 1155. AM3, AM3+, FM1. I dont look at ram for its XMPs honestly as i set timings manually for all machines. Most boards will revert to lowest JEDEC supported just to power up the machine after clearing CMOS (BIOS/UEFI)


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> I know this may sound insane but I was thinkin about kits for all machines, just not 1 platform but, 2011, 1366, 1156, 1155. AM3, AM3+, FM1. I dont look at ram for its XMPs honestly as i set timings manually for all machines. Most boards will revert to lowest JEDEC supported just to power up the machine after clearing CMOS (BIOS/UEFI)



The issue with using sticks not certified for a platform revolves around timing and voltage settings that don't always allow user interaction on some motherboards. For example, ASUS boards, now, have some of the highest-level of memory timings options right now, including drive strengths, secondary timings, tertiary timings, as well as offsets and such.

Gigabyte, on the other hand, has just a few options available in comparison, and not all the options are as flexible, or offer the same number of settings for individual timings.

In the end, memory is a passive device. As such, if you can configure it properly, it _should_ work on all platforms, for sure. Limitations on each platform may affect the maximum speed, but as you said, the JEDEC standards ensure that RAM should boot in any product.

However, my own personal experience has shown that JEDEC values don't always work. The most obvious example of that recently is the numerous problems AMD Phenom II users ran into with DDR3 ram from nearly every OEM...thankfully, today, we have ram that IS certified for all platforms, including AMD, but even that is a fairly recent change.


Anyway, anything sold with speed and timings that deviate from the JEDEC spec may not work at advertized speed and timings. I know YOU know this, but I do have to make sure that I am not making recommendations, having people buy stuff, and then run into issues.


This kit in particular, does work on all current platforms, and on boards from a mryiad of OEMs, but not to it's rated speed, except on SKT 2011. 1866 Mhz 9-10-9-26 @ 1.5v worked great on every other platform, however.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 18, 2012)

i cant remember exactly what kit of 1600 Gskill with 8 Timings but it did have XMP on it, I just set the timings and voltage manually in the AsRock 970 Extreme 4 board without any troubles, that is my bros build i did in september


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2012)

Yeah, there are always going to be kits that DO work. The lower the speed of the kit, the better those chances are. It's always best to check the QVL list of a board, and if you find the ram there, there shouldn't be much issue...if it isn't, you might have some luck, you might not. It's not going to be often there are problems, but it WILL happen with some configurations.

Intel now offers warranty for overvolting/overclocking, for a small fee. With this fee, use of XMP profiles can be covered under warranty now too...cool stuff. use of XMP-rated DIMMs is not somehing that INtel realyl supports, nor AMD. It doesn't mean that XMP may be a problem...quite the opposite. It mearely means you have a clear road of who to approach for support when issues do happen.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 18, 2012)

I dont think XMP does have any affect other than a primary sales pitch to make overclocking easier on noobs.


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## cadaveca (Jan 18, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> I dont think XMP does have any affect other than a primary sales pitch to make overclocking easier on noobs.



And that's it, exactly. The issue, of course, is that the rated timings for a lot of sticks are under XMP settings only. There's actually far more to timings than just even the primary 4, and if secondaries are not automatically changed when changing memory divider(up to the BIOS), there are many kits that even with "manual" settings, will refuse to even work unless you set secondaries manually, or use XMP to do it for you.


Then there's the issue of doing it manually, and not having those options in BIOS, or the options not working. I cannot count the times I heard people with issues with 1GB DDR2 DIMMs, because of a lack of TRFC adjustments. Or issues I've run into with testing boards with BIOSes not working right.


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## PaulieG (Jan 18, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> And that's it, exactly. The issue, of course, is that the rated timings for a lot of sticks are under XMP settings only. There's actually far more to timings than just even the primary 4, and if secondaries are not automatically changed when changing memory divider(up to the BIOS), there are many kits that even with "manual" settings, will refuse to even work unless you set secondaries manually, or use XMP to do it for you.
> 
> 
> Then there's the issue of doing it manually, and not having those options in BIOS, or the options not working. I cannot count the times I heard people with issues with 1GB DDR2 DIMMs, because of a lack of TRFC adjustments. Or issues I've run into with testing boards with BIOSes not working right.



This is key. 99% of the time when people struggle with switching their favorite ram to a new platform, it is all about secondary timings. Sadly, there are not many people who know how to tweak the secondaries. It's kind of a lost art, unfortunately.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 19, 2012)

Ya my sig rig has the primary and secondary timing sets, i leave the secondary timing sets alone as i dont have to touch them. JEDEC normally has a default set for the secondary timings, only primary is what changes.



cadaveca said:


> And that's it, exactly. The issue, of course, is that the rated timings for a lot of sticks are under XMP settings only. There's actually far more to timings than just even the primary 4, and if secondaries are not automatically changed when changing memory divider(up to the BIOS), there are many kits that even with "manual" settings, will refuse to even work unless you set secondaries manually, or use XMP to do it for you.
> 
> 
> Then there's the issue of doing it manually, and not having those options in BIOS, or the options not working. I cannot count the times I heard people with issues with 1GB DDR2 DIMMs, because of a lack of TRFC adjustments. Or issues I've run into with testing boards with BIOSes not working right.


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## cadaveca (Jan 19, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> JEDEC normally has a default set for the secondary timings, only primary is what changes.



That's where the issue is, of course. Many boards for products that support only 1333 MHz natively(1156/1366/AM3) do not adjust secondary timings over the 1333 MHz settings.


Other products that only support 1600 MHz(1155,2011), only adjust up to 1600 MHz, and not every AM3+ board, that supports 1866 MHz, adjusts over 1600 MHz.


Some BIOSes on some boards, it's dependant on what the highest JEDEC SPD table sets, whether the set gets 1600 MHz or higher secondary timings.


And of course, if the DIMM goes outside of JEDEC specs for what it wants, you're SOL, and hence my warnings. It doesn't apply to all situations, but it's a real problem.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 19, 2012)

970 Extreme 4 from AsRock has 1600 Preset



cadaveca said:


> That's where the issue is, of course. Many boards for products that support only 1333 MHz natively(1156/1366/AM3) do not adjust secondary timings over the 1333 MHz settings.
> 
> 
> Other products that only support 1600 MHz(1155,2011), only adjust up to 1600 MHz, and not every AM3+ board, that supports 1866 MHz, adjusts over 1600 MHz.
> ...


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## cadaveca (Jan 19, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> 970 Extreme 4 from AsRock has 1600 Preset



I'm sure it does, but as AsRock doesn't supply me with board samples, I have no idea how "up to snuff" their products are. All 9-series chipset products should support up to 1866 MHz with FX chips, so naturally the BIOS must be able to support those speeds as well. The question remains, however, what happens above 1866 MHz. I have reviewed products that couldn't even support that supposedly "native" 1866 MHz that they should, too, so anything I recommend has to be generalized to suit all situations.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 19, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> I'm sure it does, but as AsRock doesn't supply me with board samples, I have no idea how "up to snuff" their products are. All 9-series chipset products should support up to 1866 MHz with FX chips, so naturally the BIOS must be able to support those speeds as well. The question remains, however, what happens above 1866 MHz. I have reviewed products that couldn't even support that supposedly "native" 1866 MHz that they should, too, so anything I recommend has to be generalized to suit all situations.



AsRock has came along way and directly competes with ASUS, I might add the products seem to look better and they certainly work.


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## damric (Jan 24, 2012)

As you may know if you seen my FX-4100 review, I recently picked up some G.Skill 2x4 GB RipjawsX 2133CL9 kit with the blue heat spreaders.

They sent me sticks with GREEN PCB!   

Their techs said it depends on the batch they get, and it isn't in their control. 

At least I was only out of pocket about $20.


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## extide (Mar 23, 2012)

I have this ram in my x79 setup, just running at XMP settings though.

Something interesting I noticed is that my sticks have XMP 1 and XMP 2 profiles, yours only have XMP 1.

I am going to see if I can get it to run 2400 10-12-11, as you did. I havent really tried overclocking these sticks at all but they do seem very flexible. I wonder if mine use those same hynix chips. What would I look for to identify them ?


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 23, 2012)

damric said:


> As you may know if you seen my FX-4100 review, I recently picked up some G.Skill 2x4 GB RipjawsX 2133CL9 kit with the blue heat spreaders.
> 
> They sent me sticks with GREEN PCB!
> 
> ...



I would of sent them back


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## LAN_deRf_HA (Mar 23, 2012)

I just got this set (below) because I didn't think I could run 2133, but on a hunch that it's all the same stuff, just blue, I tried 2133 @9-11-10-28 2T and it runs just fine. Was hoping I'd get 9-10-10 given their 1866 @8-9-9 pedigree but they were a bit shy of that. Maybe if I upped the volts but it's hard to justify going over 1.65v 24/7. Is there a recommended vccio? I've just been running 1.1v.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231539



damric said:


> As you may know if you seen my FX-4100 review, I recently picked up some G.Skill 2x4 GB RipjawsX 2133CL9 kit with the blue heat spreaders.
> 
> They sent me sticks with GREEN PCB!
> 
> ...



I don't really get why they don't just make them all black. Is black dye really more expensive than green dye?


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## cadaveca (Mar 23, 2012)

extide said:


> I have this ram in my x79 setup, just running at XMP settings though.
> 
> Something interesting I noticed is that my sticks have XMP 1 and XMP 2 profiles, yours only have XMP 1.
> 
> I am going to see if I can get it to run 2400 10-12-11, as you did. I havent really tried overclocking these sticks at all but they do seem very flexible. I wonder if mine use those same hynix chips. What would I look for to identify them ?



Look t the number of sodler balls that connect the chip to the PCB, looking from the connector end. 4 rows on each side, typcially, = Hynix. Others have 3.


XMP 1 and XMP 2 profiles are there for both Intel platforms. The XMP v1.3 profile(X79 and Z77) should be profile #1, and XMP v1.2(P67 and Z68) should be profile #2. You should see a slight difference in secondary timings.


The reason mine are different from yours is because I got mine before they were in retail. G.Skill did notify me that the retail version may differ, but I thought perhaps that was the packaging/heatsink, to be honest, and I mentioned such in my review.

If you check the other G.SKill kit review I posted this week and this, you'll see that both sets were made in the month the review was written (the most recent aren't even a month out of the factory!), and this is the case for any product I test, and as such ,retail version may differ slightly, but I do try to indicate this in the review if the differences are really noticible.


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## extide (Mar 24, 2012)

cadaveca said:


> Look t the number of sodler balls that connect the chip to the PCB, looking from the connector end. 4 rows on each side, typcially, = Hynix. Others have 3.
> 
> 
> XMP 1 and XMP 2 profiles are there for both Intel platforms. The XMP v1.3 profile(X79 and Z77) should be profile #1, and XMP v1.2(P67 and Z68) should be profile #2. You should see a slight difference in secondary timings.
> ...





No luck running at 2400. I am actually using XMP 2, it has ever so slightly tighter timings. I can make a screenshot at some point of the SPD screen in the bios. 

FWIW, my retail packaging was identical to yours, just the SPD programming difference  

I will need to have a look at them to see if they are 3 or 4 ball.


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