Test System and Max OC

Test System

Testing Rated Speeds

I recently built a new system for memory testing and spent about 8 weeks playing with multiple Haswell CPUs and multiple Z87-based motherboards before settling on the configuration used for all testing in my recent memory reviews. I run all tests with my Intel Core i7-4770K at default speeds since memory overclocking is in part limited by CPU speeds, although I enabled ASUS's performance-optimized turbo profiling feature. All kits are tested by simply enabling XMP in the BIOS after clearing the CMOS fully. I also clear the CMOS when I swap kits to ensure all reported numbers are identical to what end users can obtain using a similar configuration.


Simply operating these sticks with their XMP profile enabled is a breeze. I only had to enable the profile in BIOS. Running this kit on pretty much any system should be headache-free since its low 1600 MHz are supported by just about every current platform out there, with some going even higher.

Maximum Overclock

Overclocking the GSkill TridentX F3-1600C7Q-32GTX sticks was very rewarding. I reached 2400 MHz by increasing the voltage supplied to the DIMMs to 1.65V. A huge overclock of 50%, although timings and controller utilization prevent that gain in clock speed from being utilized fully, the overclock still paid off by increasing performance across the board, which made it worth the effort. Just keep in mind that overclocking performance is going to change from kit to kit, and having a kit with four sticks doesn't help either.