A Closer Look

We've seen quite a few G.SKILL memory kits on these pages that look exactly like these ones do, so there's not much to say here other than why change what works already? When you see that logo, you know that you've spent your money well.


The top plastic bar across the middle of the stick comes in different colors; this one is obviously red. Looking at the bottom of the stick, towards the top, we can see that these sticks are single-sided; all that much better to push those high clocks with.


You get two large slabs of metal on either side of the stick, ready to soak up a lot of the heat that some of these sticks can put out when pushed hard. They don't get blistering hot, but can be warm to the touch, so you know these things are doing their job. Here, we get a black side and a gray side, with the black side holding the product label.


I love the logo to the right, but once installed, it's just one of those things you never see, but know is there. You can clearly see the build date of these sticks on the product label; these ones are nearly a year old. A fine vintage, perhaps?


When I say "thick slabs of metal", I mean it. Look at that girth!


The TridentZ sticks are actually ones that have some interesting info on their ends.


Each stick is stamped directly on the PCB with it's proper speed and timings. I'm not sure whether this is because they bin the PCBs (WOW!) or test the sticks without heatspeaders in place. Either way, it's all good. There is also a date code on one side. Some of us who like to overclock memory for fun like to pour into those details of even which week was the best, so I love to see these things here. Otherwise, all that stuff is hidden within the serial number, and only the manufacturer knows, but this turns out to be ever-valuable information for an overclocker trying to reach those "world record" frequencies.