A Closer Look

The Ripjaws 4 3000 MHz kit comes fitted with a hew heatspreader design, and rightly so since this is a completely new series. That said, the label is in the exact same place, on one side and toward the right. As expected, all the pertinent information is also there again.


This time, I did manage to find some interesting markings on the sticks' ends. First of all, their size and speed is stamped onto one side, hidden under the heatspreader. On the other is what I believe to either be a batch number or, perhaps, a build date.


DDR4 designs feature a much tighter pin placement, each individual pin small and in a slightly different shape. I also found that the PCB's bottom edge is beveled a bit, although I am not sure whether this is a standard for all of DDR4 or just something specific to the Ripjaws 4 3000 MHz kit.


The vanity sticker on one side of the stick, not obscured by the product label, features a similar design to what I found on the packaging, a flashy look I personally like a lot. The fins across the top have taken on a new shape, too, once again open enough to allow for hot air around each individual DDR4 memory IC. I love the new look, top to bottom.


Looking down the side of the new DIMM, there is not much of note at first, but a more careful inspection revealed that these sticks are single-sided, with three bunched up pieces of padding on the other side making sure the metal cover sits perfectly even with the PCB.


You can see markings for the PCB's layers: a "1" on one side of the PCB and an "8" on the other. Compared to a 6-layer design, an 8-layer design should clearly help with eliminating EMI and supporting higher clock speeds.


Other than that, there's not much else to look at, other than this sexy new design. Red, black, a little bit of blue and gold, and a big red and fiery "4"... perfect.