Introduction

The current pricing for DDR4 isn't simply just not affordable. No matter how you look at it, if you want to get a decent amount of DDR4 of any type or speed, you're going to be spending a pretty penny on those sticks. If you've got a mainstream platform, all you really need is a couple of sticks, and that is going to cost you about $100 per stick. But if you are interested in making a foray into the HEDT market, you need four sticks, bringing that cost up to $400 just to enter the door. There has never been a more crucial time to be critical of memory products.

Intel's current slate of processors all support 2666 MHz memory speeds, but you'll be hard-pressed to find kits at that speed right out the box without any fussing with the BIOS settings. There are some kits out there that do, however, and if you have any interest in CoffeeLake or SkylakeX CPUs at all, I really think you should be ignoring anything but such DDR4. If you're paying top dollars, you want that kit that just works, no questions asked.

G.SKILL has made a name for themselves by providing just that. From entry-level, value-oriented options to the very best memory money can buy, G.SKILL makes it all and has been my go-to brand for that high-end memory for many years, but for my ASRock X299-ITX/ac build, I didn't really want that crazy 3800 MHz kit as memory speed right now is the one place you can afford to save a little bit of money. However, going lower than 2666 MHz just isn't an option. G.SKILL's 2666 MHz 32 GB Ripjaws kit is one of those kits that just boots in at 2666 MHz on the ASRock X299-ITX/ac without having to do anything at all, and with a voltage of just 1.2 V, it isn't going to get in the way of what you need to get those faster speeds from your CPU. Are the dual-rank-registered 260-pin SO-DIMMs the minimum you should be looking at or can you get away with even less? I put them to the test.

Specifications