A Closer Look

The G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB modules in this review are the new White edition, released in the middle of 2023. In addition to White, Metallic Sliver and Matte Black are available choices as well. Besides the heatsink, everything will be the same between the color variations. Those familiar with G.SKILL Trident Z memory from the previous DDR4 generation will see similarities in design, with a prominently featured black brushed aluminium strip in the middle with one of the three colors. The Trident Z series is also easily recognizable, thanks in part to the outward-protruding signature wing-like fins protruding upwards. G.SKILL does its due diligence by implementing a heatspreader that covers the entire PCB. Since this is the RGB version, sandwiched between the heatspreaders is an opaque plastic strip to diffuse the LEDs.


The G.SKILL Trident Z5 series brand name has also been placed in the right corner of each DIMM, in direct contrast to the black-brushed aluminium section.


On one side of each DIMM module is an identification sticker listing the product number, rated XMP / EXPO operating frequency, voltage, and primary profile timings.


Laying the DIMMs on the side, you can see "G.SKILL" written in white lettering in the center. The entire plastic strip in the middle will be illuminated when the system is powered on and lighting can be controlled with supported ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome Sync motherboard software.


G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6400 kit weighs in at 63 grams on the scale. For Z-height, it comes in at 43 mm rounding up.


After taking the heat spreader off, we see that these are double-sided DIMMs with eight 2 GB ICs on each side. The thermal pad covers all the memory ICs. However, this particular kit does not have any coverage for the PMIC and surrounding components.


A closer look at the ICs shows that these are G.SKILL branded ICs. However, using the CPU-Z software, we can determine that these are SK Hynix and suspected to be A-Die ICs (H5CG48AGBD-X018) based on the overclocking results. We can see eight 2 GB SK Hynix A-Die ICs per side for a total of 32 GB for each DIMM.

Currently, Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix are the three suppliers of DDR5 ICs. When it comes to higher-frequency memory, SK Hynix is currently unmatched and without a direct competitor. Micron's first DDR5 iteration, Rev.A only reached a mere, 5600 MT/s, with the recently released Rev.G coming in at 6600 MT/s. Samsung has been mostly absent so far, with the Samsung B-Die (DDR5) rarely seen in retail kits above 6400 MT/s. While all companies have more revisions in the works, as of early 2024, SK Hynix is still the leader when it comes to the highest memory speeds (retail and world records).


With DDR5, one of the major changes is how the motherboard directly provides 5 V to the memory module's PMIC, which is then stepped down and split accordingly. No longer is the motherboard responsible for regulating the voltages, as with DDR4. The PMIC has the part number "OP=AERG1." Software reports this as Richtek being the manufacturer. Internet investigation provides no additional information.