Now that we have benchmarked this memory, it is time to put everything into perspective. We will go over which platform this memory kit is best suited for, what G.SKILL could improve upon to make a better product, and try to finish on a positive note.

As has been noted earlier in the review, this particular G.SKILL memory kit has a measurable performance gap compared to its peers. To recap, after investigating, the fault lies in the combination of the higher CAS and Secondary timings within the XMP 8000 MT/s profile. This caused a significant decrease in the average frame rate and 1% lows in memory latency sensitive games. However, this can be resolved by manually changing the XMP values, which will bring this memory kit right in line with Team Group, KLEVV and Patriot DDR5-8000 (2x16GB) memory kits previously reviewed. Those are not willing to make those adjustments may have to consider a different brand. This mainly applies to users who play esports titles or play at a lower resolution with a powerful graphics card.

With that out of the way, it's time to cover memory compatibility. G.SKILL has always been great in providing their own QVL list, and generally it is conservative in the selection. This is a good because with hundreds of different configurations, it can be easy to match up the wrong parts. G.SKILL only has validated this memory on a handful of Intel Z790 motherboards, with no AMD mention at all. Considering G.SKILL has the Neo series for AMD systems, it makes sense it only validated Intel motherboards. DDR5-8000 for Intel 13th or 14th Generation (K) processors is far from a plug and play experience, which limits the user base to those that have some knowledge of troubleshooting. Be prepared to manually change the default System Agent (VCCSA), CPU_VDD2 (IMC) and CPU_VDDQ_TX voltages if system stability becomes a problem. That being said, at the time of writing we are still three or four months away from Intel's next series launch (Ultra 200). Assumption about future platforms and its memory support is a tricky business and will not be the focus on this review.

For AMD, G.SKILL does have the Trident Z5 Neo and newly announced Royal Neo that is specifically validated for AMD. Even so, with the right motherboard, this 8000 MT/s XMP profile does work for AMD, but it is less than ideal. This has nothing to do with having only XMP memory profiles instead of EXPO, but the simple fact that going beyond the 6000-6400 MT/s for Ryzen 7000 series processors, generally, will result in extra latency and worse performance. This is because by default, most motherboards (A620, B650, X670/E) will automatically set this memory into a 2:1 ratio to the memory controller. The reason is for end-user compatibility and system stability. However, this switch to a 2:1 memory ratio (UCLK:MCLK / 2) introduces a (slight) latency penalty and can negatively impact game performance. Secondly, if you enforce a 1:1 memory ratio in the BIOS, there is a chance that it simply will not work, as not all Ryzen 7000 CPUs are capable of this. It certainly will not work at 6800 MT/s and beyond. Simply put, do not buy this memory for AMD systems unless you plan on downclocking it and applying secondary and tertiary adjustments.

This brings up another issue in the name of compatibility. The lack of a secondary XMP profile is something that would benefit G.SKILL and the end user. Brands like Patriot, KLEVV, PNY, Kingston and Lexar have included a second profile that is either setup for compatibility concerns or another equally good binned profile, just at a lower frequency. Of course those who are familiar with the system BIOS could set these parameters themselves, but the main reason for a lower secondary profile is to alleviate frustration. It can be a great stopgap for troubleshooting as well.

G.SKILL does have one major benefit over its competitors for this particular frequency and size configuration. This Trident Z5 Royal DDR5-8000 memory kit using only 1.35 V for the XMP profile, which up until recently was unheard of. Slowly each vendor is trickling out similar configurations and memory kits, which ultimately benefits the consumer. This does mean G.SKILL has a limited time before it is no longer a special feature. For now G.SKILL is one of the few currently selling these low voltage memory kits. It isn't a new IC revision either for those wondering, just a better bin.

Higher frequencies and higher voltages can be a real concern to long term stability. It is known in the overclocking communities that some of the problems are related to temperature related system crashes. DDR5 has an operational temperature range that is quite wide for the JEDEC specifications. Once the memory is no longer within that specification, i.e. XMP / EXPO profiles, system errors related to memory can start to occur in the mid 40°C. In simpler terms, memory is subject to temperature related system errors. The solution has always been good case airflow or a fan placed directly on the memory. With G.SKILL using a lower operating voltage, the memory runs cooler, thus is less susceptible to temperature related issues. A win for G.SKILL.

As we near the end of this review, it is time to recap some of the key points. G.SKILL has failed to deliver on expectations in some aspects, but in the grand scale these performance concerns may go completely unnoticed to some. As shown in the benchmarks, as the system becomes bound by the graphics card for the next frame generated, the less important system memory becomes. The lowest latency and highest bandwidth will always provide the best results. Still, other components like the processor and graphics card tend to play a more significant role in the overall frame rate for games. The current use case for higher frequency memory beyond 7200 MT/s is for esports gamers and those who want the maximum performance out of their system, regardless of if it's significantly beneficial to them personally in games. G.SKILL has failed to provide the same or better DDR5-8000 performance compared to other brands in a 32 GB (2x16) configuration. As well as other brands like Patriot Xtreme 5 and Corsair Dominator Titanium series (2x24) who both have better performance. This leaves only buyers who must have a Trident Z5 Royal memory kit for the aesthetics. Users who are willing to make manual adjustment of the primary, secondary and tertiary timings will find this memory kit cleans up nicely. For everyone else, this isn't the best choice in the performance category, but may very well be the most luxurious looking of them all.