ocaholic - Memory > DDR3 > Review: G.Skill TridentX 2x4GB DDR3-2600MHz CL10

Review: G.Skill TridentX 2x4GB DDR3-2600MHz CL10

Category : DDR3

Published by Sam on 10.09.12

During the 16 month reign of Sandy Bridge, memory overclocking was given a secondary role by being capped with the DDR3-2133 multiplier. As its successor, Intel’s recent Ivy Bridge has brought a wide extension to the available frequency range providing a bigger playground for both manufacturers and end users. Now that the dust had settled down, it became apparent that so-called high-performance memory can be divided in two main groups. First one consists of EOL (End-Of-Life) stuff based on Elpida BBSE and X-series Powerchip (PSC) ICs. In case you don’t want to go on the second hand market and search for well clocking memory, there are lots of brand new high-rated Hynix- and Samsung-based 4GB modules for you to choose from.

Today we are going to take a look at one of the new-school representatives, courtesy of G.Skill’s TridentX lineup.

Manufacturer	G.Skill
Series	TridentX
Part Number	F3-2600C10D-8GTXD
Type	DDR3
Capacity	8 GB (2 x 4GB)
Frequency	2'600 MHz
Timings	10-12-12-31
VDIMM	1.65 Volt
Registred/Unbuffered	Unbuffered
ECC	No
Cooling	Passive Heatspreader + Turbulence II (FTB-3500C5-D)
Waranty	Lifetime warranty
Package Type	Boxed

The kit we selected for the review is the DDR3-2600 CL10 version that only exists as an 8GB two-module set. Despite that nominally it’s not the top model, we think that it offers a better combination of rated frequency and timings compared to its equally priced DDR3-2666 CL11 brother.
Please note, that by selling memory as DDR3-2600, G.Skill do not actually guarantee that it will achieve rated speeds on every single platform mentioned in the support list. Reason for this is very simple – not every CPU, more specifically, not every memory controller can support stable operation at such memory speeds.

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 4 - Results
Page 2 - Closer Look	Page 5 - Some SuperPi 32M
Page 3 - Photo Gallery	Page 6 - Conclusion

Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]

Closer Look

We begin the review by looking at some packaging. Because we’re dealing with a non ordinary G.Skill memory, the DDR3-2600 version of TridentX DDR3 is delivered in a cardboard box rather than a plastic tray and is equipped with its own cooling device.

To make sure you don’t mistake these for a mainstream product, G.Skill have added a red-on-black color scheme and some custom transformable heatspreaders to TridentX’s appearance. Of course, the styling is not something that can be objectively evaluated, but it is obvious that the heatspreaders were not designed with functionality being the main priority as their surface area is way too low.

Usually, we do not hesitate to separate heatspreaders from the modules but due to our previous TridentX experience, we are not going to do it. As we saw with 8GB sticks, there is a high likelihood of damage by tearing the ICs right off the PCB and even if we succeed, a relabeling campaign recently started by G.Skill will not provide any direct information about the IC maker. Alternatively, there are many indirect sources such as IC dimensions, white dots on IC sides and “1500” numbers in the SN, all of which indicate Samsung, with their only 2Gb model being capable of such spec being the revision D.

By being able to read SPD contents, CPU-Z reports that our modules feature six JEDEC profiles for better cross-platform compatibility topped up with a pair of misread XMP which, on Intel platforms, will actually set the memory up to speeds advertised in the specification.

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 4 - Results
Page 2 - Closer Look	Page 5 - Some SuperPi 32M
Page 3 - Photo Gallery	Page 6 - Conclusion

Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 4 - Results
Page 2 - Closer Look	Page 5 - Some SuperPi 32M
Page 3 - Photo Gallery	Page 6 - Conclusion

Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]

Testing Method & Test Setup

To give the overclocking oriented memory a run for it’s money one would obviously need a highly overclockable platform. To make sure that our testing rig is capable of running memory at least at its rated speed, prior to this review we have binned over twenty i5-3570K and i7-3770K processors based on their memory clocking capabilities. While we found one or two that did well above 1300MHz, vast majority of chips were starting to struggle at 1200 which raised a question whether assigning specifications above what an average platform would do regardless of skill involved could be classified as pure marketing-caused cheating. Seeing how more and more memory makers are catching on with this trend, we might soon come to a point where memory spec will be just a collection of random unachievable numbers.
In the meantime, we will proceed with the overclock testing using our best CPU that is fully stable up to 1333MHz or DDR3-2666.

Motherboard	ASUS Maximus V Gene (BIOS 0086)
CPU	Intel Core i7-3770K
Graphic card	XFX 8600 GT
Memory	G.Skill TridentX F3-2600C10D-8GTXD
HDD	Samsung 40 GB
PSU	Silverstone OP1000
OS	Windows 7, 64 bit SP1

Results

We will verify stability of every setting with eight 750MB instances of HCI Memtest which is one of the toughest tests around. If we see a single error before we achieve 150% test completion then we call things not stable, if not – we raise the memory frequency by 10MHz and start the test all over again until we reach the final result.

As with most of modern ICs, first timing called CAS Latency is a linear function of frequency and voltage. The higher voltage you run, the higher chances you have of lowering CAS at given frequency. Second and third primary timings, tRCD and tRP, are not a function of voltage – certain values either run at certain frequency, or they don’t. Most of the time, you would want to run them equal, but in border areas it is sometimes possible to run tRP one value below tRCD.
Looking at the situation in general, we see that there isn’t much frequency or timing headroom above specification so, provided your memory controller can do 1300MHz, the best you can do to gain speed is fiddle with tRAS and subtimings. If luck is not on your side and you hit a bad CPU, you can opt out for 1200MHz using 9-11-11-28 timings, which are still reasonably tight.

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 4 - Results
Page 2 - Closer Look	Page 5 - Some SuperPi 32M
Page 3 - Photo Gallery	Page 6 - Conclusion

Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]

SuperPi 32M

However, not every potential customer sees the TridentX as something to be used in their daily machines. There is a specific group of population called overclockers who don’t care much about full stability figures as they are only planning to use the memory for a series of quick benchmarks. As a part of their community, we also tested our set for stability in one of the most memory-intensive benchmarks, the SuperPi 32M.

Using CL6, 800 and 900MHz.

Using CL7, we got a pass at 900 and 1000MHz.

Using CL8, we got a pass at 1000, 1100 and 1200MHz.

Using CL9, we got a pass at 1100, 1200, 1300 and 1333MHz.

Using CL10, we got a pass at 1200, 1300 and 1400MHz.

The best performance with Ivy Bridge lies on top end of the frequency range, so it will be difficult to be competitive without a decent memory controller. Then again, if you happen to stumble upon a nice CPU and are really extreme, you are better off with Powerchip or Elpida modules that will give you superior performance due to their ability to run lower timings. As can be seen from a tweaking competition on Xtremesystems forums, in an all-out situation newer high-density memory barely stands a chance against the older stuff with only one entry in the top 20.
Of course, one might say that not all benchmarks are so memory intensive. But if you’re planning to use memory for, say, 3DMarks where memory doesn’t matter much – why buy an expensive high-end kit in the first place?

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 4 - Results
Page 2 - Closer Look	Page 5 - Some SuperPi 32M
Page 3 - Photo Gallery	Page 6 - Conclusion

Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]

Conclusion

Using geizhals as our EU price research tool, we see that offers for 8GB DDR3-2600 CL10 version of TridentX currently start at 161 Euros excluding shipping. While it does look like a bargain for one of the fastest memory kits currently available, it’s not the most rational way to spend your money with so many cheaper alternatives.

On paper, G.Skill’s DDR3-2600 version of TridentX was shaping up to be quite a treat but, unfortunately, it couldn’t fully clutch with reality. There is nothing seriously wrong with the actual product, but it is simply too difficult to get up to speed and expensive to be worth using on a day to day basis and at the same time is too slow and impractical to become attractive for those looking for ultimate performance.

The bottom line is that 8GB set of TridentX is a fine example of high-end memory, but the fact that it does not dominate over previous generations somehow spoils the overall impression, that’s why we award it with four stars out of five.

Rating

The G.Skill TridentX F3-2600C10D-8GTXD kit receives the excellent rating of 4 out of five stars.

Page 1 - Introduction	Page 4 - Results
Page 2 - Closer Look	Page 5 - Some SuperPi 32M
Page 3 - Photo Gallery	Page 6 - Conclusion

Discuss this article in the forums

Author: TaPaKaH