G.SKILL just broke a RAM speed world record with its Trident Z5 DDR5 kit
G.SKILL snatches the world record for the fastest RAM speeds.
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What you need to know
G.SKILL proudly announced the company is now the record holder for memory speeds. Using its Trident Z5 DDR5 RAM modules, an ASUS ROG Z690 Apex motherboard, and the trusty Intel Core i7-12700K processor, it was possible to hit speeds of 8,704 MT/s. To put this into context, the memory modules we used for ourIntel Core i9-12900Kreview were between 4,800 and 5,000 MT/s.
The results obtained by G.SKILL are nothing short of impressive, but they did have to use liquid nitrogen on not only the processor, but also the memory modules. This puts these sorts of speeds out of reach for the average PC owner. Then there’s the case of diminishing returns for performance. In order to achieve 8,704 MT/s, the team had to ramp up the timings from 40-40-40-76 to 127-120-120-120.
This would make the test rig a poor choice for gaming and content creation. But this does show just how far we’re going to be able to push RAM with the latest generation of hardware. Memory brands like G.SKILL and XPG are already making headway into the 5,000 MT/s range with decent timings and we can expect to see further development as the technology matures.
DDR5 will be replacing DDR4 RAM as newer motherboards and processors are released. Intel led the way with its12th Gen processor launch, but we’re sure AMD will follow suit. If you’re building a new machine from scratch, it’ll be worth going with the newer generation of memory, but you can find motherboards that take the latest CPUs from Intel and not require DDR5.
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Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He’s been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at@RichEdmonds.
