At first we would like to thank G.SKILL for offering us a sample of their F4-3000C15D-16GVRB Ripjaws V 16GB DDR4 Memory Kit for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About G.SKILL:

 

“Our History

 

''G. SKILL'', established in 1989 by enthusiasts, is a leading memory module Manufacturer based in Taipei, Taiwan.With traditional strengths, we have built an excellent reputation by meeting market demand and fostering business competitiveness both locally and internationally with our dedications to provide competitive prices, On-Time Delivery, Assured Quality, Customer-Oriented Services and Diversity of Products.

 

Mission Statement

 

We are here to provide superior memory products, with satisfactory services in order to keep pace with our customers' growing needs, and help them by adding value to their purchases. We pledge we will continue to do so and enable both sides to obtain significant competitive advantages in the market segments.

 

Out History: Management

 

Investing in human resources is just one of the reasons why G. SKILL is able to provide such high levels of efficient and cost effective services.

 

G. SKILL is managed as a family, providing a dynamic, challenging and harmonious working environment for all employees. With the open-minded management, each individual with potential talent can be fully developed.

 

With this clear goal of providing satisfactory services for customers, our R&D department is constantly developing the fastest and best performing products; our marketing and sales departments ensure all the information needed is available and presented in a clear and understandable format.

 

Our History: Innovation

 

G. SKILL is able to quickly respond to the changing market conditions and fulfill customers' needs by fully utilizing flexible operating procedures. Our highly skilled teams in areas of research and development, technical support, sales, marketing and make G. SKILL the choice for businesses who recognize the importance of placing customers' cutting edge needs first.”

 

Product Features:

 

Feel the Rush of Ripjaws V

 

As the latest addition to the classic Ripjaws family, Ripjaws V series is the newest dual-channel DDR4 memory designed for maximum compatibility and cutting-edge performance with the 6th generation Intel® Core™ processor on the Z170 series chipset. Built with the finest components, tested under the most rigorous conditions, and offered in five color options, Ripjaws V is the perfect choice for building a new performance system or for a simple memory upgrade.

 

Blazing Fast Transfer Speed

 

Available in a wide range of frequency options from standard DDR4-2133MHz to a blistering DDR4-3733MHz in dual channels, Ripjaws V lets you enjoy a faster computing experience for gaming, video & image editing, rendering, and data processing.

 

Rigorously Tested for Compatibility and Reliability

 

Each and every Ripjaws V DDR4 memory kit is tested with G.SKILL’s rigorous validation process on all major performance motherboard brands to ensure the best-in-class reliability and compatibility across the widest selection of motherboards.

 

Color It Up

 

Not only is the Ripjaws V designed with a sleek new look, but also available in five different colors: Blazing Red, Steel Blue, Radiant Silver, Gunmetal Gray, and Classic Black. Whether you’re a modder seeking matching hues or looking to build a stunning new system, Ripjaws V is a superb selection.

 

42mm Module Height

 

Continuing the tradition of aftermarket CPU cooler compatibility, Ripjaws V is designed with a 42mm module height suitable for most oversized CPU heatsinks.

 

Up to 64GB Ultra High Capacity

 

Ripjaws V offers various capacity configurations, not only with modules of 4GB and 8GB, but also in ultra-high 16GB capacities for up to 64GB (16GBx4). The possibilities are endless!

 

Power Efficient

 

Designed with a low voltage of 1.2V~1.35V at DDR4 standard, this lowers the memory voltage requirement by 20% from DDR3 memory kits! Now your system can perform even faster without becoming an expensive appliance heater.

 

XMP 2.0 Support

 

Just set and go. Programmed with the latest Intel XMP 2.0 profiles, the only thing between you and extreme performance is a simple setting.

 

Limited Lifetime Warranty

 

All G.SKILL memory products come with a limited lifetime warranty and the G.SKILL technical team is always ready to provide consumers with complete technical support via online forum, Facebook, telephone, and email.

 

 

Product Specifications:

 

 

In this review we will take a look at a memory kit from G.SKILL, which sports a higher stock frequency of 3000MHz, along with the 15-16-16-35 timings. Unlike the Patriot kit, the Ripjaws V comes with 8GB per module and is composed from only two modules. The product is shipped inside an even simpler blister packaging, which allows us to see how the modules do look like. G.SKILL has also placed a small sticker on the front which confirms the compatibility with the Z170 platform:

 

 

 

A small product description can be found on the back side, along with the product code name:

 

 

 

Besides the modules, we will also receive a small case sticker:

 

 

 

A closer look at the modules will reveal a light aluminum heatspreader on both sides, which can come in different colors in order to fit with your preferred scheme. In the middle of the main side we will get to see a product logo sticker:

 

 

 

By switching the module on the other side, we will get to see a similar arrangement, but this time the sticker will contain the production date, product serial number, code name, memory quantity and rated speed, but also the timings, rated voltage along with the confirmation that the product is Intel XMP 2.0 Ready:

 

 

 

On the top area of the heatsink we will get to see a subtle G.SKILL logo:

 

 

 

Test Setup

 

CPU: Intel I5 6600K Retail

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14

Motherboard: BIOSTAR GAMING Z170X

RAM: Currently tested kit

Video: HIS 380X

Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W

SSD: OCZ Vector 150

Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840

 

The pre-programmed timings and frequencies can be also found by using AIDA64:

 

 

Right after confirming full stability thanks to Memtest86 in Windows at stock settings as before, we have dialed down in steps to 2133Mhz while keeping the same timings for comparison purposes. The overclocking stage came right after this so we tried to run at 3100MHz with stock timings only to experience freezes even when the voltages was increased to 1.4V. Tightening the timings even further at stock clocks allowed us to boot in Windows but the Memtest86 stress app did fail after just a short while. We have also run the validation thanks to CPU-Z:

Validation

 

 

Test Results

 

Synthetic Benchmarks

 

SuperPI XS 1.5 2MB

 

wPrime 32M

 

 

Memory Bandwidth, Latency

 

AIDA64 Bandwidth

 

 

 

Cinebench R11 Rendering

 

Cinebench R15 Rendering

 

x264 Encoding

 

PCMark 8

 

 

 

With the F4-3000C15D-16GVRB Ripjaws V kit from G.SKILL we will have the same memory capacity as the Patriot Viper 4 kit which we have recently reviewed, but with half the number of modules. The higher memory speed of 3000MHz at stock has also an impact on the operating voltage, which is now 1.35V instead of 1.2V and overclocking over this particular speed will usually need some extra voltage adjustments on the CPU side, a solid motherboard and UEFI construction but also a good CPU memory controller.

 

With our setup, we were unable to overclock over stock values and tightening the timings only resulted in an unstable system. With other CPU/mobo combinations and probably different memory batches some reviewers have succeeded to bring this kit up to 3200MHz but with more relaxed timings, while the performance gain was not stellar.

 

G.SKILL is adding an extra layer of flexibility by manufacturing kits with different heatsink colors in order to accommodate with enthusiast setups even better.

 

The memory kit as-reviewed is available online for about 133 Euros, which we think that is a good price for what we have offered.

 G.SKILL F4-3000C15D-16GVRB Ripjaws V 16GB DDR4 Memory Kit is Recommended For:

 

 

We would like to thank again to G.SKILL for making this review possible!