G.Skill Ripjaws X 16GB Kit Review

G.Skill Ripjaws X 16GB Kit Review

Introduction

For a long while Memory was one of those things that you needed a certain amount, but once you passed 4GB there really wasn’t a lot to be gained apart from a huge hole in your wallet.

Now as the latest smartphones can provide nearly everybody with HD video capabilities and we’re all multi-tasking with a media-player running, a few tabs up in our browser, maybe a casual game, virus killer, the ever increasing amount of drivers running, the need for larger and larger capacity memory has become almost vital.

If you want to convert your smartphone video into a Youtube friendly format you’ll definitely need as much as possible, and with this in mind we’re taking a look at a whopping 16GB kit from G.Skill. The switch from 2GB density sticks to 4GB has meant that such a mammoth number is now a realistic proposition.

Coming in at about £130 it’s surprisingly good value too. I remember paying £70 for a 512KB expansion. Tempora mutantur.

Technical Specifications

There are a few versions of the RipjawsX 16GB kit around at different speeds. With the 4GB density still being fairly new to the market you have to make a decision between blazing speed at slack timings, or slower MHz but with better timings. Today we’re looking at the 1600MHz CAS9 version which is good value and so worthy of attention.

System Desktop
System Type DDR3
M/B Chipset  

 

Intel Z68
Intel P67
Intel H67

Intel H61

CAS Latency 9-9-9-24-2N
Capacity

16GB (4GB x4)

Speed DDR3-1600 (PC3  12800)
Test Voltage 1.5 Volts
Height 40 mm / 1.58 inch  
Registered/Unbuffered Unbuffered
Error Checking Non-ECC
Type 240-pin DIMM
Warranty Lifetime

 

As always it’s time to take a gander at the sticks themselves.