On this review, we are taking a good look at the G.SKILL Trident Z RGB. We are specifically gawking at the F4-3600C16Q-32GTZR model. A Dual and Quad Channel capable kit of 4 with 8GB capacity each. This makes the memory kit compatible with Intel’s Dual and Quad Channel capable CPUs for the X299 platform.

The G.SKILL Trident Z RGB is a dedicated series of DDR4 DIMMs built specifically for the Intel  HEDT systems. It is made to tackle the requirements of Intel’s latest X299 platform, with support of up to 3600MHz. It is RGB lighting enabled and is compatible with ASUS’ AURA technology for a seamless integration. Learn more from the official product page and get it at Amazon.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

The memory kit we got is a part of the vast Trident Z family of high performance DIMMs from G.SKILL. The Trident Z RGB family has frequencies ranging from 2400MHz up to 4266MHz; with 14 to 19 CAS Latency.

G.SKILL Trident Z RGB 3600MHz 32GB DDR4 Memory Kit
Series Trident Z
Generation DDR4
Capacity 32GB, 4x8GB
Channels Dual, Quad Channel
Speed 3600MHZ
Latency 16-16-16-36
Voltage 1.35V
Buffer Unbuffered
Error Correction NON-ECC
SPD Speed 2133MHZ
SPD Voltage 1.20V
Cooling Passive, Heatsink
Height 44mm
Warranty Limited Lifetime
Features Intel XMP 2.0 (Extreme Memory Profile) Ready

RGB Lighting

Our kit is definitely among the top of the pack, with 3600 MHz of tested frequency and 16-16-16-36 timings. It is Intel XMP 2.0 certified but is intended to fully support Intel’s HEDT platforms.

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES:

The G.SKILL Trident Z RGB comes in a familiar packaging, though with a cutout this time to let us see a glimpse of the kit’s craftsmanship.

G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Review 1

Bundled accessories are non existent, unless we’ll count the G.SKILL case badges and the internal shell.

G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Review 2

DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY:

The G.SKILL Trident Z RGB kit we got is shrouded in a combination of Black and Silver aluminum shells. Technically, the Trident Z RGB is a glorified Trident Z with a lighting bar instead of swap-able plastic bars.

G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Review 5

With a height of around 44mm, the Trident Z RGB should be compatible with most tower and top down coolers. Each Trident Z RGB stick is a single rank module, with 8 banks of memory at 1GB each. Similar to the recent Flare X memory kit we tested.

G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Review 3

There isn’t much to tell about the DIMMs other than their beauty and build quality. Truly well made products, featuring the expected quality assurance from G.SKILL.

G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Review 4

TEST SETUP AND METHODOLOGY:

The system performance shall be evaluated by various benchmarking tools and applications. We are testing this system with the high-performance settings enabled at the OS, with the default UEFI configuration. Background processes such as anti-virus and third-party applications are disabled as well. Outlined below are the applications and benchmark tools for reference:

TEST SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR Intel Core i7-7800X
MOTHERBOARD MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
CPU COOLER FSP Windale 6
MEMORY KIT G.SKILL Trident Z RGB 3600MHz 8x4GB Kit
GRAPHICS CARD ASUS GTX 1060 STRIX OC 6GB
INTERNAL STORAGE  Crucial BX200 480GB
POWER SUPPLY CORSAIR RM850X 850W
DISPLAY 27″ DELL U2715H + LG 43UF680T 4K UHD TV
OPERATING SYSTEM Microsoft Windows 10 Pro

CPU AND MEMORY PERFORMANCE:

  • Super PI – 32M Calculations
  • wPrime – 32M and 1024M Calculations
  • AIDA64 Extreme Edition – Memory Benchmark

PRODUCTIVITY PERFORMANCE:

  • GIMP – 7 MB worth of image processing
  • HandBrake – 150 MB MP4 to H.264 video encoding
  • WinRAR – Internal benchmark tool

GAMING PERFORMANCE:

  • Battlefield 4 – Ultra Settings | V-SYNC off
  • DIRT: Rally – Ultra Settings | V-SYNC off
  • The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Ultra Settings | HairWorks off | V-SYNC off

The F4-3600C16Q-32GTZR memory kit has a JEDEC standard of 2133MHz with default timings at 14-14-14-34 under 1.20v. At its XMP 2.0 settings, the Trident Z features a 3600 MHz frequency, together with a 16-16-16-36 timings under 1.35v.

G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Review 9

We never had any problems with the Trident Z RGB on our MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC. Requiring us just to set the XMP settings and off we go on a good start.

CPU AND MEMORY PERFORMANCE:

Super PI is a single-threaded program that calculates pi to a specified number of digits after the decimal point. It is a widely used benchmark within the industry.

G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 2

WPrime is a multi-threaded program that calculates a set number of square roots. It verifies the results by squaring them, then compares it with the original numbers.

G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 1

The AIDA64 Memory Benchmark measure the data transfer bandwidth and latency of the system memory.

G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 4 G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 5 G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 6 G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 3

At 3600MHz, the Trident Z RGB showed us an excellent memory latency performance. The same thing goes with exceptional read, write and copy data rates from AIDA64. SuperPI performance is also excellent, allowing us to take a good look on how high frequency kits influence a system’s single-threaded performance.

PRODUCTIVITY PERFORMANCE:

GIMP or GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a free and open-source image editing tool. A 7 MB worth of images is be processed and converted to gauge the system performance.

G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 8

HandBrake is a free video encoding tool that supports a wide variety of media codecs. A 150MB worth MP4 video is converted using the H.264 codec to gauge the system performance.

G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 9

WinRAR is a file archive utility that can create, view and unpack numerous archive file formats. The software’s built in benchmark tool is utilized to gauge the system performance.

G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 7

Productivity performance showed us what the Trident Z could do in real world scenarios. We’ve got excellent compression speed with WinRAR, while HandBrake and GIMP only showed us marginal results.

GAMING PERFORMANCE:

Battlefield 4 is Electronic Art’s popular First Person Shooter, running on the Frostbite 3 game engine developed by DICE. It utilizes the DirectX 11 and the Mantle API.

G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 10

DIRT: Rally is CODEMASTER’s take on the rally racing game genre. It utilizes the EGO game engine with support for the DirectX 11 API.

G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 11

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is CDProjekt RED’s award-winning Action Adventure RPG. The Witcher 3 utilizes the REDengine 3 with DirectX 11 support.

G.SKILL Trident Z Benchmarks 12

We’ve got good performance gains on Battlefield 4 as far as 1% minimums are concerned. On The Witcher 3, we noticed 1% minimum and 99% average gains. There are no gains or what so ever at DiRT: Rally.

WRAPPING IT UP:

The G.SKILL Trident Z RGB at 3600MHz showed us what high frequency quad channel kits could do. Offering excellent data rates on our synthetic benchmarks while at the same time, providing good results on our applications. That includes most of our games and some real world benchmarks.

G.SKILL Trident Z RGB Review 8

Admittedly, some gains are not that huge to begin with. But then again, the X299 platform is not that meticulous when it comes to memory frequency. It’s better to get a higher capacity kit over speed. With 32GB kindly laid out by this kit, you’re practically covered on that area.

Over all, the G.SKILL Trident Z RGB at 3600MHz is one fast and strikingly beautiful memory kit. At a sub $450 price point, it is one of the most expensive SKUs G.SKILL has to offer. But, if you’re looking for a trinity of clock speed, capacity and looks, this one perfectly got you covered.

  • EXCELLENT DATA RATE PERFORMANCE
  • DECENT GAMING PERFORMANCE GAINS
  • GREAT BUILD QUALITY AND CRAFTSMANSHIP
  • ASUS AURA COMPATIBLE RGB LIGHTING
  • WORKS WITH DUAL CHANNEL PLATFORMS
  • LIFETIME WARRANTY
  • EXPENSIVE KIT

2016 Gold

G.SKILL Trident Z RGB 3600MHz 32GB DDR4 Memory Kit
  • PERFORMANCE - 9/10
    9/10
  • BUILD QUALITY - 9/10
    9/10
  • FEATURES - 8/10
    8/10
  • AESTHETICS - 9/10
    9/10
  • VALUE - 7/10
    7/10
8.4/10

Summary

Over all, the G.SKILL Trident Z RGB at 3600MHz is one fast and strikingly beautiful memory kit. At a sub $450 price point, it is one of the most expensive SKUs G.SKILL has to offer. But, if you’re looking for a trinity of clock speed, capacity and looks, this one perfectly got you covered.

4 Comments

  1. Tamie
    October 28, 2017
    • Leo Bien Durana
      October 28, 2017
    • Tamie
      October 29, 2017
    • Leo Bien Durana
      October 30, 2017
  2. Leo Bien Durana
    January 29, 2018

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