It's easy to be overwhelmed when shopping for RAM on G.Skill's website. You'll find a mind-boggling number of options, including a new 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3600 kit that was introduced recently as part of the company's flagship Trident-Z line.
At 3600MHz, the new kit isn't the highest frequency option G.Skill offers, nor is it even the highest frequency kit available in its Trident-Z series, which ranges in speed from 2800MHz to 4266MHz. And while we're at it, the new addition isn't the first 16GB kit of DDR4-3600 memory in the Trident-Z family, either. So what's the point? Lower latencies.
Compared to the two other 16GB DDR4-3600 RAM kits with the Trident-Z stamp, this new F4-3600C15D-16GTZ kit sports tighter timings across the board. Here's a look:
- F4-3600C15D-16GTZ: 3600MHz, 15-15-15-35
- F4-3600C16D-16GTZ: 3600MHz, 16-16-16-36
- F4-3600C17D-16GTZ: 3600MHz, 17-18-18-37
"Utilizing specially selected high performance memory components, G.Skill has continued to improve upon the specifications of DDR4 to maintain a latency of CL15 at 3600MHz, a high frequency that typically could only be achieved with slower latencies. Designed with XMP 2.0 profiles, achieving a highly efficient system is now easier than ever," G.Skill explains.
Realistically you're not going to see a significant performance disparity between any of the three 16GB DDR-3600MHz kits. However, you can reasonably assume that the lower timed kit is using slightly better memory chips, which in turn could mean a little more overclocking headroom, for what that's worth.
G.Skill didn't say when its new memory kit will be available to purchase or for how much, but as a point of reference, the F4-3600C16D-16GTZ streets for $155. Oddly enough, the F4-3600C17D-16GTZ (slowest of the bunch) streets for $180.
