G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB DDR5-6600 CL34 Kit Review

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Nauman Siddique

At HI Digital I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

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G.Skill is among the reputed memory manufacturers in the industry and needs no introduction. They have sent us a DDR5 kit named G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB. This kit has a capacity of 32GB in total and operates at 6600MHz (tested frequency) at CL34 using 1.40V.

The Trident Z is the flagship offering from G.Skill and is available in RGB as well as non-RGB variants in black, silver, and white colors. I am taking a look at the black color kit. This kit retails at USD 124.99 at the time of this writing.

Key Takeaways

• We pushed the G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB DDR5-6600 CL34 kit to 7200MHz while maintaining CL34 timings @ 1.47V. Given its $125 price tag, these are very impressive numbers — making the RAM a solid bang for the buck.
• You should buy the G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB DDR5-6600 CL34 kit if you want top-notch performance, beautiful RGB lighting, and overall good value for money.
• You should not buy the G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB DDR5-6600 CL34 kit if you are on an AMD platform. That’s because, in our testing, the kit did not have any AMD EXPO profile, making it more suitable for Intel builds. 

The salient specifications include:

Packing Box

The kit comes in a black color packing box made of paper board. There is a mention of DRGB DDR5 over the box. The memory modules are nicely tucked inside the transparent container. This is a black color kit.

Design

Let’s start by stating the salient features of the kit:

• The kit has one XMP 3.0 profile
• The kit is a Non-ECC design
• Stylish aluminum Heat spreader
• Thin RGB Diffuser over the top
• The kit has a Limited Lifetime Warranty
• The kit has a power management chip for stable and effective power usage

G.Skill has multiple lines for their DDR4 and DDR5 range of memory products like Ripjaws, Flare, Trident, etc. The Trident series of memory products is aimed at gamers, professionals, and even overclockers. The Trident Z5 series is available in multiple configurations (binary, non-binary), capacities, and timings. This series is available in white and black colors.

The heat spreader is made of sandblasted aluminum alloy material. G.Skill has retained the original footprint of the Trident series memory modules with a better and more stylish outlook overall.

Trident Z5 RGB is printed towards the right of the module. We can spot half the diffuser on top with the other half being covered by the aluminum heat spreader. The exposed area of the PCB on the sides has a textured pattern.

The backside of the module has a similar layout with one key difference. The portion of the diffuser that is covered on the front is visible on the back, as can be seen in the picture above. You can see a label here, removing which will void the warranty.

The part number of this kit is F5-6600J3440G16GA2-TZ5RK. There is a mention of a serial number, speed, timing, and voltage ratings. This kit is an unbuffered DIMM with a 288-pin layout. Each module has 1Rx8 meaning a single rank design using 8 modules.

Take a look at the RGB diffuser over the top of these modules. It is slim in design and has an offset layout with a centered area. There is a GSkill branding in the center. There is a gap between the heat spreader and this diffuser.

This kit seems to have a 10-layer PCB design. This kit has a black PCB, which is standard on these DDR5 modules. One side of this is populated with the ICs and active circuitry whereas the opposite end is blank and has a thermal pad of the same thickness to make the PCB sit in between the heat spreader evenly.

There are 4x memory chips on the left of the integrated PMIC chip and 4x memory chips on the right side of this controller. This gives a 24GB capacity overall in 1Rx8 using a 2G x 64-bit design.

I have used HWInfo64 to read some hardware data since the Thaiphoon burner could not read the bus. G.SKill is shown as a manufacturer of this kit. Memory chips are from SK Hynix. This is an A-die kit (4.1). The PMIC controller is from Richtek Power and has a part number of PMIC5100. This kit is manufactured in the 2nd Week of 2024.

This kit has a single Intel XMP Revision 3.0 profile programmed on it. It is 3300MHz 34-40-40-105 1.40V. The SPD device is from Montage. It has a model of SPD5118. Temperature sensors are integrated and have ±0.50ᵒC accuracy.

I am showing the HWInfo64 run above. You can see that this software is reading the temperature from both modules.

Testing

We are using the mentioned configuration for RAM testing:

• Intel i7 13700k [Stock, Auto]
• Corsair iCUE Link H150i LCD White
• MSI Z790 ACE MAX
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD [For OS]
• GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC Rev.2 [For Display]
• CORSAIR AX1200i Platinum PSU
• Praxis Wetbench

Other kits are:

• G.Skill Ripjaws S5 DDR5 32GB 6000MHz CAS30
• XPG Lancer RGB DDR5 32GB 6000MHz CAS40
• Sabrent Rocket DDR5 32GB 4800MHz CAS40
• Kingston FURY RENEGADE DDR5 32GB 6400MHz CAS32
• CORSAIR VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 32GB 6000MHz CAS36
• Kingston FURY RENEGADE RGB DDR5 32GB 7200MHz CAS38
• T-Force Delta RGB DDR5 32GB 6000MHz CAS30
• V-Color xPrism RGB DDR5 32GB 7200MHz CAS34
• Lexar ARES RGB DDR5 32GB 6400MHz CAS34
• ASGARD BRAGI RGB DDR5 32GB 6800MHz CAS34
• CORSAIR DOMINATOR TITANIUM First Edition DDR5 32GB 7200MHz CAS34
• Teamgroup T-Create Expert DDR5 48GB 7200MHz CAS34
• XPG Lancer RGB DDR5 32GB 7200MHz CAS34
• Teamgroup T-Force Xtreem DDR5 32GB 8000MHz CAS38
• Teamgroup T-Force Xtreem DDR5 48GB 8200MHz CAS38

We are thankful to our sponsors for this test bench. The following software has been used for the testing:

• AIDA64 Engineer
• SiSoftware Sandra Suite
• Performance Test
• 3DMark Time Spy
• Super Pi

BIOS Run

This kit has a single Intel XMP 3.0 profile and no AMD EXPO profile. I tested the kit using XMP1, which is 3300 34-40-40-105 at 1.40V. This kit conforms to JEDEC 4800MHz SPD operating at 40-40-40-77 timings and 1.100V voltage.

CPU-Z and AIDA64 SPD Readouts

The above is a CPU-Z screenshot. Looking closely, you will notice that the software reports the kit to be in quad-channel configuration. The reason for that is that with DDR5 kits, we have two channels per module, each 32-bit wide. The kit runs at 6600MHz tested frequency.

The above is the SPD readout as taken from the AIDA64 Engineer edition. It shows the XMP profile and programmed variables.

RGB Lighting

This kit has subtle RGB lighting with even diffusion. This suits my taste in particular since RGB is not overly done. This kit works fine with the MSI Mystic Sync App.

Results

This is our first kit in the graph operating at 8200MHz. Let’s start taking the results one by one, starting with AIDA64 Engineer.

AIDA64 Engineer

This kit should sit in between the 6400MHz and 6800MHz rated kits though the latency could well be different. The G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 16GBx2 DDR5 kit operating at 6600MHz at 1.40V has performed quite well in our AIDA64 CPU and Memory benchmark testing.

Other Benchmark Software Results

Now, I will discuss the result from the other 4 benchmarks starting with the SiSoft Sandra Software. The G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB kit has performed well compared to the Asgard 6800MHz kit and two kits at 6400MHz speed. This kit has performed relatively well in Super PI, Time Spy, and Performance Test benchmarks.

Overclocking

I was able to push this kit to 7200MHz using 34-40-40-105 timing with 1.47V on DDR5 VDD voltage. The system agent voltage was 1.28MHz, whereas the VDDQ was 1.40V and VDD2 was 1.350V.

Should You Buy It

Buy It If

✅You want the high-speed DDR5 kit: The G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 2x6GB kit operates at 6600MHz, CAS34, which is a good speed that can give a boost to your computing needs.

✅RGB Memory is your need: This kit has a black outlook with a stylish RGB that looks good in person and can easily blend in your RGB-themed build.

Don’t Buy It If

✅You already own a DDR5 kit: If you are already on a DDR5 platform then chances are you don’t need this kit.

Final Words

In my experience with the G.Skill Trident Z5, it’s clear that it’s G.Skill’s top-of-the-line DDR5 series, offering solid performance right out of the box. The two 16gb modules I tested were running at a speed of 6600MHz, with timings set at 34-40-40-105, all at a voltage of 1.40V.

The kit is designed to default to the JEDEC standard of 4800MHz at 1.10V, which is worth noting. Despite its specification listing XMP/EXPO compatibility, it actually only includes an XMP profile, without support for AMD’s EXPO profile.

This was my first time using a kit with a speed of 6600MHz. Previously, I’ve tested kits at 6400MHz and one at 6800MHz. It’s important to remember that timing is a crucial aspect of a memory kit’s performance, and the timings on this kit seemed a bit more lenient than others.

The kit’s physical design is also noteworthy. With a height of 44mm, it comfortably fits in the middle of low and high-profile options. Those with large air coolers that might overlap with the DIMM slots should double-check the space available. Additionally, the RGB lighting on this kit is quite impressive – G.Skill has done a great job with a slim diffuser that looks great in person. Plus, the aluminum heat spreader does an excellent job of managing heat.

This kit comes with a limited lifetime warranty, and it retails at USD 124.99

Awards Received By G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB

Given the performance, looks, overclocking potential, and overall value of this kit, the Trident Z5 RGB is no doubt a jack of all trades for most DDR5 builds, and that’s why it received the following Tech4Gamers Awards in our tested round-ups:

• Best Overall DDR5 RAM
• Best DDR5 RAM For Gaming
• Best Overall RAM For i9-14900K
• Best Overall RAM For i9-14900KF
• Best Overall RAM For i7-14700K
• Best Overall RAM For i7-14700KF
• Best Overall RAM For i5-14600K
• Best Performance RAM For i9-13900KS
• Best Performance RAM For i7-13700K
• Best Performance RAM For i5 13600K
• Best Overall DDR5 RAM For i9-12900K
• Best Performance RAM For i7-12700K
• Best Overall DDR5 RAM For i5-12600K
• Best Performance RAM For R9 7950X
• Best Performance RAM For R7 7800X3D
• Best Performance RAM For R7 7700X

Nauman Siddique

[How-To Guides Expert]

Laiba, our tech guru at HI Digital, simplifies and crafts How-To Guides with a Google IT Support Certificate. Beyond tech, she captures the city’s aesthetics through her lens. Join her journey where tech meets creativity!

Get In Touch: Laiba@hidgt.com