G.Skill is closing out the year with dozens of new DDR4 memory kits designed for Intel's X299 and AMD's TRX40 Threadripper platforms, under its Trident Z Royal and Trident Z Neo product lines. Several of the kits are based on its new low latency 32GB modules, including a bunch of 256GB capacity kits at different speeds.
This raises the question, does RAM speed and capacity matter for gaming? And the answer is yes, up to a certain point. Generally speaking, there is a definite improvement in upgrading from 8GB to 16GB of RAM, though the jump to 32GB and beyond is less substantive. A similar trend applies to frequencies on AMD systems—going from a DDR4-2666 kit to a DDR4-3600 can yield double-digit performance gains, depending on the game (Intel setups don't benefit as much).
Having said all that, most of G.Skill's new kits are overkill for a PC that is strictly used to play games. For example, the company's newly minted 256GB (32GBx8) DDR4-4000 kit at 18-22-22-42 is legendary on paper, but much of the performance potential will remain untapped for gaming, general purpose computing, and most things outside of content creation and certain workstation chores. Simply put, the best RAM for gaming is not a 256GB kit.
Still, I applaud G.Skill for pushing the envelope here. All of its new kits are high-capacity options. They range from 32GB on up to 256GB. Have a gander:
From a technical standpoint, the new DDR4-3200 kits based on ultra-low latency 32GB modules are the most interesting, with 128GB and 256GB kits sporting 16-18-18-38 timings at 1.35V. Timings are even tighter on the 32GB and 64GB kits that use 8GB modules, at 14-15-15-35 at 1.45V.
G.Skill uses hand-selected memory chips for its Trident Z Neo and Royal memory lines. Otherwise known as binning, memory components are individually tested to hit and maintain certain speed and performance parameters, which is one of the things that separates a high-performance RAM kit from a generic one.
My assumption is these are using Samsung B-die memory ICs, as are commonly found in premium RAM kits, particularly those designed for overclocking. I've reached out to G.Skill to see if that's the case and will update this article when I hear back.
These kits will be available in the first quarter of 2020. There's no mention of price (G.Skill typically doesn't share MSRPs because of fluctuations in the memory market), but I don't expect any of these will be cheap, especially in 256GB territory—the few 256GB kits out there all run north of $1,200.
