14 DAY TRIAL // Now that the first few months of DDR4 availability have passed, makers of random access memory have started to more freely tweak performance. ADATA has just launched an overclocked DDR4 memory series.
Normally, DDR4 memory operates at 2,133 MHz on a voltage of just 1.2. It can actually go as low as 1,600 MHz, but there is no point in that.
Conversely, it can go faster than 2,133 MHz pretty easily. After all, it would be odd for a new generation of random access memory to be limited in that regard compared to DDR3.
True, DDR4 is inherently superior to DDR3, so it can usually outperform it even at slower clocks. But when DDR3 can exceed 3 GHz as easy as you please, DDR4 can't afford to do anything less.
The ADATA XPG Z1 DDR4 Gold Edition
Gold Edition has a double meaning here. One half is, obviously, owed to the color of the heatspreaders. The other half indicates that this is the best RAM from ADATA yet.
The operating voltage is 1.35 V, a bit higher than the 1.2V we've grown used to seeing. But when you consider that 1.35V is an efficiency only reached by DDR3 low-voltage modules, and that normal DDR3 runs at 1.5V or 1.65V otherwise, it's still quite low.
The reason ADATA couldn't stay within the constraints of 1.2V is because of the frequency: the XPG Z1 DDR4 Gold Edition memory modules have 3,000 MHz, 3,200 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 3,333 MHz.
The 3,333 MHz module has CL16-16-16 timings (latency) and reaches a bandwidth of 26.6 GB/s, about as good as you can find.
It's no wonder that the RAM has a heatspreader shaped like a jet's wings. As far as implied comparisons go, jet fighter planes are among the best things to suggest speed.
Furthermore, to ensure that the performance doesn't put undue strain on the product (in other words, to make sure the performance doesn't kill the RAM in a year or two), ADATA gave the new RAM modules 10-layer PCBs with 2oz of pure copper. All the chips make direct contact with the heat sinks.
Availability and pricing
Sadly, we don't have any information, so we can only wait for retailers to add the XPG Z1 DDR4 DRAM to their shipping lists. Expect 4 GB and 8 GB capacities, as well as built-in Intel XMP 2.0 Serial Presence Detect (SPD, allows easy installation without BIOS tweaks).
