G.Skill RipjawsX Sandy Bridge F3-12800 CL7 1600MHz Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅02-02-11
Conclusion

With the introduction of Sandy Bridge and the locked BCLK, the way we modify our systems has all changed. Gone are the days when we could manage the memory frequency of RAM using the BCLK and ratio. We now have the ability to only switch between set frequencies on the divider. So 1600MHz, 1866MHz, 2133MHz and 2400MHz is available. Of course, jumping from 1600MHz to 2133MHz is going to be highly significant.

Our G.SKill RipjawsX kit on review today performed great. Whilst they couldn't rest at 2133MHz you will appreciate that the gulf between 1600MHz and 2133MHz is huge. 1866MHz however was achievable and once we had moved to this the CAS timings were able to be tightened up. At stock, the RipjawsX have impressive CAS timings of 7-8-7-24 CAS at low voltage of 1.5v. Due the fact that the voltage is low we can increase this to push for a higher overclock. With a comfortable overclock of 1866MHz and tight timings I was also able to tighten up the stock timings even further which surprisingly didn't offer any improvement in synthetic and gaming benchmarks.



If you are thinking about making the move to Sandy Bridge then keep in mind that overclocking the CPU will cause the system to require greater memory bandwidth. It's worth your while carefully selecting a memory kit, if you do intend to push the CPU into 4GHz and beyond then its advisable to invest in a kit that has greater stock frequencies.

Due to the RipjawsX featuring a heatsink that only extends a further 1cm to the height of the modules you should have little to no problems with CPU cooler compatibility unlike the OCZ Reaper's that we tested in this review which tower to 8cm in height and cause major problems with installing HSF.

Priced at around £63 Inc. VAT the RipjawsX 1600MHz kit we tested today is a great performing kit that will combine with the ever popular ASUS P8P67 motherboards.

Pros
+ Good performance
+ Tight stock timings
+ Low voltage
+ No problem with CPU cooler compatibility
+ Vibrant colour
+ Lifetime warranty

Cons
- There are none!







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