The memory kit is packed in a blister pack with the RipjawsZ product title upper most. Below the title are the words 'designed for Intel LGA 2011 processors and X79 platforms. While there is no notification of the memory specification on the front of the inlay card, the specifications can be clearly seen on the memory modules themselves. G.SKILL have also included a metallic case sticker with the product.
The other side of the package reveals a further two memory modules and a product sticker attached to the inlay card purveying the product information. Beneath this and behind the modules is an explanation of why you should rely on G.SKILL products with their 5 year warranty and the kit's X.M.P profile. On the face of it, it may appear cheaper to simply buy two dual channel kits. You cannot however just add two dual channel kits together to make a quad kit. More often than not this will end in difficulties unless the kits are perfectly matched. Each stick in a quad channel kit is rigorously tested to ensure complete compatibility with each other when running in quad channel so buying two separate dual channel kits is ill advised I'm afraid as while you may be fortunate and get them to work together, this isn't always a successful route to take.
The modules are very attractive with full cover aluminium heatsinks. I still don't feel that the memory modules get hot enough to warrant such extravagance but the heatsinks will prevent unwanted electro-static damage regardless so it's not a bad thing and of course they look much more aesthetically pleasing. It's also nice to see that G.SKILL have opted to use black PCB's as we often see good looking heatsinks spoilt by using green PCB's!
The memory specifications are printed on a separate sticker on one side of the kit with the underlying product 'RipjawsZ emblem printed beneath. The heatsinks look very similar to the Corsair Vengeance range but are perhaps a little more rounded and not so much 'in your face'. They are anodised red and perfectly match the colour scheme of LianLi red anodised aluminium cases and would also look great in the ASUS ROG range of motherboards.
Here we see a close up of the heatsink design. The heatsinks are ridged throughout to increase surface area to further dissipate heat, which along with voltage is the biggest killer of memory modules. Despite my best efforts, I could not remove the heatsinks and gave up in the end for fear of ripping the IC's from the PCB. Needless to say, I suspect the G.SKILL RipjawsZ F3-14900CL9Q-16GBZL use Micron D9 modules which are the same type used in the Corsair Vengeance which also happen to have near identical timings.
With timings of 9-10-9-28 only tRAS is slightly relaxed when compared to the Corsair Vengeance kit we will be pitching the G.SKILL against today. 16GB running at 1866MHz is no mean feat especially at a stock voltage of 1.5v but being Micron D9 chips I suspect they might have a little more bandwidth to offer. With 2000MHz now freely available from some manufacturers, including G.SKILL I would hope that this kit overclocks past this level.
