Final Thoughts

When you have a look at some of our graphs you can find yourself a bit disappointed by the fact that when you're at 2200MHz DDR or above the performance is slower than the other kits which are running at a slower memory speed. Unfortunately the higher CPU speed means that the lower MHz clocked kits run a bit better.

Everything changes when you start moving above that 200 BCLK. As the RAM gets some more breathing room and a 4.4GHz+ clock speed to play with, performance across the board is almost a win every time.

This is what's really important about the memory kit and should help you decide if you can spend $179.99 on it (current price at Newegg) and make full use of it. The first thing is you want to have a bit of experience with overclocking or access to people who can give you a fair bit of help. Now, if you're able to achieve a 220 BCLK this is a great kit of RAM for you. If you can get slightly higher you'll be laughing, as we even had a bit of OC room on this kit.

Now, you might find yourself thinking that without this RAM you won't be able to find out if a 220 BCLK is possible. You should have a number of memory dividers in your motherboard which should give you the ability to achieve a 220 BCLK, but have your memory run at a significantly lower speed. If you don't really know how to do any of this, the chances are the kit isn't going to be for you.

If 220 BCLK or higher is achievable and you want your memory running as fast as possible, then this is what you want. PC3-17600 is the new PC3-16000 which has become quite competitively priced in recent times.

For under $200; albeit by 1c, you're not only getting some of the fastest memory on the planet, you're also getting a pretty cool little fan. If you have the need for speed and the ability to achieve an awesome BCLK, look at this RAM. While it might not be for everyone, we need companies like G.Skill to innovate and give us faster speeds as it's progress and that's why we love computers.