RAM News - Page 1

GALAX has just unveiled two new kits of memory, aimed at high-end enthusiasts with the new Hall of Fame (HOF) OC Lab Diamond and HOF OC Lab Phantom lines of enthusiast-segment memory.

The first of which is the flagship DDR4-5000 memory kit with timings of 19-26-26-46 but GALAX hasn't detailed the voltages on this memory just yet. The DDR4-4800 kit has 19-22-22-46T timings that use 1.5V of power.

Here's the full list of GALAX Hall of Fame (HOF) OC Lab Diamond kits and their timings:

• DDR4-5000 @ 19-26-26-46 @ ????
• DDR4-4800 @ 19-22-22-46 @ 1.5V
• DDR4-4600 @ 18-26-26-42 @ 1.5V
• DDR4-4400 @ 18-22-22-42 @1.50V
• DDR4-4266 @ 17-22-22-38 @1.50V

If you're based in Washington D.C. then you might not like this news, as Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has just signed an executive order on Wednesday that requires DC residents to wear masks outside of their home.

The move has been done to stem COVID-19 coronavirus cases, with Bowser explaining in a press conference: "Basically what it says is, if you leave home, you should wear a mask. This means, if you're waiting for a bus, you must have on a mask. If you are ordering food at a restaurant, you must have on a mask. If you're sitting in a cubicle in an open office, you must have on a mask".

You will be fined $1000 per violation, while the new rules do not apply to children that are under the age of 3 -- as well as people who are eating or drinking.

G.Skill has announced the launch of new extreme-speed DDR4 memory kits that push 16GB and 8GB modules up to DDR4-4400 with low latency. Latencies for the memory are CL17-18-18-38 across-the-board under the Trident Z Royal family. G.Skill says that the memory modules are designed specifically for the latest Intel Z490 platform to achieve higher performance for gaming and content creation.

G.Skill says that as 32GB memory capacity becomes the standard for gaming and performance PC builds, it is rising to the challenge. The 32GB memory kit was stress-tested on an MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Plus motherboard using an Intel Core i5-10600K processor. The same memory was also tested on the ASRock Z490 Aqua motherboard using an Intel Core i9-10900K processor.

The high-speed, low-latency Trident Z Royal memory kits will be available via G.Skill worldwide distribution partners starting in Q3 2020. The memory modules are made using Samsung B-die ICs. The company has also announced some improved latencies for its 8GB x 2 DDR4-4400 kits.

Viper Gaming by Patriot has announced the addition of 32GB modules into its Viper Steel DDR4 UDIMM and SO-DIMM performance memory line. The frequencies available for the UDIMM modules are from 3000 MHz to 3600 MHz. SO-DIMM modules are available in 32GB, ranging from 2400 MHz to 3000 MHz.

All of the modules are built from rigorously tested memory chips and components placed on a 10-layer PCB for optimal performance inside gaming desktops and laptops. The Viper Steel memory provides extra gaming performance and stability for the most demanding desktop and laptop environments on both Intel and AMD platforms.

The memory modules support Intel XMP 2.0 performance. The kits are available as single or dual UDIMM. "The VIPER STEEL has been awarded by many PC hardware sites in 2019. The feedback from PC gaming communities around the world has demanded that we expand the VIPER STEEL to create larger 64GB memory kits," said Roger Shinmoto, the Vice President of VIPER GAMING by PATRIOT. "These new kits are not just for desktop gamers but apply to gaming laptop users and even mini-ITX builders as they benefit most from the 32GB modules."

The DRAM market is about to get hairy, with Chinese manufacturer Xi'an UnilC Semiconductors making its first DDR4 memory that is 100% made in China.

The 100% made in China part is interesting, as UnilC is using made-in-China parts from start to finish: all DRAM chips, PCB, drivers, and other required parts. It's a plain-looking stick of DDR4, with no RGB lighting or even a heatspreader -- but this is day one of making made-in-China DDR4 memory.

We have unbuffered DDR4-2400 and DDR4-2667 modules being made by UnilC in 8GB sticks. As for timings, we're looking at the DDR4-2400 module is timed at CL17 17-17-39, and the DDR4-2667 at CL18. Both of the modules use 1.2V. We're not going to see China take over the DDR4 market overnight, but this is a very big step in that direction.

ADATA has been making high-performance DRAM and NAND flash products along with other accessories for a long time. The company has announced that its XPG Overclocking Lab, in conjunction with MSI, has been able to overclock its Spectrix D50 and D60G 32 GB RGB DDR4 memory modules to a frequency of 5000 MHz on an Intel Z490 platform. ADATA says that feat not only shows its modules compatibility with the latest Intel platform to bring out the module's full performance potential but also its stability.

ADATA D60G DRAM has more RGB lighting per mm2 than other memory modules available. That means that more than 60% of the surface area of the module is covered. The RAM also had fully exposed light diffusers that are extra-wide for maximum effect.

XPG Spectrix D50 RAM has a "clean and elegant exterior" with simple geometric lines and a triangular RGB panel that fits with the overall design of the module. These modules have three RGB modes, including static, breathing, and comet. They can also be set to give a light show synchronized to music. Both the D60 and D50 modules are built with high-quality chips and metal heat sink for signal integrity, reliability, and stability.

Antec has just unveiled its new Katana DDR4 memory, which the company designed with the inspiration of a Japanese Samurai sword and its blade.

The new Antec Katana DDR4 memory has a slick style with some not-so-over-the-top RGB lighting at the top, with Eric Chen, the Vice President of Antec, explaining: "With our Katana memory modules, Antec aims at enthusiasts buying their stylish gaming cases and looking to add stylish designed components by the same brand".

Chen continues: "Katana shows off a metallic shine on the silver lighting bar, while, lit up, Katana glows with soft and harmonious light effects". Antec took home a 2019 iF DESIGN AWARD for its design on the Katana DDR4 RAM. You will have RGB lighting control of the Antec Katana DDR4 memory with ASUS Aura Sync, MSI Mystic Light, and ASRock Polychrome Sync.

CES 2020 - Micron took the time at CES 2020 in the first few days of the new decade, to announce that it had started sampling next-gen DDR5 SDRAM.

The new DDR5 RAM is headed to data centers first, where it will provide a huge doubling in the data rate over previous-gen DDR4 -- all the while, DDR5 will use less power, have improved voltage margins, reduced BOM costs, and more. The new Micron DDR5 ECC DIMMs are designed for server workloads, offering up to 85% more performance over DDR4 RAM.

Micron hasn't talked about consumer DDR5 modules just yet, but both Intel and AMD have no DDR5-supported technology just yet. Intel will have DDR5 support on its new Sapphire Rapids data center CPUs in 2021, but for now -- DDR5 is but a dream for us gamers.

ADATA is about to step into a few different markets in the PC business at CES 2020, with a new 15.6-inch gaming laptop, full gaming PCs, and a new 27-inch gaming monitor.

The new ADATA XPG Photon gaming monitor uses a 27-inch IPS panel with Vivid Color Eye-Safe Display technology from PixelDisplay Inc -- the first-ever in a gaming monitor. ADATA says that this new technology will reduce eye strain for those late-night gaming sessions.

This technology eliminates blue light but does so without washing out all of the colors, using film, or using blue-blocking glasses. ADATA will provide the ability for XPG Photon gaming monitor owns to switch between the wide-color gamut during the day, and then switch over during the night.

AMD and Intel both unveiled their new HEDT processors and respective platforms, with our review on AMD's new third-gen Ryzen Threadripper 3970X right here and Intel's new Core i9-10980XE processor here. But you'll need a bunch of new RAM, right? That's where our friends at G.SKILL come in.

G.SKILL has just announced the latest in their ever-growing family of high-performance, quad-channel, ultra-capacity DDR4 RAM kits which range up to a huge 256GB for the new TRX40 and X299 motherboards. The new 256GB options come in 2666MHz, 3200MHz, and 3600MHz for AMD's new TRX40 platform while you'll be able to go up to 3800MHz and even 4000MHz with Intel and X299.

The huge 256GB kits are offered with 8 x 32GB DIMMs, but they don't have the same low latencies as the 64GB kits. You can grab yourself G.SKILL's new 256GB of DDR4 for HEDT platforms with the DDR4-3200 kit coming in at CL16-18-18-38 and 1.35V in 256GB, or the DDR4-3600 kit at CL18-22-22-42 and 1.35V.