G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review

We put G.SKILL's Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB dual-channel memory kit for the Intel Z170 platform through the paces to see what it can do.

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Updated
Manufacturer: G.SKILL
5 minutes & 44 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 94%
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The Bottom Line

G.SKILL's F4-3000C15-16GRVB dual-channel DDR4 kit is a true performer! Performance is great with use of the XMP 2.0 profile, the cost is low, and we still had a ton of overclocking headroom awaiting us to unleash its full potential.
G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review 01

When it comes to desktop memory, we've had two dozen or so set of Ripjaws memory in our systems over the years. For some reason, they tended to be our go to kit for years, but this name carries almost legendary status for being some of the most affordable offerings, and even then most kits still had plenty more to go when it came to tweaking their timings or increasing speeds. Honestly, there is not one time that G.SKILL had disappointed us with these various kits.

Along with Intel Skylake comes the G.SKILL Ripjaws V, their latest version to accommodate the new Z170 chipset. More specifically, we are looking at this F4-3000C15D-16GVRB kit that offers 3000MHz speed at CAS15. These dual sided sticks are also able to offer that speed and density while running at 1.35V. The last thing to know about this kit is that along with the purchase of this memory, it comes with a limited lifetime warranty, which usually means it can be replaced as long as the kits are still available in stock.

Without giving it all away before you see the screen shots, we will just say this, playing around with the G.SKILL Ripjaws V has for us brought the fun back to clocking. This kit can stand on its own with the programmed XMP 2.0 profile, but what we were able to do with this kit was almost downright astounding in our mind. G.SKILL has kept the reputation that preceded this kits arrival, and I saw we get right to it and see what the F4-3000C15D-16GVRB dual-channel memory kit is all about.

G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review 02

The G.SKILL Ripjaws V come in a clear blister pack that allows the cardboard insert to be seen through it along with a very clear look at the sticks as well. While the other side of the sticks is better looking, this way it is easy to tell which kit it is without having to flip over the package. We also see a sticker denoting the Z170 compatibility of this kit.

G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review 03

Without the reflection of the packaging to obscure any of the stylings, we find black PCBs wrapped in bright red heat spreaders. The stylized sticker is nice to look at, and the V-like shape of the spreaders is also new to this series. There is also a case badge to place anywhere you wish.

G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review 04

The product sticker on the opposing side of the sticks offers the F4-3000C15D-16GVFB model number followed by its build date, PC4 rating, and density, and then displays the XMP 2.0 profile settings of 3000MHz at 15-16-16-35 timings with 1.35V.

G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review 05

The top edge of the sticks sports the G.SKILL name on them in white, contrasting well against the bright metallic red of the spreaders. While the overall design has changed in its shape and styling, we can still see the tabs on the top edge that lock the two halves together.

G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review 06

Removing the heat spreaders on ours, so you do not have to, we find that this kit from G.SKILL uses Samsung ICs at its base as well. Keep in mind that there are eight ICs on either side of this PCB to give us the 16GB density.

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Our initial boot of the Ripjaws V with the XMP 2.0 profile enabled in BIOS got everything out of them that G.SKILL stated. At a 100BCLK, we found our Ripjaws V to be running at 3000MHz, and the 15-16-16-35 2T timings and 1.35 VDIMM settings are also set on point as well.

G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review 08

The next attempt was to lower the timings, and to get this kit to 13-14-14-35 1T, we did need to increase VDIMM to 1.4 to stabilize things. Also, note that even with the use of auto settings in our DRAM timings table, the tRFC has also dropped from 390 to 300.

G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review 09

Then of course as we always do, we attempt to shoot for the stars with speed, and there is no way to be disappointed in the headroom left by G.SKILL in this kit. Our Ripjaws V kit was able to get all the way up to 3466MHz still using the XMP profile, but we did need to use 1.45V to get this speed rock solid for testing.

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Compared to both the JEDEC standard and the Viper 4 XMP runs, these Ripjaws V shows its advantage over them. As if the XMP runs of this kit were not impressive enough, with a bit of tinkering, we were able to draw out quite a bit more performance on both ends of the spectrum as well.

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The DRAM efficiency shows us mush the same as we found with the Viper 4 kit as well. While this kit almost doubles the initial JEDEC results, dropping the timings seems the most efficient use of this kit as the speed testing bombed to less than the Viper 4's results.

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RealBench shows gains over JEDEC and the Patriot kit, small, but there are gains. Of course, the same is said for lowered timings where it performs slightly better, but overall speed has won out especially in the multitasking.

There are all sorts of things we need to cover now that we have a real comparison with the previous set from Patriot. While we still feel the same as we did before about the Viper 4 kit, it sheds a whole different light on a kit like this set of Ripjaws V. In the most basic sense, not only does the XMP 2.0 profile allow this kit to perform better than the Patriots in every way, the tweaking we can do with the Ripjaws V has really opened our eyes.

G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4-3000 16GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review 12

With a kit that looks this nice sitting in your system, again playing on the red and black theme, we have no issues with the styling, and we appreciate that the nicer looking side of the kit is exposed for viewing when installed. We also highly appreciated the ease in which this kit jumps to attention after enabling the XMP profile, and for those that like to tinker, we had tons of fun playing around with this kit. While we did have to push the voltage a touch to get the results we found, we feel that for near 500MHz more speed or dropping things to CAS13, it is totally worth the effort involved, which is honestly very little.

The biggest thing that attracts most customers to a kit like this is that you can find it everywhere, and at a reasonable price. While Amazon is a bit out of their minds asking $169.80 for this kit, you can get it there. We, however, looked over at Newegg and found the same set of sticks for just $119.99 with free shipping too. So, for more XMP speed and better performance than the Patriot 4 2800MHz set, and about $40 less invested into it, you too can have more fun and better results with money left for beverages and snacks to consume while you tinker.

Once again G.SKILL has brought Ripjaws to the table and have delivered us some of the most fun we have had with memory in a long time. When it comes to cost versus performance, for now this F4-3000C15D-16GRVB dual-channel kit offers the best we have tested and will likely stay that way too. So much flexibility, such a great price point, the looks are on point, and they go well with our build, we honestly could not want more out of a kit of DDR4 memory.

Chad's DDR4 Dual-Channel Test System Specifications

TweakTown award
Performance 97%
Quality including Design and Build 94%
General Features 92%
Bundle and Packaging 90%
Value for Money 98%
Overall 94%

The Bottom Line: G.SKILL's F4-3000C15-16GRVB dual-channel DDR4 kit is a true performer! Performance is great with use of the XMP 2.0 profile, the cost is low, and we still had a ton of overclocking headroom awaiting us to unleash its full potential.

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Chad joined the TweakTown team in 2009 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. After a year of gaming, Chad caught the OC bug. With overclocking comes the need for better cooling, and Chad has had many air and water setups. With a few years of abusing computer parts, he decided to take his chances and try to get a review job. As an avid overclocker, Chad is always looking for the next leg up in RAM and coolers.

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