Following its previous world record that was set in November 2021, G.Skill has announced that it has achieved a new overclocking milestone for DDR5 memory.
The company, a manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, confirmed the achievement was accomplished in collaboration with computer hardware firm Asus.
The test itself was conducted by extreme overclocker lupin_no_musume, who established a new overclocking world record for the fastest memory frequency at DDR5-8888.
He was able to reach the aforementioned speed frequency with G.Skill’s own Trident Z5 DDR5 memory kit, Asus’ ROG Maximus Z690 APEX motherboard, and Intel’s flagship Alder Lake processor, the Core i9-12900K CPU. Liquid nitrogen extreme cooling was required to handle the demanding overclocking test.
As pointed out by Tom’s Hardware, this specific memory module features an XMP speed of DDR5-6000. By making the memory reach DDR5-8888, the overclocker managed to reach a 48% overclock. In order to achieve the overclock speed, he had to adjust the Trident Z5 DDR5-6000’s memory timings (40-40-40-76) to 88-88-88-88 so the memory could reach a stabilized state.
“This demonstrates the unparalleled overclocking potential of DDR5, and we will continue to dedicate effort into developing faster DDR5 memory for overclockers and PC enthusiasts,” said Tequila Huang, corporate vice president of G.Skill International.
The previous world record for DDR5 overclocking was also attained by G.Skill. Its Trident Z5 memory was overclocked to a speed of 8,705MHz in November 2021. As is the case with the latest data record, liquid nitrogen was used to cool the system to subzero temperatures to achieve the previous milestone.
To the average PC enthusiast, sustaining these sorts of speeds is not feasible due to the necessity of liquid nitrogen. However, it shows the overclocking capabilities of DDR5 memory, which is still a relatively new standard. It also means we’re one step closer to DDR5 memory exceeding 10,000 megatransfers per second (MT/s).
That said, a Swedish overclocking expert recently showcased how overclocking an entry-level DDR5 memory kit can match the performance of more expensive, high-end DDR5 RAM.
DDR5 entered the mainstream market with the launch of Intel’s 12th-gen Alder Lake processors. As is the case with the introduction of any new technology standard, purchasing DDR5 memory can prove to be quite costly, and price points are unlikely to improve in the near future.