Nowadays, processor launches are almost always accompanied by world records. However, while we've seen the Core i9-12900K put up some impressive records, it's DDR5's turn to shine. Overclocker Hocayu overclocked G.Skill's Trident Z5 memory to 8,705 MHz snatching the title of the fastest memory from HyperX.
DDR5 has been forecasted to hit DDR5-10000, but that doesn't make G.Skill's DDR5-8705 achievement any less interesting. HyperX's Predator memory previously held the world record at DDR4-7200. So, G.Skill has recovered the throne with the Trident Z5 blowing the Predator out of the water by 21%.
Hocayu used Intel's Core i7-12700KF, Asus' ROG Maximus Z690 Apex and G.Skill's Trident Z5 DDR5-6000 (F5-6000U4040A16G) memory to set the new world record. Unfortunately, since it was about hitting the highest frequency possible, the overclocker threw efficiency out the window. To say that the Trident Z5 DDR5-8705 memory was operating with sloppy timings is an understatement. The overclocker had loosened the timings from the XMP-rated 40-40-40-76 to 127-120-120-120.
Intel's 12th Generation Alder Lake processors and Z690 motherboards are readily available for purchase. DDR5 memory kits, on the other hand, are hard to come by. While many retailers have memory kits listed on their online stores, most of them are out of stock. Some of the announced DDR5 memory kits won't hit the market until mid- to late-November.
The lack of supply certainly puts early Alder Lake adopters in a tight situation. Alder Lake is indeed compatible with DDR4 and DDR5 memory, but picking one means deserting the other completely. There aren't any 600-series motherboards that will support both memory formats, and we don't expect to see any. So if you purchase a Z690 motherboard with DDR4 slots today, you'll have to upgrade to a new one further down the line if the DDR5 bug ends up biting you.
