G.Skill Embraces AMD Ryzen With Flare X And Fortis Series DDR4

By Nathaniel Mott
published

Another manufacturer has latched itself on to the AMD Ryzen hype train. This time it's G.Skill with two new DDR4 product lines, the Flare X series for general consumers and the Fortis series for budget gamers, that the company "designed and tested specifically for" AMD's latest processor platform.

The new products will be available in kits ranging from 2 x 8GB up to 4 x 16GB with clock speeds ranging from 2,133MHz to 3,466MHz. The Flare X series covers the entire spectrum, while the Fortis series is restricted to 2,133MHz and 2,400MHz. (More on the available configurations below.)

The Flare X series runs on 1.2V (2,133MHz and 2,400MHz) or 1.35V (3,200MHz and 3,466MHz) depending on frequency. Everything in the Fortis series run on 1.2V due to the limited frequencies. G.Skill said the AMD-Tuned DDR4-3466MHz CL16 16GB ( 2x 8GB) is "the fastest G.SKILL memory kit that’s been designed for AMD thus far." The company tested the kit with the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor and the Asus ROG Crosshair VI Hero motherboard:

Other configurations boasted memory speeds of 15-15-15-35 for the 2,133MHz; 15-15-15-39 or 16-16-16-39 for the 2,400MHz; 14-14-14-34 for the 3,200MHz; and 16-16-16-36 for the 3,466MHz. (All of these figures were provided by the company and have not been independently confirmed.) G.Skill said the Flare X series and Fortis series would be available in March, but did not provide an exact release date or price for the various configurations.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
SeriesFrequencyTimingVoltageConfiguration
Flare X / Fortis2,133MHz15-15-15-351.2V2 x 8GB4 x 8GB2 x 16GB4 x 16GB
Flare X / Fortis2,400MHz15-15-15-391.2V2 x 8GB4 x 8GB2 x 16GB4 x 16GB
Flare X / Fortis2,400MHz16-16-16-391.2V2 x 8GB4 x 8GB2 x 16GB4 x 16GB
Flare X3,200MHz14-14-14-341.35V2 x 8GB4 x 8GB4 x 16GB
Flare X3,466MHz16-16-16-361.35V2 x 8GB4 x 8GB
Nathaniel Mott
Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • joz
    Isn't Flare X just Ripjaws 4 design?
    Reply
  • IceMyth
    hmmm...I dont like this desgin..I want the RGB one but to this point cant find 4x16GB, and all what I find is total 32GB (4x8).
    Reply
  • Quentin Chalmers
    Looks sick, and the timings on the 3200 and 3466 are excellent. Wonder how much it will cost...
    Reply
  • mapesdhs
    Nathaniel, why in the opening paragraph do you refer to a "hype train", and then include a line in quotes about the RAM being designed for AM4 as if to mock the claim? Have you critiqued RAM designed for Intel CPUs elsewhere in the same manner? I've personally experienced the case where a DDR4 RAM kit didn't work on an X99 board despite being supposedly XMP compliant (had to return and choose another), so if GSkill is saying here is RAM we guarantee will work with Ryzen, surely that's a good thing? And btw, the FlareX kits at 3200MHz appear to have lower latencies than Intel-focused kits, that's good too isn't it?

    Why can't you just report the facts? Why the sceptical overtone? There's no need for it. Ryzen has proved itself quite well in reviews where it can show its strengths, I see no need to include this tone when reporting new compatible memory products. If you want to moan about RAM, how about doing something useful and explain why memory prices have shot up so much recently? Ditto SSD prices? And it's nothing to do with any RAM shortage, that's nonsense. Some kits have gone up 50%, others as much as 100%. The 850 EVO is 80% more than it was a year or so ago. If there are claims of a shortage then please provide evidence, don't just take the companies' word for it. Investigate. Otherwise it's just price gouging. It's great that Ryzen is a lot cheaper than the upper Intel CPUs, but that benefit is largely lost if other costs have gone up so much as to wipe out the difference saving.

    Tech sites need to return to some proper probing of the seedier side of this industry, because what's been going on in the last year or two really stinks.

    Ian.
    Reply
  • mapesdhs
    Nathaniel, as if to underscore my point above, check out the following:

    https://www.scan.co.uk/search?q=LN69029

    That kit was listed as being 186 UKP, awaiting stock. I'd submitted a question about AM4 compatibility, because it's far better value then the "officially" compatible kits listed elsewhere on the site. No reply to my question, but yesterday the kit suddenly had an ETA but the price has gone up eighty percent to 333 UKP. Notice my unanswered question contains, "I'm trying to work out why this kit is not on the list but the more expensive and less efficient LN68999 is on the list."

    When are tech sites going to investigate this b.s.? Because I'm heartily sick of it. SSDs, RAM... how else are consumers being ripped off? Do tech sites know about it? What do they know that users don't?

    Ian.

    Reply
  • gggplaya
    I want the RGB kit for ryzrn.
    Reply