Team Group Delta RGB DDR4-3000 16GB Review

Benchmark Results & Final Analysis

Delta RGB supported slightly tighter timings under manual configuration compared to the company’s Night Hawk RGB, but we feel that was probably luck-of-the-draw, since both sets came with the same ratings. Same-rating modules from a single brand are usually identical underneath the heat spreaders.

The Delta RGB also overclocked better than the Night Hawk RGB, nearly catching up to the two-module O/C of G.Skill’s DDR4-3600. We were able to reach the CPU’s DDR4-3733 ratio at full stability, but any additional tuning via BCLK eventually caused errors in Prime95.

The bandwidth numbers for G.Skill’s DDR4-3600 at XMP settings might have some readers wondering if that higher data rate can really make this much difference, and the answer is no. As with the Skylake core that came before it, the memory controllers of Kaby Lake processors have a strong preference for four-bank configurations. The Trident Z got there by having four modules, but our previous review of Team Group double-sided modules shows a two-DIMM alternative.

Identical rated (XMP) timings made us expect identical Sandra memory latency results at XMP default, but the Delta RGB started a little slower there. Lower achievable timings helped it pass its Nigh Hawk sibling under DDR4-3200, 2666, and 2133 manual configurations.

Sensitive to both bandwidth and timings, F1 2015 shows good performance for all three 16GB sets. None of these can keep up with G.Skill’s 4-DIMM configuration, particularly when it’s clocked to DDR4-3600.

Metro is only slightly sensitive to memory performance, requiring large differences in specifications to produce noticeable differences in framerate. It’s also a better representation of the “general gaming experience” concerning memory performance, compared to the EGO game engine of the F1 series.

Blender is also slightly sensitive to minor changes in DRAM performance. It strangely shows the Delta RGB lagging at all settings.

Like the F1 racing series, 7-Zip file compression shows noticeable performance gains for faster RAM. Delta RGB beats its two-single-rank-DIMM competitors by completing the task in less time, though once again the four-DIMM set shows that four ranks offers greater improvement.

Since our benchmarks are optimized for 12GB of RAM, all of the 16GB sets offer similar performance-per-dollar, and the 32GB set, with twice as many modules, falls behind.

Comparing the above results to differences in capacity gives us a true inkling of the performance value per DIMM, since it corresponds to the performance value per gigabyte in a comparison of 8GB models. The Trident-Z is hyper-priced to match its hyper-speed DDR4-3600 data rate. Meanwhile the Delta RGB’s strong overclock puts it in the value lead. Those who don’t overclock might find better value in Team Group’s Night Hawk RGB.

The above value chart is a little peculiar because of scarce availability for Delta RGB, where we were forced to rely on MSRP rather than street pricing. We had a similar conundrum concerning the Night Hawk series, which only achieved reasonable availability after being reviewed. And Night Hawk has since dropped in price by around $2, and that $2 difference was just enough to give it the win.

Because Night Hawk RGB provided RGB capability at very little cost, we gave it our stamp of approval. Our Delta RGB samples overclocked a little better and are similarly priced, so they probably deserve that same honor. Meanwhile, we’ll continue looking for a break-away product worthy of an even greater honor.

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