One of the reasons why many enthusiasts have mixed feelings about DDR5 memory is its high latencies that hinder real-world performance advantages promised by higher data transfer rates as well as well as higher channel utilization. Being one of the leading suppliers of enthusiast-oriented memory modules, G.Skill this week introduced its new extreme low-latency DDR5 memory kits that wed a 5600 MT/s data transfer rate with a CAS latency of 28.
G.Skill's 16GB and 32GB unbuffered DDR5-5600 memory modules with CL28 34-34-89 timings will be available as 32GB and 64GB dual-channel memory kits within the company's Trident Z5 RGB, Trident Z5, and Ripjaws S5 product series in late May 2022. The new DDR5-5600 CL28 DIMMs from G.Skill will come equipped with aluminum heat spreaders with or without an RGB lightbar with multiple lighting zones.
Traditionally for G.Skill's enthusiast-grade memory modules, these sticks come with XMP 3.0 profiles to automatically set high data transfer rates and low latencies. Also, these modules are based on cherry-picked memory chips guaranteed to work in DDR5-5600 CL28 mode.
One thing to keep in mind is that these extreme low-latency memory modules not only feature a combination of speed and latency that is not officially supported by JEDEC. They also run beyond JEDEC voltages of 1.1 Volts, so they require a high-end motherboard too.
The new kits are designed for Intel Z690-based platforms running the company's 12th Generation Core 'Alder Lake' processors, so sub-timings (beyond CAS latency of 28) are optimized for a very specific memory controller. G.Skill has tested its 16GB and 32GB DDR5-5600 memory modules with CL28 34-34-89 latency settings on a system featuring Intel's Core i7-12700K processor as well as Asus's ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard.
In addition to DDR5-5600 CL28, G.Skill also has DDR5-5200 CL28 32GB and 64GB memory kits that promise to be slightly cheaper albeit slightly slower too. Speaking of pricing, we should note that there are no firm MSRPs on these modules, so expect their real-world pricing to be in line with market conditions.
