Introduction

G.SKILL is a renowned Taipei-based memory manufacturer with a long history of producing performance-oriented products. The company has ventured into other PC markets in recent years, such as SSDs, AIO coolers, and peripherals including gaming-oriented keyboards, mice, headsets, and more.

G.SKILL has multiple product lines to fit different markets, with plenty of performance-oriented memory options available. DDR4 SKUs include the Trident Z, Royal, Neo, Ripjaws and Elite series. With the launch of DDR5 in late 2021, G.SKILL brought forward the Trident Z and Ripjaws series. With AMD's AM5 platform the following year, both the Flare X and Neo series made their DDR5 debuts as well. Now, in mid 2024, the Trident Z5 Royal series has it's DDR5 debut. The Trident Z5 series offers a wide variety of memory kit configurations with binned frequencies ranging from 5200 MT/s to 8400 MT/s, with the Royal edition having a curated selection up to 8400 MT/s as well.


In this review, we will be taking a closer look at the G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal DDR5-8000 (48 GB) memory kit. By using the larger Non-Binary DRAM module, this memory kit is designed to target content creators and PC gamers alike. Deploying a lower operating voltage of only 1.35 for the XMP profile, this Royal kit has the potential to gain consumers who are still looking for a higher end memory kit, but aren't willing to deal with some of the downsides such as temperature related errors that often accompany overclocking and enthusiast system memory. Now that we have the introduction out of the way, it is time to take this memory for a spin with plenty of testing for both AMD and Intel systems!

Specifications

Packaging

Taking a look at the packaging, G.SKILL has a different box for the Royal series compared to the Trident Z5. The box itself has a resemblance to high fashion or jewelry boxes and is the same as the DDR4 Royal variant.

The back has the standard G.SKILL contact and warranty information, as well as the necessary product sticker. This sticker holds information related to the memory kit inside the box. The only thing missing here is any mention that this memory indeed RGB enhanced and which motherboard software is supported, for compatibility with different motherboard ARGB implementations.


Getting to the memory is easy enough. A small amount of tape holds the box closed. These DIMMs also have protective plastic to help avoid scratches, fingerprints, or anything else that may occur during installation. There is also a microfiber cloth to wipe off those fingerprints too!

A Closer Look

The G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal comes in two color variations. One as "Silver" and the other "Gold." Those familiar with G.SKILL Royal series from the previous DDR4 generation will not see a difference in the design besides the "Z5" marking. What makes the "Royal" different compared to the other Trident Z5 series is the glamorous heatspreaders, but it still keeps one of the easily recognizable designs that have been part of the Trident Z series identity.


The G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal series brand name has also been placed in the right corner of each DIMM.


On one side of each DIMM module is an identification sticker listing the product number, rated XMP / EXPO operating frequency, voltage, and primary profile timings.


Laying the DIMMs on the side, you can see that the standard plastic strip has been swapped out for a more fitting diamond inspired design. The entire plastic strip in the middle will be illuminated when the system is powered on and lighting can be controlled with supported ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome Sync motherboard software.


The G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal DDR5-8000 Z-Height is 43 mm after rounding up with calipers and weighs in at 68 g on the scale.


After taking the heat spreader off, we see that these are single-sided DIMMs with eight 3 GB ICs. A single thermal pad strip covers all the memory ICs. This particular kit does not have a thermal pad covering the PMIC and surrounding components. Although it is not required for this XMP profile, as an operating voltage of 1.35 is perfectly fine without additional cooling, it would have been nice to see G.SKILL start to add a thermal pad. Those who are concerned about potential PMIC related failures should know G.SKILL offers a limited lifetime warranty just in case of premature failure.


Currently, Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix are the three suppliers of DDR5 ICs. However, only Micron / Spectek and SK Hynix have released Non-Binary 3 GB ICs to the consumer market. Both of which "perform" worse than their 2 GB counterparts due to different sub-timings. So far, Micron 3 GB ICs have shown to reach at least 7000 MT/s, while SK Hynix has seen up to 8400 MT/s in a retail kit so far.

A closer look at the ICs shows that these are SK Hynix (H5CGD8MGBD-X021). Which can be abbreviated to SK Hynix 3 GB M-Die, not to be confused with SK Hynix's first DDR5 M-Die (2 GB) in 2021. Up until the release of 3 GB ICs, the previous world record crown was held by SK Hynix A-Die (2 GB) which is still considered a good choice for high frequency overclocks paired with lower primary timings, only to be outdone by the SK Hynix 3 GB variant.


With DDR5, one of the major changes is how the motherboard directly provides 5 V to the memory module's PMIC, which is then stepped down and split accordingly. No longer is the motherboard responsible for regulating the voltages, as with DDR4. The PMIC has the part number "OP=AM KY1," software reports Richtek being the manufacturer.