I would like to tell you a story about when I reviewed DDR5 RAM for the second time. I was playing around with clock speeds and XMP settings, and being a tad overconfident with our official 12DOVE testing PC.
I was benchmarking 32GB of PNY’s XLR8 MAKO memory (which is certainly up there with the best RAM for gaming ), and pairing it with a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processor. I pushed the system to train the RAM beyond 6000MHz, and although the RAM was capable of it, the PC and CPU were not. The testing PC wouldn’t boot, and I had a small heart attack that I’d bricked my work’s expensive gaming rig.
Luckily, I managed to reset the CMOS using the motherboard's metal pins - which didn’t feel dissimilar to jump-starting a car or using a defibrillator.
Our testing PC is not exactly an out-of-date system. It has a Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X motherboard, which, I grant you, is one of the oldest DDR5-compatible platforms out there, but it isn’t exactly obsolete. Considering a lot of people are still locked behind the 11th Gen Intel processors in their best gaming PCs, the 12700K is hardly a bottlenecker either.
Smash-cut to Computex which is running this week in Taiwan. T-Force, one of the strongest brands out there for gaming memory on a budget, has revealed a new version of its XTREEM desktop memory module and announced that overclocking performance pushed it up to 10,000MHz speeds.
Before I talk about the ludicrousness of that, the new module variants come in “Diamond Rose” and Fuji White colorways - as someone who loves anything pink, I’m a huge fan of that rose-tinted version. The metallic T-Force stamp on this memory, which almost makes it look like it's been made by Mercedes, has always looked a little extra to me, but I’m easy to please if something comes in my favorite color.
In truth, we haven’t tested the already-available version of this RAM out because, for the majority of gamers, it’s overkill. In fact, our sister site PC Gamer found exactly that and said in their review that XMP wouldn’t even work on most systems.
I’m excited this RAM is getting some new color options - overclocking enthusiasts shouldn’t need to feel like aesthetics are completely out the window. At the same time, 10,000MHz performance is just needlessly over the top.
As I said at the beginning, if a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700K on a Z690 motherboard can’t boost beyond 6000MHz, only the absolute fringe PC builder will be able to make use of speeds beyond 8000MHz.
More than that, you’d need a Gen 5 SSD as well as a flagship i9 or Ryzen 9 processor to push components to the limit like that. When I reviewed the Crucial T700 Pro, I found that while it was incredibly fast, it wasn’t supported enough to make the purchase necessary, unless you want futureproofing and thus the best SSD for gaming money can buy.
Still, as someone who reviews RAM and is interested in the memory market, I find it cool to see a brand like T-Force achieve these sorts of benchmarks. DDR5-10000 has been a goal for manufacturers to achieve for a while, and it’s nice to see TeamGroup leading the charge beyond the biggest names in the space.
Bottom line? Even if you’re a gamer who wants the absolute best performance money can buy, I’m not sure 10,000MHz will be necessary anytime soon. If you want to try pushing to that kind of speed, please check if you have a “reset CMOS” button on the back of your PC first - it’ll make things a lot easier.
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