INTRODUCTION

    Both DDR5 RAM and Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSDs were plagued with issues at launch and even though it's been just over 2 years since then some problems remain. Arguably one of the most important issues is related to the inability of certain AMD boards to support fast DDR5 kits (6800MHz+) even today and well, it's clearly something for which consumers have been waiting a solution for. Well, G.SKILL might have done that exact thing with their latest ultra-low latency DDR5-6000 CL28 DDR5 Dual-Channel Memory Kits part of their brand new Trident Z5 Royal NEO series.

    Established in 1989, G.SKILL specializes in high-performance memory and provides PC component and peripheral products designed for PC gamers, professionals, overclockers, and enthusiasts around the world. Combining technical innovation and rock solid quality through our in-house memory testing lab and talented R&D team, G.SKILL continues to create ultra-performance overclock memory for each platform generation.

    G.SKILL currently offers 4 different kits in the Trident Z5 Royal NEO series of DDR5 RAM, DR5-6000 CL28-36-36-96 in 32GB (2x16GB) and 64GB (2x32GB), and DDR5-6000 CL28-38-38-96 in 48GB (2x24GB) and 96GB (2x48GB). All 4 of these kits support AMD EXPO (Extended Profile for Overclocking) technology, use 1.40V to achieve their advertised numbers and feature electroplated aluminum heatspreaders that sport both a mirrored finish in either gold or silver color and a crystalline light bar at the top under which G.SKILL has placed a total of 8 RGB LEDs (16 in total) compatible with all the motherboard sync technologies (ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, ASRock Polychrome Sync and MSI Mystic Light Sync). For all of you wondering inside the aluminum heatspreaders G.SKILL has placed unbuffered single die modules by SK Hynix on a 10-layer PCB and as for warranty as usual G.SKILL covers the entire Trident Z5 Royal NEO line with a limited lifetime one.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Just like with past Royal models G.SKILL uses a black box the front of which just has the company name, line name and the AMD EXPO logo.

Contact information for G.SKILL along with the serial numbers and barcodes are all printed at the rear.

The interior is filled with black foam keeping both the RAM and bundle safe.

Along with the two RAM modules inside the box G.SKILL has also placed a large cleaning cloth, warning/instructions card and a case sticker.

THE TRIDENT Z ROYAL NEO 6000MHZ CL28

When G.SKILL unveiled their first Royal series RAM they made waves in the market because of their design and the Trident Z5 Royal NEO is no exception.

It's not very easy to see but the series name is printed on the far right of each module on both sides as seen above.

A small sticker on the opposite side has the serial number, barcode, specifications and factory rollout month and year.

Under the crystalline light bar at the top G.SKILL has placed a total of 8 RGB LEDs.

Once again these are some of the best looking modules one can get so kudos to G.SKILL for that (as usual short video is available on TikTok and YouTube).

Needless to say, you can control the modules both via your motherboard's A/RGB sync software and the G.SKILL software available on their support page.

Finally we can all check information on this kit thanks to AIDA64.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Thanks to XMP 3.0 and EXPO profiles the only thing one needs to do in order to run a brand new RAM kit at its advertised frequency, timings and voltages is to choose/enable it from within the BIOS and reboot. That being said if you're into overclocking you may not wish to use the main XMP/EXPO profile but instead to choose your very own frequency, timings and voltages to achieve even higher performance numbers and that's exactly what we'll also be doing during our DDR5 tests. To be more specific aside testing each kit with its XMP profile I'll also be upping the voltages (up to 1.4V for 1.35V kits – even though most kits can function at higher voltages I don’t recommend doing so - RAM modules that use 1.4V/1.45V/1.5V will be tested up to 1.45V/1.5V/1.55V respectively) and frequencies (200MHZ increments) until I find the maximum achievable stable frequency (those results will be entered into the OC charts). I also thought about upping voltages and reducing timings instead of increasing the frequency of the modules as high as it can go (always stable and without using 0.5-1V over stock) but the end results are pretty much identical.

   As for the how I'll be testing each DDR5 Dual-Kit to arrive in the lab well there aren't that many benchmark programs that only test RAM (or at least RAM and CPU without anything else coming into play) but I’ve got most of them and so you will be seeing results from following benchmarking programs, AIDA64 Engineer Edition, Cinebench Release 23, MaxMemm2, Passmark Performance Test v10.1, Sisoftware Sandra Titanium and WPrime v2.11. All tests are performed on a fresh Windows 10 Pro x64 installation (complete with all updates until the day of this review) and are repeated a total of 6 times after which the average numbers get recorded into the charts.

* Since you all decided for me to use the Intel Core I9-13900K for graphics cards tests I’ll also be using that for DDR5 tests (5.8GHz P-Cores / 4.7GHz E-Cores / RING 4.9GHz) and in order to showcase potential gains between stock and overclocked clocks/frequencies I’ll also be using Forza Horizon 5 (1080p/Extreme Graphics). Still do keep in mind that I can't dedicate a high-end GPU solely for DDR5 reviews so each time I review such a kit I’ll be using a different chart (the card used will be listed above).
** For EXPO only certified kits since September 2024 I’ll be using the AMD Ryzen 7900X & ASRock X670E Taichi test rig.

TEST RESULTS - EXPO PROFILE

TEST RESULTS – OVERCLOCK

Just by upping voltage to 1.44V allowed me to hit 6200MHz stable at the same timings (anything over even at 1.46V was a no go).

TEST RESULTS – FORZA HORIZON 5

CONCLUSION

    Every other kit in the charts was tested with XMP 3.0 and on the Intel Core 13900K & EVGA Z790 DARK test rig so even though some test suites (AIDA64, Passmark and MaxxMem2) are quite accurate others (Sisoftware Sandra, WPrime and Cinebench which I didn’t include because it’s the one most influenced by the CPU) are not and so even though recorded numbers can still give you an idea about this kit you shouldn’t do a direct comparison with the other kits. If other EXPO only kits arrive in the lab, I’ll place them in different charts to make it easier for everyone but 1 kit alone in its charts just wouldn’t look right. With that out of the way the Trident Z5 Royal NEO 6000MHz CL28 Dual-Channel Kit did well. Yes, just like with past motherboard chipsets AMD does fall back Intel in RAM performance (overall, not in all tests) but still CL28 at 6GHz is a very good combination for AMD users, especially for all those who have RAM compatibility issues with their motherboards. Overclocking headroom wasn’t great when using the same timings but if you’re willing to increase them this kit could probably do 7GHz with ease (that would be missing the entire point for this kit however). As for design I’ve always thought that the Royal line by G.SKILL looked unique, and I still think so which is why I’ll be trying to get more models from that line in the lab.

    G.SKILL announced the Trident Z5 Royal NEO ultra-low latency kits just over a month ago and so currently you can find the silver 32GB CL28 Dual-Channel kit for USD165.93 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for around 170Euros inside the EU, a price tag which is actually very good for such a unique DDR5 kit. At the end of the day this may not be the fastest EXPO kit out in the market today but it’s the ideal solution for people with motherboards that have issues with high speed kits and since performance, quality, looks and even price all check out the Trident Z5 Royal NEO 6000MHz CL28 Dual-Channel Kit clearly deserve the Golden Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- Very Good Performance
- RGB Lighting
- EXPO Compatible
- Ultra Low Latency (CL28)
- Available In Silver & Gold Colors
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Overclocking Headroom (For Some)
- Current Availability