ADOBE CS6 LOAD TIME
Photoshop is a notoriously slow loading program under the best of circumstances, and while the latest version is actually pretty decent, when you add in a bunch of extra brushes and the such you get a really great torture test which can bring even the best of the best to their knees. Let’s see how our review unit faired in the Adobe crucible!
VMWare Load Time Performance
VMWare is a powerful application which allows users the ability to run a virtualized Operating System from inside their main OS. This program is not only processor and RAM intensive but puts significant load on the storage subsystem with deep, heavy read/write IO requests to the drive. To help give you a general idea on the performance improvements from running a RAM Drive we have timed the time it takes to load Microsoft Window’s XP SP3 from inside VMWare.
This is another area where RAM speed really is important – as it will have a direct impact on the overall performance of your system. Is the impact large? That depends on your definition ‘large’… and how patient you are waiting for an application to load. We personally hate wasting time so for us RAM speed is very important. You may feel differently. But at this price point we doubt many will quibble over the minor increase in cost compared to slower options!
Boarderlands 2 Load time
For Borderlands 2 we have recorded the time it takes to fast travel from Sanctuary map to Oasis. Oasis is the beginning of the Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty DLC. This was chosen as it not only is a special level not included in the original Borderlands 2 game, but also contains additional data which should slow the load of this special map even further.
Saints Row 3 Load time
For Saints Row 3 (labelled ‘SR3’ in the chart) we have recorded the load time from a specific save game. The game was saved just at the end of the ‘Shaundi saved’ version of “Three Way Ending” but before the cut scene. This was chosen as the game not only loads the Three Way Ending data but also the next level “Gangsta’s in Space” DLC level.
F4-3400C16D-16GTZ – GTA V FPS Testing
Unlike the two other game related benchmarks, this benchmark does not use load time as its metric. Instead it uses go old fashioned frames per second. This is because unlike the majority of games available today, Grand Theft Auto V (labeled ‘GTA V’ in the chart) actually is somewhat bandwidth limited. This makes it a very good game for showing how much impact the various RAM speed’s have on overall performance.
For Grand Theft Auto V (labelled ‘GTA V’ in the chart) we have opted to use the games built in benchmark with max settings at 1080P resolution.
As you can see the impact on overall performance is going to be moderate in modern games; but as with most things in life, the biggest and fastest RAM kit you can afford will (almost) always be the better choice. Just be aware that in order to actually get a RAM drive large enough to fit a game in you will have to purchase two of these kits as 16GB is a tad small.
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F4-3400C16D-16GTZ – Score Card and Summary
Performance:38 out of 40.
While not the absolute fastest kit available today (that honor goes to 4000+ kits) DDR4-3400 with overclocking abilities of DDR-3600 is still bloody fantastic. Basically this kit should easily satisfy 99.9% of the buying public’s need for speed.
Ease of Use:18 out of 20
As with most ultra-high performance DDR4 memory kits the G.Skill Trident Z DDR4-3400 kit is extremely easy to use; however as it is a 1.35v based set and not 1.20v the occasional misstep can happen from time to time. This further compounded by the fact that it will require a BCLK of 102.11 to hit its rated speed. While none of our motherboards had any issues, the occasional motherboard may not automatically give this kit enough voltage for the system to POST. At which point a 1.2v kit will be needed. This would be extremely rare, and par for the course for all 1.35v sets, but still can happen. The same holds true of the BCLK potential issue as most likely all that will happen is it will run at DDR4-3333 speeds instead. Just be aware of this if you are purchasing it for non-Z170 based system.
Build Quality & Warranty: 18 out of 20
With its unique combination of killer good looks, down right beefy heatsinks, and a lifetime warranty there really is not much to be disappointed with G.Skill’s Trident Z series. The only minor quibble is that they are 44mm high (vs 31.25mm for std DDR4 modules) and may interfere with mounting process of the occasional air based CPU cooling solution. That really is not that big of a problem and just shows how good these kits have been designed.
Value: 17 out of 20
This set of DDR4 ram is priced very reasonably for its class, and offers a lot of performance for its asking price. Mix in a lifetime warranty and the value is pretty darn decent.
Final Score: 91 out of 100
With its killer good looks, extremely robust heatsinks, excellent out of the box performance, and even good overclocking abilities the G. Skill TridentZ DDR4-3400 16GB kit is darn impressive. This really is a case of the reality living up to… and maybe even surpassing, the hype surrounding a new product release. Bravo G. Skill!
