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DDR4 memory has made its way to the mainstream with the introduction of Skylake and the Z170 platform, however many buyers were not happy with the operating latencies of some DDR4 kits. Raw memory speeds for DDR4 kits are typically higher than those of DDR3 predecessors, however the timings can be significantly higher. GeIL aims to address the balance of speed and latency with a dual-channel DDR4 kit that operates at 3GHz CL14.
One of the simplest ways to differentiate your offering in the saturated memory market is through styling. GeIL does exactly that by giving the ‘White' Dragon RAM 3000MHz CL14 DDR4 sticks a white and gold colour scheme and blue LEDs. This even goes as far as giving each of the individual memory chips a white covering on kits with 2800MHz and above operating speeds.
GeIL supplies the Dragon RAM memory in dual- and quad-channel DDR4 offerings, with operating speeds as high as 3866MHz, or 3000MHz for high-capacity 16GB DIMMs.
Unique is the first word that springs to mind when looking at the white Dragon RAM sticks. I must admit that I am quite fond of the frosty white PCB and the bright contrast of the gold dragon graphic.
Even for the fastest kits that GeIL ships, the highest DRAM voltage applied is 1.35V. As such, the vendor has decided that metal heatspreaders are not required, instead opting for a bare PCB and memory chips. And in all honesty, this is unlikely to cause any cooling concerns with the exception of the DIMMs being densely packed together in a hot environment (basically, not a consumer system).
Let's not forget that adding a heatspreader to the sticks would mask the unique white and gold colour scheme. Opting for a 10-layer white PCB and gold graphic will actually add cost to the memory kit as green PCBs are generally cheaper to produce/procure.
Eight memory chips on each side of the PCB form the 8GB capacity for each DIMM in our 16GB test kit. GeIL has informed us that the memory ICs are manufactured by SK Hynix. The GeIL CG4L512G88BA093L chip marking is in fact a sticker on top of the SK Hynix ICs.
GeIL uses a screening process that uses a DYNA4 SLT machine in order to test memory ICs for appropriate operating characteristics and then bin them accordingly.
The frosty white PCBs aren't the exact same shade of white as Asus' X99 or Z170 motherboards. With that said, other vendors' white motherboards (namely Gigabyte's) may be a better colour match for the sticks. And I can imagine that the frosty white PCB and shiny gold graphic would look at home in MSI's Z170A XPower Titanium motherboard.
The blue LEDs may appeal to some buyers, however they also have the potential to completely ruin the appearance for others. If your system has a red colour scheme, for example, the blue LEDs will be an awful contrast. I would have liked to see GeIL including an option to disable the LEDs completely. Alternatively the RAM vendor could have deployed three LEDs in red, green, and blue colouring and allowed a user to choose their preference with a manual selection switch.
The bare PCB design of GeIL's sticks is ideal for minimising CPU cooler interference issues.
Specifications:
- Model Number: GWW416GB3000C14DC.
- Frequency: 3000MHz (PC4-24000).
- Timings: 14-16-16-35.
- Voltage: 1.35V.
- Dual Channel Kit: 16GB (2x 8GB).
- XMP 2.0 Ready.
- Lifetime Warranty.
Our testing is conducted using an overclocked Intel Core i7-6700K Skylake processor and the Asus Maximus VIII Hero Z170 motherboard.
The GeIL ‘White' Dragon RAM memory kit's XMP configuration is: 3000MHz 14-16-16-35 @ 1.35V.
DDR4 Memory Z170 Test System:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K Overclocked (4.7GHz CPU OC, 4.5GHz CPU Cache).
- Motherboard: Asus Maximus VIII Hero (Z170) (BIOS 1302).
- Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 980 Ti Reference.
- System Drive: 250GB Crucial BX100 SSD.
- Operating System: Windows 7 Professional with SP1 64-bit.
Comparison memory:
- 16GB (4x4GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz 16-18-18-36 DDR4 @ 1.35V.
- 16GB (2x8GB) Generic JEDEC 2133MHz 15-15-15-36 DDR4 @ 1.20V.
Tests:
- AIDA64 Engineer – Memory read, write, and latency tests.
- Cinebench R15 – All-core CPU benchmark.
- 7-Zip 15.05 beta – Manual 1.23GB 1080P video archival.
- HandBrake 0.10.2 – Convert 1.23GB 1080P game recording using the High Profile setting and MP4 container.
- Grand Theft Auto V – 1920 x 1080, maximum quality, 0x AA.
AIDA64 Memory Read and Write Speeds
AIDA64 Memory Latency
GeIL's 3GHz CL14 kit is able to deliver more than 40GBps of memory bandwidth in dual-channel mode. Users who require a large amount of system memory throughput will benefit from the higher RAM speeds delivered by DDR4.
With 14-16-16 timings, the 3000MHz-clocked GeIL White Dragon kit is able to outperform Corsair's faster Vengeance LPX kit in AIDA64's memory latency test due to the latter's looser timings. A combination of high speed and tight timings delivers the greatest latency performance.
Cinebench R15
We used the ‘CPU’ test built into Cinebench R15 to measure the effect that system memory has on computational performance.
Handbrake Conversion
We measured the average frame rate achieved for a task of converting a 1.23GB 1080P game recording using the High Profile setting and MP4 container.
7-Zip
We manually archive a 1.23GB MP4 game recording to test the performance in 7-Zip.
Grand Theft Auto V
We apply very near maximum settings in Grand Theft Auto V and a 1920×1080 resolution to push today’s hardware. Our data was recorded using the built-in benchmark.
General productivity workloads perform well on GeIL's 3000MHz CL14 set of White Dragon DDR4. Cinebench rendering performance is close to that of Corsair's 3200MHz CL16 kit, and is notably higher than a generic 2133MHz set of memory. 7-Zip archival and Handbrake conversion performances for GeIL's kit tie for top spot on our charts.
GTA V shows benefits from faster system memory, provided your gaming machine has the graphics and CPU horsepower to push the frame rates. Generic 2133MHz CL15 DDR4 seems to act as a bottleneck for a 4.7GHz Core i7-6700K and a stock-clocked GTX 980 Ti, as proven by the kit's ~4-5 FPS performance deficiency.
Focussing on the high-speed memory kits, a balance between frequency and timings seems to be a good alternative to higher speed with greater latencies. The tight timings on GeIL's 3GHz kit help it to practically match the performance of Corsair's 3200MHz CL16 sticks.
We maintained the DRAM voltage at 1.35V and the timings at their 14-16-16-35-2T stock values for the overclocking testing. Our goal is to increase the motherboard dividers and see where GeIL’s memory kit refuses to POST or hold stability in the AIDA64 stress test.
The best stable result that we could achieve was 3200MHz speed with the stock timings of 14-16-16-35-2T.
A 200MHz frequency increase from an already high-speed memory kit is good to see. The small frequency bump, without any change to the timings, results in small improvements for the Cinebench rendering and 7-Zip archival workloads.
Gaming frame rates also show a small benefit from the higher RAM speed, with the minimums recorded through our GTA V benchmarks increasing by around one-and-a-half FPS, on average. While a 4% boost to minimum frame rates is still relatively small, it can quite comfortably be the difference between meeting the 30, 35 or 40Hz lower refresh rate boundary of a FreeSync or G-Sync monitor.
White colour schemes for internal components are proving increasingly popular amongst enthusiasts. GeIL's Dragon RAM DDR4 kit addresses the uptake in white components with an eye-catching colour scheme. There's also the 3000MHz CL14 operating specifications to tempt performance enthusiasts.
Performance from the 3000MHz 14-16-16-35 memory sticks is very good. Tighter timings on the CAS Latency allows GeIL's kit to effectively match the performance of a higher-clocked Corsair Vengeance LPX kit with higher latencies.
Overclocking performance from our set was also a positive. We were able to bump the memory frequency up to 3200MHz without relaxing the timings or supplying additional voltage. A 3200MHz CL14 operating configuration may be balanced sufficiently to overcome the high latencies that are quoted as negative points for users unwilling to adopt DDR4.
GeIL's design for the white Dragon RAM modules is bold, to say the least. A frosty white, 10-layer PCB and gold dragon graphic may appeal to some buyers, however it could also be overly in-your-face for others. With that said, it is good to see a unique approach to styling being taken.
The decision to deploy blue LEDs is questionable. Blue LEDs may appeal to some potential buyers, however others may be forced to shop for a different kit as the chosen colour could destroy the system's styling. The option to disable the LEDs would be welcomed, as would the diversification to a red, blue, or green option.
The lack of heatspreaders is not an issue due to the 1.35V operating voltage. A by-product of the bare PCB design is that the potential for CPU cooler interference is mitigated and the eye-catching styling is clearly visible.
Retailing for £99.95 at OverclockersUK, the GeIL Dragon RAM 3000MHz CL14 memory kit is well-priced for a high-speed 2x8GB set of DDR4. Relatively tight timings, especially for the CAS Latency, help to enhance the kit's appeal to enthusiast buyers. That's assuming that the unique white and gold, with blue LED, colour scheme fits your build styling.
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Pros:
- Good balance between high speed and relatively tight timings.
- Unique appearance which may appeal to those building a white system.
- No tall heatspreaders helps to mitigate CPU cooler interference issues.
- Good overclocking capability, based on the results from our single set.
Cons:
- General appearance and blue LEDs may not appeal to all.
KitGuru says: A strong set of high-speed DDR4 that offers a good balance between frequency and timings, as well as a unique approach to styling.
