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Trident Z5 is raising the bar once again

Our Verdict

Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6000 C36 is a genuine memory kit for performance seekers, but this level of performance comes with a steep price tag.

For

• + Excellent performance
  
• + Tight timings
  
• + Good OC potential
  

Against

• - Costs an arm and a leg
  

DDR5 is all the rage nowadays. However, the ongoing shortage and resulting steep pricing have scared potential customers away from the new memory kits.

Intel's 12th Generation Alder Lake processors have embraced DDR5, but not all Alder Lake adopters have jumped on the bandwagon. Indeed, DDR5 is still in diapers, and first-generation memory kits have yet to demonstrate DDR5's full potential. Nonetheless, prominent brands like G.Skill have launched their high-end Trident Z5 lineup for hardcore enthusiasts that want to own the best of what DDR5 has to offer in the current stage of its product cycle.For this generation of the Trident series, G.Skill introduced the Trident Z5 and Trident Z5 RGB lineups. The latter features RGB lighting, which is also the variant in this review.

Design-wise, the Trident Z5 RGB retains the trident theme with the fin design. In addition, the aluminum heat spreader flaunts a two-toned exterior and looks more elegant than previous Trident installments.

The Trident Z5 RGB measures 42mm (1.65 inches) tall with a heat spreader that comes in either metallic silver or matte black color of your choice. In addition, you'll find a translucent RGB light bar on the RGB variants and a regular plastic bar on the non-RGB versions. For the former, G.Skill includes the brand's proprietary Trident Z Lighting Control software, weighing in at 5.8MB. Finally, if you prefer your motherboard's software, the Trident Z5 RGB memory modules will play nice with Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome Sync.

The Trident Z5 RGB memory modules have a capacity of 16GB and adhere to a single-rank design. G.Skill chose Samsung's high-end K4RAH086VB-BCQK (B-die) integrated circuits for this particular memory kit, allowing it to hit very tight timings at the advertised data rate. The power management IC (PMIC) is from ANPEC and carries the model number APW8502C-AX93Q.

Before enabling the XMP 3.0 profile on the memory kit, it'll run at DDR5-4800 with 40-40-40-76 timings. Flipping on the switch will get the Trident Z5 RGB up to DDR5-6000 with 36-36-36-76 timings and a 1.3V DRAM voltage. For more on timings and frequency considerations, see our PC Memory 101 feature, as well as our How to Shop for RAM story.
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