4GB DDR3 Memory Roundup - Part 1

G.Skill F3-14400CL8D-4GBGT1

Manufacturer: G.Skill
UK Price (as reviewed): ~£220 Suggested Retail Price
US Price (as reviewed): ~$390 Suggested Retail Price

The "GT1s", as our G.Skill contact calls them, are currently pre-release - we've got one of the very first reviews of a product that should be hitting the market very soon. They are so new in fact that the final box design hasn't yet been finalised and we were strangely sent them by Thermaltake and not G.Skill.

As part of an exercise in co-branding and co-hardware, both companies have come together to work on G.Skill's flagship 4GB kit - at 1,800MHz CAS-8 it's got massive potential, and Thermaltake's RamOrb kit bolted to the sides of it makes it... different.

Features

Kit: 2 x 240-pin DDR3 Double Sided DIMM
Module Size: 4GB Dual Channel Kit (2 x 2GB)
Module Code: F3-14400CL8D-4GBGT1
Rated Speed: 1,800MHz
Rated Timings: 8-8-8-24
Rated Voltage: 1.9V
Memory Chips: Samsung HCF0
EPP/XMP: No.

There's no Intel XMP or Nvidia EPP option with these, it's plain old DIY action for the GT1s. G.Skill uses the same Samsung HCF0s that feature on the other modules we're testing. 8-8-8-24 is nothing to sniff at for 1,800MHz, and 1.9V means there's still a overhead left for the extreme inclined among us who want just that much more. The sad part is G.Skill still uses boring green PCBs underneath it all, even on its most high performance parts.


In typical Thermaltake fashion though it's bling to the extreme - everything gets a fan with a blue LED. It's customary. While the metal parts have a solid quality, inevitably the fan is about as annoying and environmentally intrusive as a bunch of teenagers after raiding their parents' alcohol stash. The fact it only comes with a Molex connector and no three-pin adapter, or rheostat to regulate the fan speed means it's either painfully noisy or off. It took all of five minutes before we chose the sane option.