For the middle of the road users who dabble with some extreme overclocking , but are more concerned about everyday performance . The TriedentZ scales in the most unusual fashion . This is in particular on the X99 platform , which is of course where all testing was done . What happens is that once you hit C13 and start scaling up the frequency . There ’ s no additional voltage required between 3333MHz right through to 3500MHz which is where our particular CPU ’ s IMC topped out . Given that to run C13 you need 1.5V ( this should be safe for 24 / 7 use as well ) at 3400MHz to 3,500MHz . You may as well run 3,500MHz all the time . If you don ’ t like those odd multipliers or frequencies , you could
22 The OverClocker Issue 39 | 2016 settle for 3400MHz . Just be mindful of the fact that you ’ ll still need the same 1.5V for a completely stable system . If you are not willing to take our word for it , you ’ ll find that for 3333MHz C13 , 1.45V works just as well and you can ’ t seriously be concerned about longevity at such a low voltage .
This is true for both X99 and Z170 boards on which this memory was installed ( 170 used only to briefly test higher than 3,500MHz frequencies to ensure it was not memory limitation ). On the Z170 platform of course the memory would fare much better , reaching 3,600MHz , but it wasn ’ t stable at 1.5V . Given that the self-imposed limit was 1.5V , every indication was that with just 1.55V it would have been good enough to operate reliably for overclocking sessions .
That said , the best performance recorded for this kit was at 3,500MHz and of course 3000MHz if you want to run 12-12- 12 . The great thing about the latter frequency and timing combination is that it ’ s possible at a mere 1.4V which , if you worry about the longevity of your DRAM , should be comforting .
There ’ s really no need with this memory to find yourself tuning for frequency at the expense of timings . Considering that from 3000 to 3500MHz you only lose a single cycle of latency , the magic is to be found in