An overclocker acheived almost DDR5-8000 with ASRock’s Z690 Aqua OC Motherboard and Teamgroup memory

Air cooled 12900K, Teamgroup delta RGB DDR5 and Asrock Z690 Aqua OC motherboard
(Image credit: David Miller (MllrKllr))

A US based overclocker has achieved an impressive DDR5-7960 MHz speed with Asrock’s Z690 Aqua OC motherboard on air cooling.  The result was impressive in that it was achieved with an air cooled system made up of an Intel Core i9 12900K, Asrock Z690 Aqua OC motherboard and a TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB 16GB module. MllrKllr  (via wccftech) is confident that he can achieve more when he switches over to ln2 cooling.

ASRock’s Z690 Aqua series motherboards are ultra premium options that sit at the top end of Asrock’s range. They compete with the likes of the Asus Maximus Extreme, Gigabyte Extreme Waterforce and MSI Godlike. But what's interesting is that there are two Aqua variants, one of which is an OC version with just two RAM slots. It's a little strange that such a motherboard even exists as a board that's designed for extreme overclocking doesn't need all the bells and whistles that come included with a flagship motherboard.

Your next upgrade

(Image credit: Future)

Best CPU for gaming: the top chips from Intel and AMD
Best graphics card: your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: get into the game ahead of the rest

The memory used was a TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-6400 module which is rated at 40-40-40-84 at 1.35V. It contains the OC friendly SK Hynix IC’s. On a side note, we happen to have this exact memory kit on hand for a review and will be putting it through its OC paces. Stay tuned for that in the coming days. 

Overclockers are always striving to achieve higher speeds and benchmark scores. We saw the same thing happen in previous generations. At one time, DDR4-4000 was a very good OC but over time, DDR4-5000+ became possible, even with XMP! DDR5 is still at the dawn of its development and speeds and latencies will continue to improve. It’s only a matter of time before overclockers can crack the 10000MHz barrier. As long as we can actually buy the stuff! 

Chris Szewczyk
Hardware Writer

Chris' gaming experiences go back to the mid-nineties when he conned his parents into buying an 'educational PC' that was conveniently overpowered to play Doom and Tie Fighter. He developed a love of extreme overclocking that destroyed his savings despite the cheaper hardware on offer via his job at a PC store. To afford more LN2 he began moonlighting as a reviewer for VR-Zone before jumping the fence to work for MSI Australia. Since then, he's gone back to journalism, enthusiastically reviewing the latest and greatest components for PC & Tech Authority, PC Powerplay and currently Australian Personal Computer magazine and PC Gamer. Chris still puts far too many hours into Borderlands 3, always striving to become a more efficient killer.

Read more
A promotional image showing multiple Corsair Vengeance CUDIMM memory sticks on a desk
Corsair rolls out its first CUDIMM memory sticks for Intel Arrow Lake gaming PCs and they're as pricey as you'd expect them to be
OC record 1
Core i9 14900KF CPU hits a world record 9.12 GHz and proves Intel chips are still good at something
MSI RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Trio OC Plus graphics card under a red light
This MSI Afterburner file unlocks 36 Gbps RTX 50-series memory overclocks for, y'know, the few people that actually own a card
A photo of Corsair's Vengeance DDR5-8400 CUDIMM memory kit
Corsair Vengeance DDR5-8400 CUDIMM review
ASRock Phantom Gaming PG27FFX1B / PG27FFX2A gaming monitor on a colourful background
Ultra-high refresh gaming monitors might be all the rage in 2025 if MSI's and ASRock's latest 500+ Hz panels are anything to go by
A collection of DDR4 and DDR5 DIMMs against a blue background, with a PC Gamer Recommended logo
Best RAM for gaming in 2025: I've tested the best DDR4 and DDR5 RAM to find the right kits for you
Latest in Memory
A photo of Corsair's Vengeance DDR5-8400 CUDIMM memory kit
Corsair Vengeance DDR5-8400 CUDIMM review
Corsair's personalized memroy on a gradient
Corsair's new 'personalised RAM' gives you the option to pick the look and speed of memory you hide in the case anyway
A promotional image showing multiple Corsair Vengeance CUDIMM memory sticks on a desk
Corsair rolls out its first CUDIMM memory sticks for Intel Arrow Lake gaming PCs and they're as pricey as you'd expect them to be
Corsair Vengeance RAM sticks
We've more or less hit RAM price equilibrium: this 32 GB 6000 MT/s DDR5 kit is closing in on the price of a comparable DDR4 kit
G.SKILL DDR5
G.SKILL and Kingston break the 12,000MT/s DDR5 memory barrier with Intel's new Arrow Lake CPU
A pair of Team Group DDR5-RAM kits against a teal background with a white border
Need some speedy DDR5 for a new build or gaming PC upgrade? This Team Group 32 GB kit is just $86
Latest in News
Minthara BG3 looking upset
Another round of Baldur's Gate 3 unearthing reveals Minthara can end up living in a sewer, an unused beach ending, and more
A shirtless man rides a big fish underwater
Ark devs distance themselves from AI-generated trailer: 'we did not know that they were doing it'
Team Fortress Spy being shocked
An FPS studio pulled its game from Steam after it got caught linking to malware disguised as a demo, but the dev insists it was actually the victim of a labyrinthine conspiracy
Neighbors Suburban Warfare screenshot a child aims a slingshot at a man from across a cul-de-sac.
A beta of backyard FPS Neighbors: Suburban Warfare is out now, and the balance discussion is hysterical: nerf trash can lids and children
Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer still - woman in the front seat of a car, looking out the back window while holding a wad of cash
The specter of a GTA 6 delay haunts the games industry: 'Some companies are going to tank' if they guess wrong, says analyst
Screenshot from Wreckfest 2
Wreckfest 2 has hit early access for your car-obliterating combat racing enjoyment