An overclocker just set the DDR4 frequency record at 5.9GHz

Normally when a memory record gets broken, the company that produced the module(s) is quick to gloat. So far, Kingston has not done that, even though it now owns the record. But MSI has happily taken its place atop Braggart Mountain to celebrate its in-house overclocker, Kovan Yang, setting a new DDR4 memory frequency record at 5.9GHz, using a kit of Kingston's RAM.

For the time being, Kingston's HyperX Predator memory occupies the speed throne, having usurped G.Skill's Trident Z Royal RAM.

No small feat, at least six of the top ten DDR4 overclocks are represented by G.Skill's memory, and the same goes for at least 16 of the top 20 spots. There are a couple of identified entries that simply state "DDR4 SDRAM."

"Undoubtedly, MSI dominates the overclocking performance with our well-designed motherboard, MSI MPG Z390I Gaming Edge AC, and MSI’s unique and patented DDR4 Boost technology. In addition, this also reveals team-up power with HyperX Predator DDR4 memory," MSI said.

As is usually the case with this sort of thing, liquid nitrogen factored into the overclocking attempt. Exotic cooling is needed for these kinds of speeds. To put this into perspective, the fastest air-cooled DDR4 kits are a couple of DDR4-4800 offerings from G.Skill and Corsair.

None of this is practical, of course, but it's neat to see how far overclockers can push the limits of RAM when temps are largely mitigated. Now the question is, which memory will be the first to hit 6GHz? We are likely to find out sooner than later.

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).