Memory overclocking is getting insane, record now stands at nearly 5.9GHz

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G.Skill is in a race to 6GHz.

Over the past several weeks, hardcore overclockers have broken the memory frequency record several times, and as I've said before, it's only a matter of time before someone hits 6GHz. Renowned overclocker Toppc has come the closest, using a kit of G.Skill Trident Z Royal memory.

He set the record during an annual overclocking event that G.Skill hosts at Computex. With the aid of liquid nitrogen to keep things nice and chilly, he pushed the Royal memory kit to 5,886MHz. That's 148MHz faster than what Adata's own overclocking team achieved less than three weeks ago.

What a difference a few weeks can make. Whereas Adata was on top not that long ago, it now sits in fourth place, having been leapfrogged twice by G.Skill and once by Crucial.

It's not surprising to see G.Skill reclaim the lead—it makes some of the best RAM and is one of the most active participants in the memory overclocking scene. G.Skill occupies 16 of the top 20 spots on HWBot, a site dedicated to overclocking with a dynamic database of scores and records. Here's a look:

G.Skill holds most of the fastest memory speed rankings on HWBot.

Toppc paired the Royal RAM with an MSI MPG Z390I Gaming Edge AC motherboard and an Intel Core i9-9900K processor. As is usually case with these things, the high-end memory featured Samsung 8Gb components, presumably B-die memory chips. Interestingly, our friends at AnandTech recently reported that Samsung is phasing out its 8Gb B-die chips. It's not clear what will take their place in the extreme overclocking sector.

At this rate, I think it's very likely we'll see a 6GHz+ record long before DDR5 arrives for desktops. I wouldn't be surprised if someone hits that speed before the end of the year.

Paul Lilly
Paul Lilly

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).