The G.Skill Flare X Series looks good, but we were disappointed with the compatibility that we saw with AMD Ryzen processors. This series was designed to be compatible with AMD Ryzen processors and we expected simple plug-in-play performance on our test system and that is not what we got with the 3200MHz memory kit. If we just plugged the module into the board enabled the proper XMP profile and started using the system we found that all games would crash. We fought with the system for a couple hours and finally started looking at other user reviews and found this was common. The good news is that the G.Skill support department has been responding to those user reviews, but the news isn’t really that ideal. This is currently the best RAM for the AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, so you can surely expect outstanding results. For top end performance, not any motherboard and CPU can support it, so make sure to check the G.Skill QVL (https://gskill.com/en/product/f4-3200c14d-16gfx) or RAM Configurator for G.Skill certified combinations (https://gskill.com/en/configurator). The low profile heat spreader and black finish will fit and look great in any system. The best DDR4 chips are used in this memory kit, and if you compare similar or same specs of other brands, you will find that this kit is a great deal. A Ryzen 7 CPU such as the 1800X or 1700X is recommended to reach DDR4-3200. Other models may not be capable, or additional tweaking may be necessary. Also, make sure the modules are installed in the same color slots furthest away from the CPU. If DDR4-2933 is working properly, check to see what the SoC Voltage is in BIOS. To attempt a higher DRAM Frequency, make sure the SoC Voltage is set higher than this value. To reach DDR4-3200, they are basically saying that you need to increase the CPU Voltage on the Ryzen processor to help the memory controller that is built into the CPU to become stable for the higher frequency. They also suggest using Ryzen 7 processors like the 1800X or 1700X to reach 3200MHz and don’t bother mentioning the Ryzen 5 series. The MSI X370 XPower Gaming Titanium that we were using is on the G.Skill QVL list for this memory kit and the Ryzen 1600X in stock form is already running at up 1.44V on this board. We tweaked some of the voltages to get the kit mostly stable for this review, but it was not 100% stable at 3200MHz with CL14 timings on our test platform. We spent the better part of an entire day trying to tweak voltages and besides the CPU Voltage we also increased the CPU NB, CPU1P8, DRAM VPP, DRAM VREF, PROM Core and PROM PHY voltages and couldn’t get it dialed in. We found 2933MHz to be rock solid, but the same could never be said for 3200MHz.  At the end of the day the G.Skill Flare X 2133 and Flacre X 2400 kits should work with all AMD Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 processors, but the Flare X 3200 kit isn’t going to work for certain. We were able to get 3200MHz with CL14 timings mostly stable on our test system with the Ryzen 5 1600X processor with some manual voltage tweaks. If you are going to get any brands 3200MHz memory kit and expect it to run at those speeds be prepared to manually dive into the UEFI to tweak some settings should stability issues happen on your particular build. G.Skill Flare X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) Kit Pricing w/ Black Heat Spreaders
Is the G.Skill Flare X 2400MHz CL15 memory kit at $119.99 is the best bang for the buck, but if you want to run 2933MHz or possbily 3200MHz on your Ryzen platform the Flare X 3200MHz CL14 kit can be yours for an extra $67. If you are building a new PC from scratch that extra ~$70 would likely be put to better use in the video card, CPU or SSD budget, so be sure to make sure you plan out a well rounded system! Legit Bottom Line: The G.Skill Flare X looks good and has reasonable prices, but the 3200MHz kit is pushing the limits for what the platform can handle today and may require manual overclocking in the UEFI to get that clock speed stable if it is even possible. Our review pack offers decent speeds, excellent timings, and performance that, in certain situations, is akin to going up to a faster CPU. The cost of system memory has skyrocketed in the last year; you're now paying over £100 for a decent pack containing 16GB of RAM. Tangentially, the incremental cost of opting for 3,000MHz-plus RAM hasn't gone up all that much over and above 2,400MHz as the fabrication guys pump out better-yielding parts. Such knowledge means that most build-it-yourself enthuasiasts should look towards 3,000MHz as a minimum speed. That advice is even more relevant for the nascent AMD Ryzen 7 chips, because as shown by our benchmarks, running fast, low-latency RAM does offer that last drop of performance without attracting a serious price premium over more generic kits. G.Skill has taken the Ryzen-specific mantle on with the release of the Flare X line of kits. Our review pack offers decent speeds, excellent timings, and performance that, in certain situations, is akin to going up to a faster CPU. If you have been eyeing up that £1,500 Ryzen gaming build and want to give it the biggest opportunity to breathe from a performance perspective, the G.Skill Flare X 16GB kit is worthy of recommendation. The Good The Bad Fast and low latency Low module height Offers measurable perf increase Lifetime warranty Review kit not available in 16GB sticks HEXUS.where2buyThe 16GB G.Skill Flare X DDR4-3200 memory kit is available to purchase from Amazon UK. HEXUS.right2replyAt HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim. |
