Methods & Tests
In our RAM reviews we keep things relatively simple. We put the RAM kit that is being tested into our test system and we benchmark it at its primary XMP profile using a variety of benchmarks and tests. Once complete we then overclock the kit to see how far we can push it in raw frequency terms, then benchmark it again using the same combination of tests with a CPU-Z validation of the overclock.
Test System #1 (Intel Z97 DDR3)
Test System #2 (Intel X99 DDR4)
Before we delve into any testing we would like to take this opportunity to review our test system and thank those sponsors who kindly provided us with test equipment to make our work possible. We offer our thanks to:
Intel for supplying us with a Core i7 4770K processor, which we reviewed here, and a Core i7 5960X processor, which we reviewed here.
Kingston for supplying us with a Hyper X 3K 240GB solid state drive, which we reviewed here.
Corsair for supplying us with a Hydro Series H100i liquid CPU cooler, which we reviewed here.
Be Quiet for supplying us with a Straight Power E9 680W power supply unit, which we reviewed here, and a Power Zone 1000W power supply unit, which we reviewed here.
Sapphire for supplying us with an AMD R9 290 Tri-X graphics card, which we reviewed here.
ASUS for supplying us with a Maximus VII Ranger Z97 Motherboard, which we reviewed here, and a Rampage V Extreme Motherboard, which we will have reviewed soon.
Lian Li for supplying us with a PC-T60A test bench.
Noctua for supplying us with NT-H1 thermal compound.
Software Used
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