When the first DDR5 memory kits were released, many enthusiasts were concerned about two things above all else: latency and price. The best launch kits were around DDR5-6400 C40, and there was also a Samsung-based 6000 MHz C36 kit. Now that several months have passed, the technology is maturing and the initial concerns are fading.

DDR5 latency seems to be decreasing month by month; back in November 2021, CAS latency of 40 was the norm, even for slower kits. 6 months ago, G.Skill released a 6600 MHz kit with a CL of only 34. However, it would be difficult for some motherboards to run this kit at this speed, and G.Skill knows this, so they released a more user-friendly kit. This kit runs at 5600 MHz and has timings of 28-34-34-89. This is the lowest latency DDR5 kit to date.

The G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR-5600 memory I have on hand for review is a 32GB (16GB x 2) kit running at 1.35V. The exterior is the same as the other Trident Z5 RGB kits, available in black or silver. I have reviewed two other Trident Z5 kits: the Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6400 C32 (open in new tab) kit and the Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6000 C36 (open in new tab) kit. It would be an interesting exercise to compare these DDR5-5600 C28 kits.

At the time of this writing, the price of this kit is $379, which is concerning. If you go back six months ago, this price would have been a mega-bargain. These days, however, you can get high-quality 6000 MHz and 6400 MHz memory for less than that, more than G.Skill's 6400 MHz C34 kit for $350 (at the time of writing); a look at Newegg shows only a handful of kits for $379 or more.

That said, earlier this year, the best kits were $600 or more; $379 may be high, but at least it's trending downward; low DDR5 prices will be important if AMD's Zen 4 DDR5-only platform is to be released and sold in large numbers by the end of the year

RGBs are the most popular and most widely used DDR5 platform.

RGB lighting can be controlled with the simply named Lighting Control software from G.Skill. However, if you already have the motherboard's RGB control app installed, that will also work; G.Skill says the kit can be controlled with RGB control apps from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock. Asus Maximus Z 690 Apex for benchmark testing and then integrated it into a system with the MSI Z690 Unify; the MSI Mystic Light app detected the Trident Z5 kit's lighting without issue and synchronized it with the rest of the system.

The kit contains SK Hynix ICs. These chips are common in high-performance DDR5 kits. They are widely supported and compatible with most motherboards, especially now that we have entered the DDR5 era and most of the initial issues have been resolved.

It is always worth checking the QVL list of motherboards to verify compatibility, but I would be surprised if there are any issues with SK Hynix DDR5-5600 kits even if the kit is not listed. CPU memory than kits above 6600 MHz. controller would be less taxing.

Now here's the key question. As always, it depends on the task. Sometimes it is well worth it, and sometimes even the best memory is only within the error range of the most common kits.

File compression and video encoding are tests that can show impressive gains: the G.Skill 5600 C28 kit rivals the fastest 6400 MHz kit for video encoding and the 6000 MHz kit for file compression; the C40 comparison with the 5600 MHz kit is also interesting. The lower latency is not purely a big advantage, but it is a significant advantage.

As a pure memory test, the synthetic AIDA64 results are impressive, but it is the latency results that are impressive. Only the top-of-the-line 6400 MHz C32 kit achieves lower latency.

Games can benefit from low latency, although it varies from game to game; Civilization VI showed little benefit from low latency memory, while Metro Exodus Enhanced showed a bit more improvement, which is surprising considering this test is GPU-limited. This is surprising given that the test is GPU-limited. The best case for purchasing expensive low-latency memory is when playing fast-paced FPS games at high frame rates. Anything that reduces system-wide latency and lag is appreciated by hardcore FPS enthusiasts.

As is almost always the case when looking at the best memory, it is generally overkill and only makes sense if you have an equally high-end system: an Intel Core i9 12900K (opens in new tab) and GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ( (opens in new tab) system with 4800 MHz memory would not be a good combination. Conversely, you would not buy this kit for use in a 12100F and GTX 1650 system. It is important to use it in a balanced system.

Frankly, for most people, a good quality, reasonably priced 5200MHz or 6000MHz kit range will provide perfectly acceptable performance in real-world scenarios. Think of this G.Skill kit as adding no performance, so to speak. Think of it as minimizing bottlenecks and allowing the high-end hardware to shine the brightest.

DDR5 memory has come a long way since its sometimes erratic early days. In the early days, some boards really struggled with memory above 6000 MHz. This seems to have been largely corrected and SK Hynix based memory is now widely supported.

The real strength of such kits may not come to the fore until the next generation platforms are released. Whether 13th generation or Zen 4 systems will be able to easily clock over 7000 MHz remains to be seen.

My CPU has no problems up to about DDR5-6667, but to push it above that I need to increase the IMC voltage very steeply, indicating that my CPU is reaching its limits DDR5-6667 is still powerful, so I'm hoping that the next generation platforms will be able to use DDR5 I look forward to revisiting overclocking; DDR5-10000 results may be possible with air cooling instead of LN2. Perhaps.

G.Skill is, in my opinion, the best memory vendor; G.Skill is always releasing faster memory and rarely disappoints. This Trident Z5 DDR5-5600 CL28 kit is truly unique. I know of no similar ...

It's a great, easy-to-use kit, and that's its greatest strength. Theoretically, you could install it on a B660 motherboard, configure XMP, and run it for the next few years before adding future GPUs. That way, you'll get your money back.

But is this a must-buy? This kind of kit only makes sense if you have a top-end system to match, and even then you would be better off buying a very good 6400 MHz kit that costs almost nothing more than this. If you have a specific application in mind, such as hundreds of hours of immersive gaming with low latency, then you may want to consider a 6400MHz kit.

The G.Skill DDR5-5600 C28 kit is a very good product, but appears to be in small production. It is not listed at all outside the U.S. At $379, it is too expensive compared to G.Skill's top-spec kits; G.Skill's own DDR5-6000 C30 memory can be found much cheaper, and the speed/latency balanced 6000 C36 Samsung-based kits are under $300 at the time of writing.

I love this kit, it's a lot of fun and highly adjustable, but it's hard to recommend it when you can buy G.Skill's equally highly regarded kit for 10% or 20% less. We recommend getting these kits before this Trident Z5 RGB 5600 C28 kit.