G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL

Pros: -16GB
-Quite nice looking. The color red is much less obnoxious than it looks in the pictures. It's more of a deep red.
-I don't know if they asctually do anything, but the heat spreaders are there, and it looks cool
-16GB for what used to be a good price(see cons and other thoughts)
-Good performance, though it makes little difference unless you're using an APU

Cons: -One stick became irreparably defective after about 1 year of use. It's annoying, but not indicative of the quality of the product. EVERY product has a few defective units every once in a while.
-The price has skyrocketed since I bought my kit

Other Thoughts: I bought this kit about a year ago, and it was $79.99, and I had a coupon code so it was even cheaper. Now a year later, it's $129.99? I can't confirm, but I suspect some very shady price-dealings between RAM manufacturers, like what we saw with hard drives, when all of the manufacturers drastically inflated their prices, citing flooding damage, which actually never affected any of their facilities(look it up) . Again, I can't confirm anything like that is going on here, but wouldn't you think something like this would get CHEAPER over time?

As for the defective stick, here's the story.

About a year after I built a new machine using this RAM kit, I started getting chronic blue screens. I was able to narrow down the issue to one stick of RAM in this kit. It was long past Newegg's return policy, but still covered by the G.Skill warranty. I emailed their RMA department with a few simple questions about the return proceadure, and once of my questions was whether or not I needed to ship the whole kit back, or just the defective stick. They emailed me back about a day and a half later, saying I only needed to send the single defective stick back. This was good news, because I don't have any extra RAM laying around, so I couldn't use my computer without it.

As I was reading through the RMA policies, in preparation for shipping it back, it says on the official return policy page that you're supposed to send back the whole kit. I still don't know how you're supposed to do it, but I didn't take any chances, and I sent the whole kit back. Rather oddly, there was no way to track the status of your RMA, and no communication. If I hadn't required a signature on delivery(a USPS feature), I never would have even known they had received it. About a week and a half later, a package shows up at my door, and it's a brand new, unopened replacement kit-- I was very pleased. They didn't just replace the one stick, but they sent me a whole new, retail packaged kit, which was unexpectedly nice.

There are definitely some issues with the RMA procedural, and while it ended up working out quite well for me, there is a lot of room for things to go wrong.

Manufacturer Response:

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Dear Customer

Thank you for your G.Skill purchase and review. Glad to hear you like the appearance and color of the RAM. It is one of the most popular designs currently on the market. Not only do they look nice in a new build, they are fully functional in that they spread heat evenly across the modules to prolong the lifespan of memory chips. With 16GB of DDR3-1600 installed, your computer should definitely be capable of anything you put it to. With regards to pricing, all memory pricing is based on global supply and demand. Unlike other hardware, the price progression is not linear. During 2012, supply was in excess, so prices were even sold below cost. Since then, the market has stabilized, which is why you notice a difference in price. Luckily, you purchased it when it was cheap, and even if you have a bad module, it's covered by G.Skill lifetime warranty, so you saved lots of money not having to buy new RAM. For any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us directly.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

Quality and customer service are our top priorities.

Tech Support Email: ustech@gskillusa.com
RMA Dept Email: rma@gskillusa.com
G.Skill Forum: http://www.gskill.us/forum/

Pros: Fast, easy install, no DOA's, best RAM out.

Cons: None!

Other Thoughts: Get it, or else.

Pros: Look cool!

Cons: In a month one was dead. After a year other one is dead now.

I think I need to keep spending my S&H fees with life time warranty.

Other Thoughts: If you have big cpu cooler you couldn't put these things on your m/b.

Manufacturer Response:

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Dear Customer

We are sorry to hear you had such issues. This memory is above standard, so please make sure to configure settings in BIOS/EFI. The DRAM Frequency DDR3-1600, DRAM Timings tCL 9 - tRCD 9 - tRP 9 - tRAS 24, and DRAM Voltage 1.50V should always be manually set in BIOS. If the motherboard supports XMP/DOCP/EOCP, enable the feature to see if the system can be stable. Depending on CPU used, further tweaks may be necessary as not all can natively support four modules of DDR3-1600. For assistance, please feel free to contact the G.Skill technical support team. They will make sure the memory is running fast and stable in your computer.

With regards to aftermarket CPU cooler clearance, each memory module is 40mm tall, and roughly 2mm sink into the slot, so a mininum of 38mm clearance is needed to clear the G.Skill RipJaws series RAM.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

Quality and customer service are our top priorities.

Tech Support Email: ustech@gskillusa.com
RMA Dept Email: rma@gskillusa.com
G.Skill Forum: http://www.gskill.us/forum/

Pros: This is great RAM - stable

Cons: none

Pros: uhhh...works with only half the kit...lols

Cons: I got this kit a while ago but it has some issues. Doesn't work well with ga-z68x-ud3h-b3 at all so if you have that mobo i'd stay away. Can only get all 4 modules to work if the frequency is lowered to 800. Two will run fine at 1600 like they should.

Other Thoughts: I've tried a million different variations for settings and cant' get anything other then 800Mhz to work for all 4. XMP/non-xmp/voltage/freqency doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. Mobo can't even boot by default with all 4. Have to take two out...boot...set bios 800...then put in 4...so probably gonna replace....Each module works fine in pairs...so it doesn't appear to be a single or pair of bad dimms.

Manufacturer Response:

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Dear Customer

This memory kit is perfectly compatible with your motherboard. We will be glad to help get this memory working smoothly in your system. Depending where you are looking, 800MHz is DDR3-1600. DDR is double data rate, so if you see "MHz", the effective frequency will be twice that amount. 800MHz real frequency is DDR3-1600 effective frequency. It is NOT DDR3-1600MHz. With an i5 or i7 CPU, enable XMP Profile in BIOS/EFI and everything will be ready to go. If not, test each module with XMP enabled to see if one peforms differently. If all modules are stable individually, they should work together flawlessly. For any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us directly. The G.Skill support team will be more than glad to help get this memory working fast and stable in your computer.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

Quality and customer service are our top priorities.

Tech Support Email: ustech@gskillusa.com
RMA Dept Email: rma@gskillusa.com
G.Skill Forum: http://www.gskill.us/forum/

Pros: Heat Sinks

Cons: Heat Sinks

Other Thoughts: This is good memory the only bad thing is the heat sinks make it a little hard to install.

Pros: 16gb will never do you wrong
runs smooth

Cons: shouldve went with the 2133 instead of 1600 and spent the extra $20... but oh well

Other Thoughts: the prices of the faster RAM changed over the past months... gotta love the ever-changing market of PCs :D

Pros: Was a great price and worked well (for a short period of time)
Worked with AM3/+

Cons: Have RMA's these things twice now!

Other Thoughts: I have had to send them back to Gskill twice now. They sent me new or "repaired" ones, that were bad upon receiving them. Had 2 sticks that worked, 2 that were completely dead (had issues testing them). After this second RMA, I am switching to another company.

Manufacturer Response:

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Dear Customer

We are sorry to hear you had such issues. This memory kit is above standard, so please make sure to configure settings in BIOS/EFI. Without the proper settings, the system may be unstable and the RAM may seem defective. For an AMD system, please refer to our guide:

http://www.gskill.us/forum/showthread.php?t=7688

Once you input the correct settings, the computer will be fast and reliable. This is one of our most popular kits, so you can rest assured it will perform extremely well. With regards to RMA, all replacements are brand new from inventory, so each module will be flawless. For any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us directly.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

Quality and customer service are our top priorities.

Tech Support Email: ustech@gskillusa.com
RMA Dept Email: rma@gskillusa.com
G.Skill Forum: http://www.gskill.us/forum/

Pros: if it worked id list the pros

Cons: 2 sticks worked, now only 1 does. so im getting 4GB of RAM. this is horrible, ive ran the MEMOK! many times and no matter what just 1 stick works, ive tried different configurations and still nothing, really mad that now only 1 works, guess ill have to waste a few more hours trying to get at least that working.

havent contacted customer support or tryed to RMA yet, though its been a few days over 30 days so im sure i wont get to RMA which is just great. glad i spend 100$ on this just for one stick to work.
when you guys respond to this id be glad to email with you to try and sort this problem out.

if it is indeed a motherboard issue, (mobo = ASUS p9x79 Deluxe)than it would be really nice if it was stated that this will not work with it, somewhere, thats always a nice tip to new builders.

Other Thoughts: id really appreciate some assistance here from GSKILL, and an RMA of refund would be the best option at this point, (i know this isnt up to you the employees, but if a refund is possible the money is going directly back into you so i can buy more RAM that actually does work.)

Manufacturer Response:

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Dear Customer

Don't worry! We are here to help and we can definitely get your system working properly. This memory is indeed compatible with your motherboard, so it is strange you are having problems. First, leave only one module of RAM installed. Completely reset BIOS, go into advanced mode of setup configuration, there you find an AI Tweaker page. The first option is AI Overclock Tuner, set this to XMP Profile, then press F10, save, exit. See how the system works, and go through each module to see if they perform the same. The MEMOK! should not be used as it may not input the proper settings for the RAM. If a module(s) performs differently, send the memory directly to G.Skill for RMA exchange. Once you get a new kit, repeat the procedure above and each module should work properly. If so, then you can put them all together and the system should work at the rated specifications. For any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us directly. We will make sure G.Skill RAM is working fast and stable in your computer.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

Quality and customer service are our top priorities.

Tech Support Email: ustech@gskillusa.com
RMA Dept Email: rma@gskillusa.com
G.Skill Forum: http://www.gskill.us/forum/

External Link(s):

Enable XMP for ASUS X79 mobo|

G.Skill RMA procedure|

Pros: Runs at rated clock speeds with low voltage
Can overclock much higher if needed
The enjoyment of seeing and having 16gb of ram to your disposal

Cons: wish i had 32