G.Skill is known for its flashy DDR4 RAM emblazoned with RGB lighting but none are quite as extravagant as its Trident Z Royal series – after all, it’s in the name. If you thought it couldn’t get more luxurious than that, you might want to brace yourself, as G.Skill’s new Trident Z Royal Elite takes things a step further.
The main change is that the crystalline design is extended from the lighting bar and now envelops the full-body reflective aluminium surface of the heatsink. It took over a year to develop the 3D structure, with 76 facets chiseled into it, but the end result is more eye-catching than the smooth finish of its predecessors.
There are also fewer frequencies to choose from at launch, starting at 3600Mhz, but these speeds range past the original’s 4800MHz ceiling with 5066MHz and 5333MHz options. The Elite series could grow to include more frequencies, but don’t expect to get much faster than that until DDR5 RAM arrives alongside Intel’s 12th generation Alder Lake and AMD’s Zen 4 CPUs sometime this year or next.
Aside from that, it’s pretty much business as usual, with the Trident Z Royal Elite sticks coming in silver or gold and featuring eight-zone RGB lighting across its patented bar at the top.
| Frequency | CL Timing | Voltage | Capacity |
| 3600MHz | 16-19-19-39 | 1.35V | 8GBx2 / 16GBx2 / 16GBx4 |
| 4000MHz | 16-19-19-39 | 1.4V | 16GBx2 |
| 4000MHz | 18-22-22-42 | 1.4V | 32GBx2 |
| 4266MHz | 16-19-19-39 | 1.5V | 16GBx2 |
| 4266MHz | 19-26-26-46 | 1.5V | 16GBx4 / 32GBx2 |
| 4800MHz | 19-28-28-48 | 1.5V | 8GBx2 |
| 5066MHz | 20-30-30-50 | 1.6V | 8GBx2 |
| 5333MHz | 22-32-32-52 | 1.6V | 8GBx2 |
We’ll have to be paitent to see whether it belongs on our list of the best gaming RAM, however, as G.Skill Trident Z RGB Royal Elite DDR4 RAM lands on shelves sometime in May.