ADATA XPG GAMMIX D35 (DDR4-3200 CL16) Review – There’s Gains To Be Made
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Appearance - 8.5/10
8.5/10
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Features - 8/10
8/10
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Materials - 8.2/10
8.2/10
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Performance - 8.2/10
8.2/10
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Value - 8.3/10
8.3/10
Summary
The ADATA XPG GAMMIX D35 (DDR4-3200 CL16) can provide you the decent amounts of extra performance if you’re willing to push to the limit, on top of the solid value and looks it offers.
Overall
8.2/10Pros
+ Low profile design, both visually and mechanically
+ Black and White options available for correspondingly themed PC builds
+ Affordable pricing
+ Decent overclocking headroom available
Cons
– (None)
While we’re in the sunset phase of DDR4 RAM at this point – as Intel’s current-gen motherboards will be the last that supports DDR4 – there is still the market that exists for these modules for budget and value-conscious gamers. We were provided the XPG GAMMIX D35 DDR4-3200 CL16 RAM by ADATA, of which XPG is the company’s gaming sub-brand. With that out of the way, let’s begin.
Unboxing & Appearance
The XPG GAMMIX D35 is packaged in plastic covers, typical in RAM packaging. There’s a small tab on the packaging that fits into the keys on both edges of the PCB to keep the module in place to prevent the modules from rattling inside. Keep in mind that since this is a DDR4 module, overclocking profile support remained on Intel XMP 2.0, whereas AMD didn’t have a standardized name at the time (ASUS calls them DOCP, for example).
You can opt for either black or white color for the GAMMIX D35 – in this case we’re given the white version. In terms of size, it’s basically as small as it gets, and the only way to get slimmer than this is to just have a bare PCB exposed. This should be a very forgiving set of kit for SFF installations where CPU coolers may get in the way of RAM’s vertical headroom.
No RGB, though RGB versions do exist as a separate model. Our MSI motherboard isn’t in white colored so it’s arguably not the best combination visually, but in our bench rig, it’s the performance that counts. With that, let’s move on to overclocking these modules.
Specifications
ADATA XPG GAMMIX D35 (DDR4-3200 CL16)
Model Number | AX4U32008G16A-DTWHD35 |
Generation & Form Factor | DDR4 UDIMM |
Frequency | 3200MT/s |
Primary Timings | CL16-20-20-38 |
Voltage | 1.35V |
Capacity | 8GB x2 |
Onboard Lighting | None |
Color | Black, White (As tested) |
Dimensions (WxHxD) | 133.35 x 34 x 5.9 mm |
Test System
CPU | Intel Core i9-11900K |
Cooling | Cooler Master MasterLiquid PL360 Flux 30th Anniversary Edition Cooler Master MasterGel Maker |
Motherboard | MSI MPG Z590 GAMING CARBON WIFI |
GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition |
Memory | ADATA XPG GAMMIX D35 DDR4-3200 CL16 (2x 8GB) |
Storage | Samsung SSD 980 PRO 256GB (Boot) Kingston NV1 1TB |
Power Supply | Cooler Master MWE Gold 1250 V2 Full Modular 1250W |
Case | VECTOR Bench Case (Open-air chassis) |
Operating System | Windows 11 Home 22H2 |
Overclocking
Starting with stock XMP settings, here’s a 30-minute OCCT v12 memory stress test that shows a perfectly stable system, accompanied by our AIDA64 memory benchmark data. Pay attention to the ‘copy’ and ‘latency’ metric which is the more important parts of indicating your RAM’s overall performance.
We settled first on DDR4-3600 CL17-20-20-40 just to start off a bit more conservative – since the system failed to POST on a previous setting that went too aggressive (it was 3600 CL16 @ 1.4V). It took a while to find the correct setting to boot, since DDR4-3433 is also a bit finicky in terms of stability. It’s also worth noting that 100:133 ratio is more forgiving to the Core i9’s IMC. The first successful overclock netted a big gain on RAM copy speeds, though latency is only slashed by 1.2ms. With that, let’s keep going.
This is the sweet spot we’ve found which passes the stability test – we set the timing at CL17-19-19-38, squeezing a bit more out of the timings as the RAM speed itself has nothing more to give. As a result, the latency is slashed down to 49.8 ns, making it a 5% reduction over stock figures. Meanwhile, the 3600MT/s transfer speed also provides 10% bandwidth boost over stock 3200MT/s speed.
Bloopers: as one last attempt to see if there’s anything to be gained, we tried DDR4-3733 – and it didn’t take long for the modules to complain for errors. So that settles the overclocking session with the GAMMIX D35, which represents a solid overclock for what it’s worth.
Conclusion
It’s worth noting that XPG do not sell this particular set of two 8GB modules in Malaysia – which costs $32.99 according to current US pricing. However, you can get a standalone 8GB module at the price of RM95 here, give or take (so you can simply buy two to complete a dual-channel set).
For the price, what you get is a set of DDR4 sticks that is among the smallest in size, allowing installations in tight spaces and unconventional CPU coolers (such as rotated ones designed to fit within SFF cases). Give it a few hours worth of overclocking and stress testing and you should be able to net some solid performance gains from it; that aside, the white color should complement white-themed PC builds easily.
Big thanks to ADATA for sending us the XPG GAMMIX D35 (DDR4-3200 CL16) for the purpose of this review.