Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )

Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+

Review Review: TeamGroup T-Force Night Hawk RGB DDR4 3600, CL18 16GB (2 X 8 GB) Memory Modules

views
     
TSowikh84
post Nov 12 2019, 10:14 PM, updated 5y ago

i7 Clan
Group Icon
Elite
8,705 posts

Joined: Nov 2007
From: Butterworth, PG / Machang, Kelantan



Review: TeamGroup T-Force Night Hawk RGB DDR4 3600MHz CL18 16GB (2 X 8 GB) Memory Modules

user posted image

Introduction

The worldwide gaming market is boosting up drastically, which sees increase of demand in high-performance PC components. TeamGroup has been working continuously to cater the needs of consumers in various aspects with the introduction of T-Force product line, which is specifically designed for professional gamers and overclocking enthusiasts.

T-Force series of products include gaming memory modules, SSD and other peripherals such as RGB controller and mousepads. For memory modules alone, we have the XTREEM, DARK, VULCAN, and NIGHT HAWK with breathing LED lights. T-Force gaming RGB memory provides outstanding DDR4 overclocking potential and adds coolest style to gaming environment.

The memory kit that I received today arrived in the form of the T-Force Night Hawk RGB, specifically comes with a part number of TF2D416G3600HC18EDC01. It is a kit of two 8GB memory modules, which is configured to run in Dual-Channel mode at the specified memory frequency of 3600 MHz, timing of 18-20-20-40-2T, and operating voltage of 1.35V. The RGB lighting is compatible with various RGB control software of major motherboard vendors, including ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light, and ASRock Polychrome Sync.

Stay with me as I will be checking out how does the memory kit perform at the specified frequency as well as performance gain from overclocked speed.

Product Link: https://www.teamgroupinc.com/en/product/nig...night-hawk-ddr4

Suggested Retail Price: RM 589 (Amazon: USD $89.99)

Specifications:

Product Name TeamGroup T-Force Night Hawk RGB
Model Part Number TF2D416G3600HC18EDC01
Speed DDR4 3600 MHz
Timing CL 18-20-20-44-2T
Capacity 2 x 8GB
Data Transfer Bandwidth 28,800 MB/s (PC4 28800)
Operating Voltage 1.35V
Dimension 53(H) x 147(L) x 9(W)mm
Heat Sink Aluminum Heat-Sink
Warranty Lifetime Warranty

user posted image
Thaiphoon Burner software allows us to access to more details about the memory modules, including the manufacturer, country of origin, part number, die density, JEDEC SPD, XMP specifications and so on. From here, we also know that the memory ICs being used came from Samsung’s B-die, which is currently the top performing memory ICs that money can buy in the market.

Product Features:

user posted image

Main Features of NIGHT HAWK RGB / NIGHT HAWK Legend RGB

• DDR4 LED RGB full color lighting effects
• Using JEDEC Association latest RC 2.0 circuit configuration
• Supports T-FORCE Blitz control (Beta version)
• Supports ASUS Aura Sync
• Exclusive hawkeyes with battle totem design
• 1.2~1.4V ultra low working voltage with 40% energy saving

Considered both performance and compatibility

Night Hawk RGB strikes a new color scheme and new specifications, Night Hawk Legend edition. Provided DDR4 3200 and DDR4 3600 8gb x2 high frequency solutions. Which will focus on both performance and compatibility for intel and AMD platforms.

Meanwhile this would make the Legend edition really fits the role in gaming and become the dream device for enthusiastic gamers for the best gaming experience.

Creative concepts of NIGHT HAWK RGB

Inspired by new creative concepts, Team Group created the NIGHT HAWK RGB luminous memory module with heat spreaders in black and white colors. Whether it is the mysterious black night hawk or the pure white night hawk, No matter in the dark or under the light, they are both kings at pursuing top speed. Their hawkeyes glitter sharply with colorful lights go-above and beyond anyone else.

Support T-FORCE BLITZ / ASUS AURA SYNC / GIGABYTE RGB Fusion / MSI Mystic Light Sync software

T-FORCE NIGHT HAWK RGB offers full-color, variable, synchronized lighting. The lighting and synchronization are controlled with T-FORCE BLITZ (beta version)[1] or ASUS Aura Sync[2], and after being synchronized, there are 8 built-in light display modes to choose from. You may also control the lighting and some synchronization effects with GIGABYTE’s RGB Fusion [3] or MSI’s Mystic Light Sync[4]. Besides, you can express yourself by customizing your own lighting display. No matter which you choose, it is sure to look cool.

[1]: T-FORCE BLITZ (beta version) may be downloaded from the TEAMGROUP website or T-FORCE NIGHT HAWK RGB webpage.
[2]: T-FORCE NIGHT HAWK RGB supports Asus AURA Sync which can control the lighting effect and achieve complete synchronization of lighting effects.
[3/4]: T-FORCE NIGHT HAWK RGB is compatible with GIGABYTE RGB FUSION /MSI Mystic Light Sync and some system lighting synchronization effects, but the system lighting synchronization functions with RGB FUSION will only be possible once GIGABYTE/ MSI updates its software.


Unique hawkeyes with battle totem line design. The Symmetric type heat spreader

Team Group design team inherits the unique style from the NIGHT HAWK, also adding the battle line that shines as bright as the sun around the hawk eyes. Moreover, it is using top notch extrusion process and high precision CNC computer machining to finely create a symmetric type heat spreader like hawk wings. After NIGHT HAWK RGB is installed on the motherboard, the sharp hawkeyes start to shine bright, the invincible nighthawk is ready to fly and dominate the world of gaming.

Unparalleled Performance

NIGHT HAWK RGB is using the latest JEDEC RC 2.0 PCB. Compared to other manufacturers, the transmitting signal of PCB is increased by 35%. Since the distance between the power layer and the signal layer has increased, there will be no interference between the power and the signal, also
has a better efficiency and performance. It offers players the ultimate sensation of overclocking and a highly stable memory module.

Hawk wings symmetric type heat spreader with unique hawkeyes light guide panel design

The TEAM GROUP design team had built a LED luminous memory module with an all new design concept. It is using top notch extrusion process and high precision CNC computer machining to finely create the hawk wings symmetric type heat spreader with the unique hawkeyes design on the LED light guide panel. After NIGHT HAWK is installed on the motherboard, the hawkeyes glitter sharply and the NIGHTHAWK is ready to spread its wings to fly into the night of racing sensation.

XMP2.0 1-step overclocking technology

All NIGHT HAWK series support Intel XMP 2.0. It is only one step away to experience the high speed sensation of overclocking.

Ultra low working voltage 40%

With low working voltage 1.2~1.4V from DDR4 NIGHT HAWK, it is not only energy saving but it can also reduce the temperature and the heat generated to offer the high-speed running memory a stable and longtime operation.

QVL approved by motherboard manufacturers

Multiple compatibility verifications with mainstream DDR4 motherboards to make sure its stability with all motherboards on the QVL(Qualified Vendor List). Therefore, you wouldn’t’ have to worry about compatibility issues when purchasing high speed memory.

Award Certification

• 2018 iF DESIGN AWARD
• TAIWAN EXCELLENCE 2017
• COMPUTEX d&i Awards 2017
• Golden Pin award 2016
TSowikh84
post Nov 12 2019, 10:32 PM

i7 Clan
Group Icon
Elite
8,705 posts

Joined: Nov 2007
From: Butterworth, PG / Machang, Kelantan



Unboxing

user posted image
The memory kit ships in a black cardboard box with the front featuring images of two memory modules each outfitted with stylish black and white heat-spreaders. Across the top you can see the T-Force branding as well as the product name. On the bottom left, we have four badges of awards received by the company including 2018 iF Design Award, Taiwan Excellence 2017, Computex d&i Awards 2017, Golden Pin Award 2016. To the right is the tagline of “The Power of Team Group”. Lastly on the bottom right we have a sticker that indicates the specific model of the memory kit, its capacity, DDR4 frequency, timings, operating voltage and part number.

user posted image
On the reversed side of the packaging, TeamGroup welcomes you a simple introduction of T-Force gaming subdivision. On the top right corner, the company emphasized that this particular product comes with a lifetime warranty. Key features of the memory kit are also listed including RGB lighting with multiple effects, exclusive design of battle totem design, hawk wings heat-spreader design, T-Force Blitz RGB software, support for XMP 2.0, ultra-low operating voltage with energy saving, and global lifetime warranty. On the bottom left, we have several logos that indicates not only that the RGB light is controllable by T-Force Blitz RGB software, it is also compatible with various RGB control software from major motherboard vendors including the ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome Sync. Next is the product name as well as the capacity and clock frequency of the memory module. On the bottom right, we have TeamGroup official logo, website address, and contact details such as telephone, fax and email address. You will also see a white barcode sticker that indicates the product’s part number, as well as a QR code that leads you to the product page. TeamGroup also emphasized that the product is made in Taiwan.

user posted image
Inside the cardboard box, you will find two 8GB memory modules that are being secured in a transparent thermoform plastic clamshell packaging to provide extra protection against any possibility of accidental damage during transportation. Besides that, there’s also a warranty and installation guide as well as T-Force sticker for improving the appearance of your case.

user posted image
Each memory module is armed with a pair of white aluminum heat-spreaders that not only serve as a medium for heat dissipation, they also add extra rigidity to the PCB. They are thick and heavy with high build quality, unlike some other heat-spreaders in the market that are usually thin and light. "T-Force" branding is printed on the middle of the heat-spreader, with "RGB" and "Night Hawk" on the right and left, and also a smaller “T-Force” lettering on the top right. The hawk wing design looks stunning and will definitely add another aesthetic point to your gaming build.

user posted image
The other side of the memory module is similar, except that it now contains a white label sticker that indicates technical specifications of the product including the part number, capacity, operating frequency, memory timings, operating voltage, serial number, barcode, country of origin which is Taiwan, and a warning message reminding us that warranty will void if the sticker is removed.

user posted image
Despite having a maximum height of 53 mm, the Night Hawk RGB memory will still sit well even under most large CPU coolers in the market including the legendary Noctua NH-D15 cooler that offers up to 64mm clearance in a single fan mode.

user posted image
The translucent plastic LED light bar that sits across top of the heat-spreaders serves well as a light diffuser to distribute the RGB illumination across the full length of the memory module. You can also clearly see the orange trim right below the light bar to complement the overall aesthetics of the memory module.

user posted image
Similar to other DDR4 memory modules in the market, the Night Hawk RGB memory also features golden fingers in a slightly convex shape with a little slot cut on the middle that divide the fingers into two sides.

user posted image
Conforms to the latest DDR4 standard, each memory module is made by 288 pins of gold contact fingers. Number “8” denotes the 8-layer PCB design, which is pretty much standard for regular memory modules in the market. In comparison, the higher-end Night Hawk Legend model is built with a 10-layer PCB for better signaling stability and eventually higher overclocking potential.

user posted image
We can know whether the PCB is A1 or A2 design by just looking at the memory module. A1 has a capacitor above the slot cut and other capacitors nearby. A2 has only one capacitor, which is located slightly to the left of the slot cut. So, from here it can be confirmed that our memory module today is based on A2 revision. A2 is basically the more modern design and will typically clock to higher speed than the A1 revision.

TSowikh84
post Nov 12 2019, 10:43 PM

i7 Clan
Group Icon
Elite
8,705 posts

Joined: Nov 2007
From: Butterworth, PG / Machang, Kelantan



user posted image
Let’s take a look at what’s going on under the hood. The heat-spreaders on both sides are secured together by a pair of screw sets, which can be removed by using a mini Allen key. Each side has a piece of adhesive pad that also serves as a medium of heat dissipation. You can clearly see a single-sided (Single Rank) PCB, which means only one side of the PCB comes with memory chips. There are 8 memory chips, 4 on each side, each carries a capacity of 1,024MB, totaling to an 8,192MB or 8GB of capacity.

user posted image
The memory chips are the well-known B-die by Samsung, each carries a part number of K4A8G085WB-BCPB. Samsung's B die has been highly recognized by overclockers for its ability to achieve high clock frequency with relatively low memory timings.

user posted image
The other side of the PCB that doesn’t contain any memory chip has with a SB3572U controller chip to control the RGB LED lights. Both sides of the PCB each contains 5 RGB LEDs at the top, which provides 5 zones of individually customizable RGB lights.

T-Force Blitz RGB Sync Software & Lighting Demonstration

The T-Force Blitz RGB control software can be downloaded for free from TeamGroup’s download website. The software is pretty much straightforward, easy to use and you may notice that its user interface is very identical to the Aura Sync RGB software from ASUS.

user posted image

There is a total of 11 lighting effects to choose from, which include Static, Breathing, Color cycle, Rainbow, Comet, Flash and Dash, Wave, Glowing Yoyo, Starry-Night, Strobing, and lastly Music. Not just the speed of the lighting effects, you can also adjust the lighting type in the options of Plain, Cycle or Gradient. However, you are not able to adjust brightness of the LEDs unlike you can do it with ASUS’s Aura Sync RGB software.

user posted image

Besides TeamGroup’s own software, the Night Hawk RGB memory is also compatible with various RGB synchronization technologies from major motherboard vendors, including ASUS’s Aura Sync GIGABYTE’s RGB Fusion, MSI’s Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock’s Polychrome Sync. Users will be able to perform RGB sync between the memory and other RGB-compatible components such as the motherboard, graphics card and so on.

user posted image

Short video below demonstrates the default lighting effect that came with the Night Hawk RGB memory:



Test Setup & Testing Methodology

Test Setup:

user posted image

CPU Intel Core i7-8700K "Coffee Lake" OC @ 5.0 GHz
Motherboard ASUS ROG Maximus XI Gene (Intel Z390)
Memory TeamGroup T-Force Night Hawk RGB DDR4 3600MHz CL18 2 X 8 GB; ADATA XPG Spectrix D80 RGB DDR4 3600MHz CL17 2 X 8GB; Patriot Viper LED DDR4 3600MHz CL16 2 X 8GB; G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 2 X 8 GB
Graphics Card MSI GTX 1070 Ti GAMING 8G @ Stock; ASUS ROG Strix GTX 1070 Ti OC Edition @ Stock
Driver NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Driver 436.15 WHQL
Storage Patriot Scorch 256GB NVMe SSD, Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3
Power Supply Unit Corsair AX1200i
Cooling Custom watercooling - EK Supremacy EVO RGB CPU waterblock, 2x XSPC RX360 radiator, Swiftech MCP655 pump, EK Multioption X2 Advanced reservoir, XSPC 1/2" ID 3/4" OD white tubing, 12x Scythe GT AP-15 1850rpm 120mm fan, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
Casing DimasTech Easy Dual V2.5 Bench Table
Monitor Dell UltraSharp U2312HM
Operating System Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

user posted image
TeamGroup T-Force Night Hawk RGB DDR4-3600 MHz CL18 2x8GB

user posted image
Within the UEFI, specifically on ROG Z390 motherboards, you will find two XMP profiles. XMP I profile gives you board optimized timings while XMP II profile applying the DIMM SPD timings. While the other memory kits that I’ve tested so far using XMP II profile, to examine the performance of the T-Force Night Hawk RGB kit I will be using both profiles to check out how different they can be.

user posted image
Basically, XMP II profile will give slightly looser sub-timings compared to the board-optimized XMP I profile. You can see the difference in ASRock’s Timing Configurator or ASUS’s MemTweakIt software. With XMP II profile, tRRD_S and tRRD_L timings are loosened to 15 from 9 with XMP I while tFAW is being relaxed to 54 from 38 with XMP I profile.

Synthetic Benchmark Settings:

3DMark Fire Strike Resolution: 1920x1080, 1xMSAA, Texture Filtering Mode: Trilinear, Max Anisotropy: 2, Tessellation Detail: 5, Max Tessellation Factor: 16, Shadow Map Size: 1024, Surface Shadow Sample Count: 8, Volumetric Illumination Quality: 5, Particle Illumination Quality: 1, Ambient Occlusion Quality: 5, Dept of Field Quality: 5, DirectX 11
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Resolution: 2560x1440, 1xMSAA, Texture Filtering Mode: Anisotropic, Max Anisotropy: 16, Tessellation Detail: 10, Max Tessellation Factor: 24, Shadow Map Size: 2048, Surface Shadow Sample Count: 16, Volumetric Illumination Quality: 10, Particle Illumination Quality: 10, Ambient Occlusion Quality: 10, Dept of Field Quality: 10, DirectX 11
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra Resolution: 3840x2160, 1xMSAA, Texture Filtering Mode: Anisotropic, Max Anisotropy: 16, Tessellation Detail: 10, Max Tessellation Factor: 24, Shadow Map Size: 2048, Surface Shadow Sample Count: 16, Volumetric Illumination Quality: 10, Particle Illumination Quality: 10, Ambient Occlusion Quality: 10, Dept of Field Quality: 10, DirectX 11
3DMark Time Spy Resolution: 2560x1440, Disable Async Compute: No, Texture Filtering Mode: Trilinear, Max AF Anisotropy: 4, Max Tessellation Factor: 32, Tessellation Factor Scale: 1, Vsync Enabled: No, Triple Buffering: No, Enable Fixed FPS: No, DirectX 12
3DMark Time Spy Extreme Resolution: 3840x2160, Disable Async Compute: No, Texture Filtering Mode: Trilinear, Max AF Anisotropy: 4, Max Tessellation Factor: 32, Tessellation Factor Scale: 1, Vsync Enabled: No, Triple Buffering: No, Enable Fixed FPS: No, DirectX 12
Unigine Heaven 4.0 Resolution: 1920x1080, 0xAA, Preset: Custom, API: DirectX 11, Quality: Ultra, Tessellation: Extreme
Unigine Valley 1.0 Resolution: 1920x1080, 0xAA, Preset: Custom, API: DirectX 11, Quality: Ultra, Tessellation: Extreme
Unigine Superposition 1.0 Resolution: 3840x2160, Extreme Shaders, API: DirectX 12, High Textures, DOF Enabled, Motion Blur Enabled

Game Benchmark Settings:

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation 1920x1080, 2xMSAA, Quality Profile: Crazy, Point Light Quality: High, Glare Quality: High, Terrain Object Quality: Ultra, Shading Samples: Ultra, Terrain Shading Samples: Ultra, Shadow Quality: Ultra, Texture Quality: High, DirectX 12
Battlefield 1 1920x1080, TAA, Graphics Quality: Ultra, Texture Quality: Ultra, Texture Filtering: Ultra, Lightning Quality: Ultra, Effects Quality: Ultra, Post Process Quality: Ultra, Mesh Quality: Ultra, Terrain Quality: Ultra, Terrain Decoration: Ultra, Antialiasing Post: High, Ambient Occlusion: HBAO, DirectX 12
Far Cry 5 1920x1080, TAA, Graphics Quality: Ultra, Texture Filtering: Ultra, Shadow: Ultra, Geometry & Vegetation: Ultra, Environment: Ultra, Water: High, Terrain: High, Volumetric Fog: High, Motion Blur: ON, DirectX 11
Grand Theft Auto V 1920x1080, 8xMSAAl, FXAA: ON, Texture Quality: Very High, Shader Quality: Very High, Shadow Quality: Very High, Reflection Quality: Very High, Reflection MSAA: Very High, Water Quality: Very High, Particles Quality: Very High, Grass Quality: Very High, Soft Shadows: Softest, Post FX: Very High, In-Game Depth of Field Effects: ON, Anisotropic Filtering X16, Ambient Occlusion: High, Tessellation: Very High, Long Shadows: OFF, High Resolution Shadows: OFF, High Detail Streaming While Flying: OFF, DirectX 11
Rise of the Tomb Raider 1920x1080, 4xSSAA, Preset: Very High, Texture Quality: Very High, Anisotropic Filter: 16X, Shadow Quality: High, Sun Soft Shadows: High, Depth of Field: Very High, Level of Detail: Very High, Dynamic Foliage: High, Ambient Occlusion: HBAO+, PureHair: ON, Specular Reflection Quality: Normal, DirectX 12
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands 1920x1080, TAAA, Preset: Ultra, Ambient Occlusion: HBAO+, Draw Distance: Very High, Level of Detail: Ultra, Texture Quality: Ultra, Anisotropic Filtering: 16, Shadow Quality: Ultra, Terrain Quality: Ultra, Vegetation Quality: Ultra, Turf Effects: ON, Motion Blur: ON, Iron Sights DOF: ON, High Quality DOF: ON, Bloom: ON, God Rays: Enhanced, Subsurface Scattering: ON, Lens Flare: ON, Long Range Shadows: Ultra, DirectX 11

This post has been edited by owikh84: Nov 12 2019, 10:52 PM
TSowikh84
post Nov 12 2019, 10:49 PM

i7 Clan
Group Icon
Elite
8,705 posts

Joined: Nov 2007
From: Butterworth, PG / Machang, Kelantan



OverClocking

OverClocking with Intel:

With Samsung’s B-die ICs featured on the T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory, we can expect some decent overclocking with minimal tweaking. At stock with XMP profile enabled, this memory kit operates at a clock frequency of 3600MHz at 1.35V voltage with CL18-20-20-44 memory timings.

3600MHz CL18-20-20-44-2T @ 1.35V HCl stable 100%:
user posted image

For starters, I left the voltage at 1.35V, timings at CL18-20-20-44 and gradually increased the clock frequency by 100MHz until the overclock achieved stability in HCI Memtest stress test for at least 100%. Each run took about an hour to complete. The end result is 4300Mhz, which is impressive considering the improvement is 700MHz over the rated frequency of 3600MHz.

4000MHz CL18-20-20-44-2T @ 1.35V HCl stable 100%:
user posted image

4300MHz CL18-20-20-44-2T @ 1.35V HCl stable 100%:
user posted image

With a little voltage bump to 1.40v, I was able to push the memory modules up to 4400MHz, with the timings still rated at CL18-20-20-44-2T.

4400MHz CL18-20-20-44-2T @ 1.40V HCl stable 100%:
user posted image

Further increasing the voltage up to 1.475v has allowed me to overclock the memory kit even higher at 4500MHz, again, still at the rated timings of CL18-20-20-44-2T.

4500MHz CL18-20-20-44-2T @ 1.475V HCl stable 100%:
user posted image

At the same speed of 4500MHz and voltage of 1.475v, I was able to tighten the timings down to CL19-19-19-39-2T. In AIDA64 Cache & Memory Benchmark, you can clearly see a significant performance boost over the stock with XMP profile enabled. The read/write/copy bandwidth increased from 49.8/51.8/43.8 GB/s to 51.3/65.5/54.4 GB/s, which translates to improvement of 3.0% in read, 26.4% in write, and 24.2% in copy bandwidth. Besides that, we can also see the memory latency has been reduced from 49.3ns to 41.8ns, which means 15.2% of improvement.

4500MHz CL19-19-19-39-2T @ 1.475V HCl stable 100%:
user posted image

Despite ability to run 4600MHz with timings of CL18-22-22-44-2T and 1.5V voltage surpassing 100% stability in HCI stress test, we noticed underperformance in the AIDA64 Benchmark. Hence, it can be concluded that 4500MHz CL19-19-19-39-2T is the highest stable and most efficient overclock for the T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory.

4600MHz CL18-22-22-44-2T @ 1.5V HCI stable 100%:
user posted image

Memory frequency at 4700MHz is found to be the maximum suicide overclock at an overvoltage of 1.54V. It was able to complete the AIDA64 benchmark but decided to yield errors almost instantly in our HCI Memtest stress test.

4700MHz CL19-26-26-46-2T @ 1.54V AIDA64 stable:
user posted image

TSowikh84
post Nov 12 2019, 10:57 PM

i7 Clan
Group Icon
Elite
8,705 posts

Joined: Nov 2007
From: Butterworth, PG / Machang, Kelantan



OverClocking with AMD:

AMD Ryzen CPUs is known to be choosy when it comes to RAM specs. But nowadays we are hearing lesser RAM compatibility issues thanks to the matured BIOS, stronger memory controller on the new Ryzen 3rd Gen processors as well as AGESA updates. As we all know Ryzen CPUs prefer memory kits that are based on Samsung’s B-die chips.

For the T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory that features the B-die, our testing experience on the Ryzen X570 platform has been awesome. The memory kit runs well at the rated specifications with the Direct Over Clock Profile (D.O.C.P.) enabled within the BIOS settings.

3600MHz CL18-20-20-44-2T @ 1.35V HCl stable 100%:
user posted image

At the stock speed of 3600Mhz, I managed to tighten the memory timings down to CL14-16-14-28-1T at an increased voltage of 1.44V. It is the sweet spot as it provides the most efficient performance in terms of memory bandwidths and latency, all thanks to the Infinity Fabric (FCLK) over memory clock being at a 1:1 ratio.

3600MHz CL14-16-14-28-1T @ 1.44V HCI stable 100%:
user posted image

Despite achieving HCI stability at 100% at 1:1 ratio, overclocking at 3733MHz with a loosen timings gave us a noticeable deficit in the bandwidth performance.

3733MHz 16-17-16-32-1T @ 1.40V HCI stable 100%:
user posted image

3800MHz is also HCI 100% stable but the memory latency received a 10ns penalty due to IF over memory clock ratio not running at 1:1 (our CPU is not FCLK 1900MHz-capable). Same results obtained when we overclocked the memory kit to 4000MHz. Hence, it can be concluded that there’s no point to go more than 3733MHz if your CPU is not able to achieve FCLK clock higher than 1866MHz.

3800MHz 16-17-16-32-1T @ 1.42V HCI stable 100%:
user posted image

4000MHz 16-18-18-32-1T @ 1.45V HCI stable 100%:
user posted image

The maximum suicide overclock of the T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory is found to be 4266MHz, which is far from being stable but enough to complete the AIDA64 benchmark.

4266MHz 16-18-18-32-1T @ 1.50V AIDA64 stable:
user posted image

TSowikh84
post Nov 12 2019, 11:08 PM

i7 Clan
Group Icon
Elite
8,705 posts

Joined: Nov 2007
From: Butterworth, PG / Machang, Kelantan



Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetic benchmarks are artificial programs that are constructed to try to match the characteristics of a large set of programs. The goal is to create a single benchmark program where the execution frequency of statements in the benchmark matches the statement frequency in a large set of benchmarks. When it comes to memory benchmark, generally higher memory frequency and tighter timing will deliver better synthetic performance.

Contrarily, higher memory frequency does not necessarily mean that the memory kit will perform faster than lower-speed RAM. I came across a formula that lets us calculate the true latency, which translates to the real performance of a memory kit:

True Latency: 2000 / DDR4 frequency (in MHz) x CAS latency

G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4-3200 CL16: 2000 / 3200 x 16 = 10.00 ns
Patriot Viper LED DDR4-3600 CL16: 2000 / 3600 x 16 = 8.89 ns
ADATA XPG Spectrix D80 DDR4-3600 CL17: 2000 / 3600 x 17 = 9.44 ns
TeamGroup T-Force Night Hawk RGB DDR4-3600 CL18: 2000 / 3600 x 18 = 10.00 ns
TeamGroup T-Force Night Hawk RGB OC DDR4-4500 CL19: 2000 / 4500 x 19 = 8.44 ns

Based on these calculations, theoretically you can expect the T-Force Night Hawk RGB to perform identically as the Trident Z RGB DDR4-3200 CL16 but slightly slower than the ADATA Spectrix D80 DDR4-3600 CL17 kit that features tighter timings. Pushing the memory up to DDR4-4500 CL19 improved the true latency by 15.6%, which eventually make it the chart topper in terms of true latency.

Our test results showed that with XMP II profile (SPD timings) enabled, the T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory underperformed in most of the benchmarks due to the much looser subtimings compared to XMP I profile (board optimized). Hence, users are strongly advised to rather use the XMP I profile for faster performance.

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

This post has been edited by owikh84: Nov 14 2019, 09:36 PM
TSowikh84
post Nov 12 2019, 11:14 PM

i7 Clan
Group Icon
Elite
8,705 posts

Joined: Nov 2007
From: Butterworth, PG / Machang, Kelantan



Synthetic Benchmarks - Continued

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image


TSowikh84
post Nov 12 2019, 11:18 PM

i7 Clan
Group Icon
Elite
8,705 posts

Joined: Nov 2007
From: Butterworth, PG / Machang, Kelantan



Synthetic Benchmarks - Continued

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image


Game Benchmarks

Difference in gaming performance is insignificant as you might have expected. In terms of average frame rates, the T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory performs on par compared to other DDR4 memory kits in the test lab. However, when it comes to minimum frame rates, the T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory is hovering at the low side due to the much relaxed subtimings resulted from the XMP II profile (SPD timings). Thankfully, a slight improvement is visible after enabling the board-optimized XMP I profile. Performance gain especially on the minimum frame rate can also be seen after overclocking the memory kit to DDR4-4500 CL19.

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

user posted image

TSowikh84
post Nov 12 2019, 11:26 PM

i7 Clan
Group Icon
Elite
8,705 posts

Joined: Nov 2007
From: Butterworth, PG / Machang, Kelantan



Temperature & Power Consumption

This section is purely just for fun as thermal performance and power consumption are not important factors that buyers should take into considerations when shopping for a memory kit. Basically, our test was carried out by firing up HCl Design’s MemTest Pro v6.1 with RunMemTest Pro v4.x launcher for 10 minutes with all the memory kits running at their respective XMP profiles.

user posted image
As the T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory doesn’t feature an onboard temperature sensor, we measured the temperature on the heat-spreader of the memory stick by using a thermal sensor cable connected to the T_sensor header of our ROG Maximus XI Gene motherboard. The temperature was then monitored through the HWiNFO64 software via the ASUS EC sensor. At 30°C ambient, the memory idles at just 32-33°C while climbing up to 42-43°C under full load, which is the coolest among the memory kits that we’ve tested so far. These results showed that TeamGroup has done an excellent job in designing the heat-spreaders which effectively remove the heat.

user posted image
Power draw was also monitored using the same HWiNFO64 software. With XMP I profile enabled, the T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory draws 0.77 and 5.14 watts of power at idle and load states respectively. Meanwhile, you can also see that SPD-based XMP II profile does not draw the amount of power that it should be, pulling only 4.08 watts of power at load.


Thoughts & Verdicts

TeamGroup has impressed us with its T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory kit that not only perform well, but also aesthetically pleasing. I love the white heat-spreaders which are uniquely designed to resemble a pair of widely opened hawk wings. The orange trim right below the light bar also complements the overall appearance of the memory module.

The RGB illumination is bright and well distributed across the light bar on top of the memory modules. It looks even nicer when the colour of the RGB lighting is reflected by the white heat-spreaders, adding some lights to the surrounding areas of the motherboard. TeamGroup’s T-Force Blitz RGB control software works as intended and the RGB lighting can also be controlled by most motherboard RGB control software in the market.

Overall performance is within expectation considering the high timings that it came with. A little bit of advice to get the best performance out of this kit is that you must apply the board-optimized XMP I profile instead of the SPD-timing-based XMP II profile simply because the latter will give you looser subtimings that eventually hurts its performance. XMP I profile will bring the memory kit to operate optimally. Hey, did I mention that this memory also runs perfectly on the AMD system? Not just at the rated speed, overclocking is also possible on the Ryzen platform.

The Night Hawk RGB memory kit is also a great overclocker thanks to the renown Samsung B-die chips coupled with the high-quality heat-spreaders that effectively keep the temperature as low as possible. I was able to push the memory kit to a stable 4500MHz CL19 with minimal tweaking. As a result, we see some improvements in the read, write, and copy bandwidths as well as the memory latency.

The T-Force Night Hawk RGB DDR4-3600 CL18 memory is available in the local market at RM589, which is similarly priced as the Hynix C-die-based TridentZ RGB/Neo DDR4-3600 CL18 kit from G.Skill. The TeamGroup comes with tighter timings and Samsung B-die ICs, clearly make it a better choice for those who seek for a solid performance. I don't hesitate one bit giving the TeamGroup T-Force Night Hawk RGB memory a Recommended award.

user posted image

Pros:

+ Performs within expectation
+ Huge overclock ability
+ Carefully selected Samsung B-die memory chips
+ Sturdy heat-spreader design
+ Low temperature
+ Compatible with both Intel Coffee Lake and AMD Ryzen
+ RGB lighting is bright and well distributed
+ RGB sync compatible with major motherboard vendors
+ Lifetime warranty

Cons:

- Paint quality needs refinement
- SPD timing profile loosens subtimings unnecessarily
- Inflated local market price

 

Change to:
| Lo-Fi Version
0.0219sec    0.33    5 queries    GZIP Disabled
Time is now: 29th March 2024 - 12:11 AM