Teamgroup DARK Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) 3600 MHz CL18 DDR4 Memory Kit Review

TeamGroup is the creator of some of the most high-quality memory products for the PC industry. They have come a long way since their inception in 1997 and went on to become one of the fastest growing product manufacturers and a leading brand around the globe.

Since the arrival of DDR4 memory in the mainstream market, Teamgroup started a separate line of DIMM kits under their new T-Force brand. The T-Force brand is the more enthusiast and gamer aimed memory series with a sheer focus towards quality and performance. Today, I will be testing one of T-Force's new DARK Z series memory kit, the latest in their T-Force gaming series arsenal and see how it holds up in against similar priced & similar spec'd memory kits. Teamgroup sent me their latest T-Force DARK Z series DDR4 memory kit (16 GB @ 3600 MHz) for this review.

Teamgroup T-Force DARK Z 16 GB DDR4 Memory Kit Specifications

The Teamgroup T-Force DARK Z 16 GB DDR4 memory kit is designed to offer pure value. The kit I received is optimized at a clock speed of 3600 MHz (PC4-25600). The memory kit consists of dual 8 GB DIMMs which make up a total of 16 GB in capacity. Some main features of the T-Force DARK Z series are listed below:

• Armor design for perfect protection
• Aluminum alloy heat sink with high performance
• High thermal conductive adhesive
• Supports Intel & AMD motherboards
• Selected high-quality IC
• Supports XMP2.0
• Energy-saving with ultra-low working voltage

The memory kit has a tested latency spec of CL18 and the timings are 18-22-22-42 for this specific kit. Voltage set at reference is 1.35V and the memory kit comes in an unbuffered package with non-ECC (Error Correction) design. The memory kit is fully compliant with Intel's XMP 2.0 and can be easily set to its rated clock speeds through the BIOS shipped on the latest Intel motherboards.

• Series: DARK Z
• Module Type: 288 Pin Unbuffered DIMM Non-ECC
• Capacity: 8GBx2
• Frequency: 3600MHz
• Data Transfer Bandwidth: 25,600 MB/s (PC4 28800)
• Dimensions: 43.5(H) x 141(L) x 8.3(W)mm
• Latency: CL18-22-22-42
  
• Tested Voltage: 1.35V
• Heat Spreader: Aluminum heat spreader

Teamgroup T-Force DARK Z 16 GB DDR4 Memory Kit Unboxing and Close Up

The T-Force DARK Z series comes in a plastic clamshell package. It has red and black accents all over. The front of the package has the name and specifications sticker along with the marketing logos for T-Force and DARK Z.

The back of the box lists down a brief overview of the T-Force brand along with detailed features of the T-Force DARK Z series memory. The package also includes a warranty paper & a T-Force logo sticker.

Out of the box, I can note that the DARK Z rocks a very simple design with a standard DIMM profile size. Compared to the Vulcan Z, the DARK Z have a heightened heatsink and don't retain the short form factor but they would still fit in nicely and won't cause major clearance issues when using a high-end air cooler.

The T-Force DARK Z, although being very simple in design, still look great. The angular touches on the aluminum frames and the T-Force logo in the middle looks great.

You won't get any flashy lighting on the DARK Z series since these are budget tier options but the design itself looks great from every angle. If you're looking for RGB options, TeamGroup has a ton of options in their T-Force brand but they also cost a lot more.

The red color may not be of everyone's preference but DARK Z also comes in grey color so you get some option to select a kit based on your own preferences. With that said, red does go along nicely with some gaming setups, especially ASUS's ROG STRIX motherboards, and their dual-tone design.

Now for the weight, the T-Force DARK Z weight around 30 grams which is not too much. This is due to the low profile design and no aggressive use of bulky metal frames or RGB solutions. The height and weight make the kit a perfect choice for HTPC and small form factor PCs.

Teamgroup T-Force DARK Z Series 16 GB DDR4 Memory Kit Test Setup

For testing, I used the latest Intel Core i9 9900K processor which is compatible with higher frequency memory. The motherboard used was a GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS Master and I booted the memory without any issues. The XMP profile to enable the 3600 MHz frequency had to be set from the BIOS which wasn't a hard task. The new 300-series motherboards are fully compatible with the fast DDR4 DIMMs.

Teamgroup Memory Test Setup:

Processor	Intel Core i9-9900K @ 4.70 GHz
Motherboard:	AORUS Z390 Master
Power Supply:	ASUS ROG THOR 1200W PSU
Solid State Drive:	Samsung SSD 960 EVO M.2 (512 GB)
Hard Disk:	Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 7200.12
Memory:	Teamgroup T-Create Expert 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) CL18 3600 MHz Teamgroup T-Force DARK Z FPS 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) CL16 4000 MHz Teamgroup T-Create Classic 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) CL22 3200 MHz Teamgroup T-Force DARK Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) CL18 3600 MHz V-Color PRISM II RGB Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) CL18 3600 MHz G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) CL17 4000 MHz G.SKILL Trident Z Series 32GB (4 X 8GB) CL16 3600 MHz G.SKILL Trident Z Series 16GB (2 X 8GB) CL16 3600 MHz G.SKILL Trident Z Series 16GB (2 X 8GB) CL16 3200 MHz Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) Teamgroup T-Force Xcalibur RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) Teamgroup T-Force Nighthawk 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) CL16 3000 MHz AORUS RGB Memory Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) CL16 3200 MHz Geil Evo X Dual Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) CL15 3000 MHz Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) CL15 3000 MHz
Case:	Corsair Graphite Series 780T Full Tower
Video Cards:	MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z
Cooling Solutions:	ASUS Ryujin 240mm AIO
OS:	Windows 10 64-bit

The memory kit comprises of 2 DIMMs that operate in dual channel mode. Since we were running a Z390 platform, the memory was operating in dual channel mode. The memory is clocked at 3600 MHz and will run at 2600 MHz be the default when XMP profile is not enabled since that is the JEDEC standard clock speed. Clock timing is set at 18-22-22-42  (CL18) and the capacity is 16 GB for this specific kit.

Teamgroup T-Force DARK Z 16 GB DDR4 Memory Kit Performance Tests

I have separated the performance tests into two sections. The first section consists of pure synthetic and general workload tests while the second section would be focusing on gaming performance and how different games are affected by higher clocked memory sticks.

AIDA64 Memory Bandwidth Benchmark

For AIDA64 memory tests, I ran the T-Force DARK Z memory both at stock and overclocked speeds. The stock speed was configured at the XMP profile of 3600 MHz CL18 while for overclock, I hit a maximum clock speed of DDR4-4333 MHz without even touching the voltage numbers which is very impressive and gives a nice boost in terms of bandwidth numbers and overall responsiveness on the PC. The timings were left at CL18 and the memory booted in the system fine without any crashes.

SuperPI

Super PI is used by many overclockers to test the performance and stability of their computers. In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare “world record” pi calculation times and demonstrate their overclocking abilities. The program can also be used to test the stability of a certain overclock speed.

Winrar

WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can backup your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompresses RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from the Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.

Gaming Performance Tests

Gaming applications generally don't see huge gains with different memory kits but DDR4 has enabled a huge gain in memory frequency which can impact gaming performance. Moving from the stock 2600 MHz to 3200 MHz can have a slight effect on performance and the improved CAS timings on some of the high-end SKUs can result in better overall FPS and system responsiveness.

Furthermore, while 8 GB has become the standard for gaming PCs, modern applications such as editing software and multi-tasking users can benefit hugely from 16 GB and 32 GB kits which have become more common in the gaming market over the last couple of years.

Furthermore, while 8 GB has become the standard for gaming PCs, modern applications such as editing software and multi-tasking users can benefit hugely from 16 GB and 32 GB kits which have become more common in the gaming market over the last couple of years.

Conclusion

There are many things that users have to consider when selecting a memory under the $100 US segment. You either lose performance, design aesthetics or overclocking capabilities that come with the higher-tier DRAM kits. The DARK Z from Teamgroup offers a lot of value and the highest frequency under $80 US. For just $75, you are getting two sticks of 8 GB running at 3600 MHz and with a lot of overclocking performance at hand. Reaching 4300 MHz at the stock voltage was super easy and offered a nice performance boost for the system.

Its decent heatsink provides a good amount of cooling to the ICs on the PCB while the red color, while not everyone's choice, looks great. It's a good thing that Teamgroup offers this kit in grey color too. The low profile form factor also makes this kit a great choice for small form factor builders & allows easier compatibility with larger air coolers. The only downside of this memory kit is the minuscule timings which could've been better but overall, the Teamgroup T-Force DARK-Z 16 GB CL18 DDR-3600 memory kit for $74.99 US is a perfect balance for budget PCs.

You can find additional information about our hardware review process and ethics policy here.

The Teamgroup T-Force DARK Z 16 GB (DDR4-3600) memory kit is a serious contender in the budget memory segment, offering fast speeds of 3600 MHz and enough memory for the average gamer for just $75 US.

Pros

• Great Pricing for 16 GB / DDR4-3600 ($74.99 US)
• Great Overclocking Capabilities
• Unique Look With Red / Grey Color options
• RGB Diffuser with 7 different color choices
• 16 GB Capacity is more than enough for gamers
• Solid Heatsink Design With Multi-Layer PCB
• Intel XMP Compatible - Runs at high speeds without issue
• Lifetime Warranty

Cons

• No RGB Implementation
• Only two colors to select from
• Poor timings

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