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Tom’s Hardware
Tom’s Hardware
Technology
Dallin Grimm

Empty RAM slots can harm DRAM performance — Asus NitroPath slots curb electrical interference, gain 400 MT/s, and are 40% shorter

Asus der8auer
New Asus NitroPath memory slots, on board and cross-section.

Asus's new short NitroPath RAM slot design, arriving on select Asus X870E and Z890 motherboards, boosts RAM speeds by up to 400 MT/s by cutting down on harmful electrical interference from empty RAM slots. Der8auer, a fixture in the extreme overclocking space, recently uploaded his analysis of the new tech, helping to elucidate how a better RAM slot can make RAM more stable at high speeds.

Der8auer's video, which includes previously unseen images and insider quotes, was started based on a strange observation. NitroPath RAM slots are not included on Asus's 2-RAM-slot high-end Z890 motherboards—such as the upcoming ROG Maximus Z890 Apex—even though Maximus boards are typically tuned for extreme overclocking. Omitting a strictly better RAM slot from a high-end motherboard seems a strange choice by Asus, but further analysis reveals that NitroPath would likely make no impact on a 2-slot motherboard.

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