Patriot Viper 16GB 4000 MHz DDR4 Memory Review

Patriot is one of the best-known brands in the business when it comes to high-performance memory. Their Viper range is tailored towards the gaming market, albeit, high-performance memory is broadly beneficial to just about any kind of computing. They've got a solid reputation too, so I'm expecting a quality product that exceeds my expectations to uphold that reputation. Their new memory kits feature XMP 2.0 and are fully tested on the latest AMD and Intel platforms, so getting set up and ready to rock should be a breeze. Patriot Viper 16GB The new Viper range comes in a pretty wide range of configurations. You can choose from the more affordable 2666 MHz kits. However, 3200, 3600, and 4000 MHz kits are also available. The 2666 MHz come in 4GB through to 32GB kits, but from 3200 MHz up, they start at 8GB DIMMS and also include 16GB DIMMS. I have a dual-channel 16GB 4000 MHZ kit, which is the fastest of the bunch, and 16GB should be plenty for a decent gaming or work rig too. Overall, the hardware looks solid, with good timings, voltages, platform support, etc. However, it's the design that really strikes me, as this is yet another high-end memory kit for gamers that doesn't have RGB. It does seem that the trend has peaked and we're seeing more stuff without lights creep onto the market. This is great, I love RGB, but I also don't love it all the time. Features Viper SeriesTwo-Tone Design - No RGBRyzen and XMP 2.0 SupportBase Timings: 19-19-19-4316GB (8GB x 2)1.4VNon-ECC Unbuffered DIMMLimited Lifetime WarrantyPVE2416G400C0K For in-depth features and specifications, please visit the official product page here. What Patriot Viper Had to Say The Viper Elite II DDR4 memory modules are designed with innovative upgrades to update our current Viper Elite line. The Viper Elite II lineup utilizes a Viper red aluminum heatshield for extreme overall thermal conductivity to ensure optimal performance. The Viper Elite II incorporates DDR4 technology, which is ideal for: gaming, content creation, and productivity applications. Experience smoother performance thanks to the higher available capacities and clock speeds of our Viper Elite II modules. Our Viper Elite II DDR4 kits are tested thoroughly and validated for enhanced system compatibility. Built for the latest Intel® and AMD™ platforms, the Viper Elite II provides solid performance, reliable stability for the most demanding computer environments, and high-quality assurance. The Viper Elite II DDR4 memory series is also supported by a limited lifetime warranty.What Mushkin Had to Say Packaging The box is nicely designed, with a bold black and red design, showcasing the memory through a window, which also has a black and red design. Remember when all gaming stuff was black and red? Pepperidge Farm remembers. You can clearly see which model we have and the key features right on the front of the box. Around the back, it's mostly wasted space, with marketing drivel in several languages, social media stuff, and some badges. Using this section to detail specifications would be nice, but at least you can see the speeds and latency on the DIMM sticker around the front. A Closer Look Without a doubt, this is some seriously cool looking RAM. Plus, it's only now that it's out of the box that I realise it looks like a gun. Do you see it? The snakehead at the back would be the upper part of the handle. The word Viper is on the end of the barrel, and there's clearly a ridge on the top forming the sights. Further to the left, there's a black ridge in the top, forming the ejection port. However, the "gun" design could be a coincidence and is not mentioned anywhere in the official blurb. It does look cool though. The black and red design is awesome. It takes me back to my early days at eTeknix, when gaming hardware was all black and red, sometimes green if the brand was being fancy (and also called Gigabyte). A black PCB looks great, matching up well with the matte black finish on the heat spreaders. The red is dark and not too shiny, more of a blood colour than anything metallic. There's a long trend in making hardware for PCs bright, glitzy, shiny, etc. This is much more matte, muted and subtle aggressive with its colours, and I like that. The spine of the ram is open, so you can clearly see the PCB in there. It'll let heat flow through easily enough and even some airflow in general. There's a good amount of meat on the heatspreaders too, they're not bulky, but they're not just for show either and will help maintain the high-speeds that Patriot promises. The warranty sticker is obnoxiously large though, taking up the middle of the RAM. It's also wonky, with the top corner just running over the red. This could be smaller and more stylishly designed to match the aesthetic. You can remove it, and I would personally, but that says warranty void if you do... so keep it in the box and put it back with some sticky glue should they ever go faulty, haha. And now for the RGB demo... oh wait, there is none! I'm not sure if that's old-school or the new modern, but I'm happy either way, the RAM looks great as it is. How We Test Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose vital information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their hardware. When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there's always a margin for error when using any software. Therefore, your experience may vary. Testing Your Own System Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you're looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using our benchmarks and settings where possible. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware we tested to give you a ballpark figure of how much an upgrade this will provide you with. Test System Motherboard – Gigabyte Aorus Pro Z390Processor – Intel Core i9-9900K @ StockCPU Cooler – Noctua NH-D15SPower Supply – Be Quiet Power Zone 1000WMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBOperating System – Windows 10 64-bit Software Used CineBench R15 (download)AIDA 64 Engineer (download)WPrime (download)3DMark Fire Strike Physics (download)PCMark 10 Productivity (download)HWMonitor (download)CPU-Z (download) Methodology In our RAM reviews, we keep things relatively simple. We put the RAM kit that is being tested into our test system and benchmark it at its first XMP profile using a variety of benchmarks and tests. Once complete, we apply a reasonable overclock where possible and benchmark the same software with the overclocked values. The CPU clock speed is set to default for both runs. CineBench R15 AIDA64 WPrime 3DMark Fire Strike PCMark 10 Productivity How Much Does It Cost? The Patriot Viper 16GB 4000 MHz DDR4 Memory is available now from Amazon in the UK here and US here. Prices are quite broad, as there's a lot of variants of this memory. A single 4GB 2666 MHz stick is just £25.99, while you can get a 32GB single stick of 3600 MHz for £164.99 each. The one I have is the 8GB 4000 MHz, which are £59.99 each, so that's basically £120 for the 16GB set. The price is competitive, not a bargain, but it's OK. Plus, it's actually in stock and to be honest, it's rare this stuff is, so Patriot has a big advantage here. Overview It's easily some of the best RAM I've tested, and it's honestly as simple as that. RAM is purely a numbers game, capacity, latency, clock speeds. This memory has respectable timings that make it competitive, 16GB is plenty of capacity, but 4000 MHz right out of the box is very fast for DDR4. Of course, we're hitting the end of DDR4 now, with DDR5 on the horizon, so it's no surprise Patriot are good at getting great performance out of such compact modules; they've had a lot of practice at this point. Design The complete lack of RGB or anything overtly shiny will put off many, I'm sure, but that's fine. RGB will put off many too. Different strokes for different folks and all that. However, I absolutely love the design here. The fact that it looks like a gun is either a coincidence or a cool design choice, albeit the fact they do not mention it on their product page is strange, as most brands love to wax lyrical about their design philosophies. The muted and rich red with the matte black paint looks awesome, though. It's a more retro PC gaming look, if only ten years ago counted as retro. Performance It's a 4000 MHz kit, of course the performance was great. I couldn't get it to jam with an overclock, though, but keep in mind that in every sense of the word, 4000 MHz is an overclock. The fact I got it to post the first time is always pleasant though, even just a few years back, getting 4000 MHz+ to post would have been a complete pain in the arse. These days, it's just plug and play. The small heatsinks are clearly enough to manage this level of performance too. I can't say I noticed the DIMMs being particularly hot either, so a big thumbs up for Patriot yet again. Should I Buy Them? Ultra-fast performance right out of the box, makes this one of the best kits I've ever tested. No RGB here, just old-school cool PC gamer styles instead. Plus, there's a wide range of speeds and capacities available, and frankly, Patriot score even higher simply for having stock, when so many things I review are already out of stock these days.