PNY XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGB 32GB 3600MHz DDR4 Memory Review

How Much Does It Cost?

I almost fell off my chair writing this sentence, as I actually found a proper retail listing, a price, and stock for this RAM. Hardware stock is usually thin on the ground given the current global climate (written in 2021, F), but specific sets of RAM have always been even more difficult to track down. However, it’s priced competitively on Amazon, ranging from around £60-80 for an 8GB stick to £80-100 for a 16GB stick and then multiplying that based on kit size.

Overview

I’ve always known PNY are an enthusiast brand. They’ve got some mighty workstation graphics cards to some class-leading storage devices, and it seems their latest memory kit is another high-end product to add to their catalogue. While not the most extreme memory kit we’ve ever seen, 3600 MHz is plenty fast for even the most high-end gaming PC build. However, I appreciate that they’ve given us a good range of options from 3666MHz up to 3600MHz and a choice of 8GB and 16GB modules to make up a decent range of kit sizes. So basically, you should easily be able to find the version that best suits your needs and budget.

Design

The XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGB look awesome. Nothing too glitzy like we see from the likes of Team Group. Instead, they’ve gone for a more muted matte black design that looks pretty stealthy on its own. Plus, the XLR8 logo design and naming is full-on retro enthusiast PC gaming, 01d 5ch001 1337 c001n355! This appeals to the fact I’m a child in my late 30’s.

Of course, it’s got RGB too, and it does a fine job of that. Good colours and easy customisation thanks to it supporting most of the major RGB platforms by big-name motherboard brands. However, if you leave it to its own devices, it’ll give you the RGB colour cycle, and that’ll likely do for some.

Performance

We rarely get 32GB kits in the office, so this one did have a strong advantage in that regard. Furthermore, at 3600MHz, it’s also the fastest version available from PNY at this time. Of course, that’s not particularly fast for DDR4, but it does not exactly lack in speed either. The result was some of the best performance we’ve seen, but this was expected given the specifications. It delivered excellent latency and fast speeds throughout my testing. I managed a little bit of an overclock, and there was a nice performance boost, but one that you’re unlikely to be able to see reflected in your day-to-day PC usage.

Should I Buy Them?

At this price, with this level of performance, and the solid reputation that PNY has for quality products, it’s a bit of a no brainer. In addition, the kit is stylish, fast and not overly expensive, making it worthy of your consideration when looking to upgrade your PC or even build a new one.