Patriot Viper Elite DDR4-3200 Memory (16GB) Review

Supercharging our Z170 test bench allowed us to squeeze out every ounce of performance possible and with thanks to Patriot, we look to squeeze out some more! Today we are tossing Patriot’s Viper Elite DDR4-3200 memory into our test bench in hopes to speed things up!

PACKAGING, PRICING & SPECIFICATIONS

The front of the packaging of the Elite Series Viper DDR4 memory is simple, as it should be. The left side indicates the preliminary specifications of the memory, while the left side exposes the memory.

The backside of the packaging gives a brief story, if you will, of the elite series, as well as the model number.

Once we switch to the interior, the memory is neatly tucked away within a plastic casing. Behind which, you will also find a Viper decal to slap on your gaming rig chassis if you choose.

The kit we have is z 16GB quad-channel PC4-25600, DDR4-3200 memory kit with a default CAS latency of 16-16-16-36, which is slightly higher than that of the 15-15-15-35 found on most of today’s DDR4 memory kits. The standard voltage is 1.35V and it can be found under the model number PVE416G320C6KRD.

The kit is listed on Patriot’s website for $104.99, and our review of Amazon pricing shows that this is a tab bit high as you can pick it up for $79.99.

DESIGN OVERVIEW

Encasing the DDR4 memory is Patriot’s signature Viper look, with a custom designed heat shield solution that is said to provide enchanted cooling.

Most of the heat shield itself is metallic with the Elite Viper logo in a pronounced red. There are three colors; red, blue and grey.

WHAT IS DDR4?

If you’ve read along this far, you might be wondering what is DDR4 and how is it different from what was available before? – Well, to put it simply DDR4 is the next-generation in DDR (double data rate) SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random-access memory). It is as the name states, the fourth-generation and successor to DDR3.

Its advancements over previous generations include higher module density, lower voltage requirements and higher data rate transfer speeds. This means that you can not only theoretically have more RAM in your system than ever before, but that it will use less power and perform faster as well. Of course, how much these improvements effect actual usage depends the application. Server and Enterprise users will see the most benefit from adopting DDR4 than pretty much any other market.