Finding high frequency, low latency memory to mate with AMD's newest Ryzen processors is not going to be a problem, if some early RAM announcements are any indication. Earlier this week, G.Skill announced a speedy new Tirdent-Z Neo kit for X570 setups, and now Patriot is striking back with a new Viper 4 Blackout lineup.
Whereas G.Skill's lineup runs the gamut from DDR4-2666 to DDR4-3600, including a 3600MHz kit at CL14, Patriot's updated Viper series spans DDR4-3000 all the way up to DDR4-4000.
Kudos also go to Patriot for listing prices. Memory makers rarely do that anymore, and usually when I ask, I'm told that memory chip pricing fluctuates too much to announce MSRPs.
There are four kits in all. They include:
- 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-4000, 19-21-21-41, 1.35V—$184.99
- 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3600, 17-19-19-39, 1.35V—$119.99
- 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3200, 16-18-18-36, 1.35V—$93.99
- 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3000, 16-18-18-36, 1.35V—$91.99
- 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4-3000, 16-18-18-36, 1.35V—$51.99
For reference, the kit that caught our eye among G-Skill's lineup runs at DDR4-3600 with 14-15-15-35 timings, at 1.40V. The timings on Patriot's new Viper RAM are bit slower (they can hit 15-15-15-36 at DDR4-2133), but also on run a lower voltage—there may or may not be some wiggle room if bumping the voltage up a hair.
The difference in performance would likely be negligible, though. What's more interesting is that Patriot is entering the high-frequency fray decent timings. AMD setups generally do well with higher frequencies, and if building a top tier Ryzen PC, here's another DDR4-3600 kit that looks promising. Same goes for the DDR4-4000 kit, though the price gap between it and one tier down is pretty large.
Patriot also points out that its new RAM "can blend with the current all-black trend and allow builders to have more theme-consistent choices when modifying their PC," if that's your thing.
