Patriot Viper LED DDR4 Memory (2400MHz & 3000MHz Kits) Review

Despite the continually rising price of DDR4 memory, Patriot has just launched its new LED RAM series named 'Viper LED'. With the option for red or white LED modules, and with speeds ranging from 2400MHz up to 3600MHz, could this be your next memory upgrade? Let's find out. For this review today, Patriot sent us two kits of its new Viper LED memory - one 2x8GB 2400MHz white LED kit, and one 2x8GB 3000MHz red LED kit. The 2400MHz kit has a CAS latency of 14, while the 3000MHz kit has a CAS latency of 15. 2x8GB 3000MHz Red LED Specifications Capacity: 16GB (2 x 8GB) Timings: 15-17-17-35 Voltage: 1.35V Format: NON-ECC Unbuffered DIMM Pin out: 288-pin Dimensions: 44.4mm x 135.7mm x 7mm (H x L x W) 2x8GB 2400MHz White LED Specifications Capacity: 16GB (2 x8GB) Timings: 14-14-14-32 Volatge: 1.2V Format: NON-ECC Unbuffered DIMM Pin out: 288-pin Dimensions: 44.4mm x 135.7mm x 7mm (H x L x W) The Patriot Viper LED memory ships in a black box with some aggressive red styling on the front. A picture of the two memory modules is also placed in a prominent position on the front of the box. Inside, the modules themselves are attractive pieces of kit. Made with a black aluminium heat spreader, a silver viper head is positioned centrally on each module while there are also some grey accents which add interest to the sides of each module. In terms of dimensions, the memory measures 44.4mm x 135.7mm x 7mm (H x L x W). It is not the tallest DDR4 we've ever seen, but at 44.4mm high it is not low-profile either, so if you have a radiator installed in the roof of your case best double-checking that the memory will fit. We were sent two kits today, the red LED 3000MHz kit has model number: PVLR416G300C5K. The white LED 2400MHz kit has model number: PVLW416G240C4K. The LEDs receive all their power from the DIMM slot, and given the LEDs are static-only (so no visual effects like breathing or pulsing), they work right out of the box with no setup required. That being said, I do think the overall look of the LED lighting is quite disappointing. Neither kit is particularly accurate in terms of colour reproduction, as the red LEDs look more pinkish, while the white LEDs have a distinct yellow hue to them. On top of that, there are noticeable 'weak spots' across the LED bar where the light just can't quite reach. This does make the overall experience seem quite lacklustre as a couple more LEDs would've surely been enough to get an even coverage of light.To test the Viper LED modules, we used a system with the following components: CPU Intel Core i7-7700K ‘Kaby Lake’ (Retail) Motherboard ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming Memory Varies Graphics Card Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 6GB Founders Edition System Drive Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB Games Drive Crucial M4 512GB Chassis Game Max Moonstone (high fan speed) CPU Cooler Fractal Design Celsius S24 Power Supply Seasonic Prime 1000W Platinum Operating System Windows 10 Professional with Creators’ Update (64-bit) All four memory kits used in this review are 2x8GB kits, so we installed each module in slots 2 and 4 on our motherboard for consistency's sake. We then went into the BIOS, loaded the 'optimised default' settings before loading the XMP profile for each kit. We verified the timings and frequencies were correct before saving and exiting the BIOS. We tested the following memory kits: Geil EVO X 3200MHz (16-16-16-36) Geil Super Luce 3000MHz (16-18-18-36) Patriot Viper LED 2400MHz (14-14-14-32) Patriot Viper LED 3000MHz (15-17-17-35) Our testing consists of the following benchmarks: AIDA64 read/write speeds AIDA64 latency Cinebench R15 Handbrake video encoding Ghost Recon: Wildlands game benchmark AIDA64 For our testing with AIDA64, we run the built-in read/write speed test, as well as the memory latency test. It is a good start for the Viper LED kits. The 3000MHz modules demonstrate solid read/write speeds, with chart-topping latency times as well. The 2400MHz kit is obviously slower, but the tighter timings help with the latency test. Cinebench R15 DDR4 speeds and timings don't make too much difference when it comes to Cinebench, with the difference between top and bottom being just 9 points. Handbrake When using Handbrake, we test by encoding a 1.8GB video file using the 'Fast 1080p30' preset. Rather than recording the overall time for the task to be completed, we test by recording average frames-per-second - the more the better. The results here follow the same pattern as Cinebench - Geil's EVO X kit is closely followed by the Viper LED 3000MHz memory, with the Super Luce and Viper LED 2400MHz kits bringing up the rear. The difference between top and bottom results is still only 4.1 FPS. Ghost Recon: Wildlands When testing with Wildlands we set the resolution to 1920x1080, with in-game graphics settings using the 'very high' preset. Differences are minuscule here - 1.2 FPS is all that separates top from bottom.When coming to overclocking, we left the timings and voltage at stock levels - our aim is to see how much (if any) frequency we can eke out of the memory without loosening the timings or increasing voltage. Unfortunately, I could not get the system stable with anything higher than 2400MHz when testing the 2400MHz kit. However, I was able to add 200MHz to the 3000MHz kit without touching timings or voltage, and that was perfectly stable. Anything further, however, led to a failed run of AIDA64's stability test. AIDA64 AIDA64 testing shows small but definite improvements in both read/write speeds and latency with the +200MHz memory speed. Cinebench R15 Another 5 points gained in Cinebench, with our overclock applied, is not to be sniffed at. Handbrake The extra 2.5 FPS in Handbrake takes the Viper LED memory kit to the top of the chart. Ghost Recon: Wildlands Our last test, Wildlands shows the benefit of that +200MHz overclock to equates to 0.5 FPS on average, though the minimum frame rate did come up by 1.2 FPS.While reviewing the new Patriot Viper LED memory kits, I must say that I had difficulty in deciding how to score the overall product. On the one hand, the memory itself is actually excellent. I wasn't sent the fastest kit in the line-up, but the 3000MHz I did get to review delivered excellent results with tight timings of 15-17-17-35. Comparatively, the other 3000MHz kit I tested it against was the Geil Super Luce RGB kit, and that had looser timings of 16-18-18-36 which resulted in a clear win for the Patriot Viper LED kit. However, we have to remember that this is Patriot Viper LED memory, and I really found that aspect of the DDR4 to be a big let-down. The colours just aren't accurate - red looked pink, while the white LED kit had a strong yellow tinge to it. On-top of that, there are some very obvious weak spots where the light just can't reach, resulting in a less-than appealing overall aesthetic. In terms of pricing, with stock set to hit the UK channel imminently, the 2x8GB 3000MHz kit has an MSRP of £189.99, while the 2400MHz kit is £10 cheaper. Unfortunately, this doesn't work out in Patriot's favour, as while it may be a fair price, we actually found some of Corsair's own RGB memory - with the same speed and timings to boot - available for essentially the same money. As such, we have to conclude accordingly. The Patriot Viper LED memory is definitely capable, with a good range of frequencies and tight timings, but it is let down by its poor LED lighting and we have also found RGB kits available for the same money, which just adds a bit more versatility. If Patriot can re-work the LED lighting to give more accurate colours with no weak spots, then they could be onto a winner. As it is, we would suggest you go with a different kit unless you find a particularly good deal. Patriot has told us to expect UK retailers to be stocking Viper LED kits at any day now, with the 2x8GB 3000MHz set to cost £189.99, with the 2x8GB 2400MHz coming in at £179.99. Pros Wide selection of speeds. Tight timings. Our 3000MHz kit could overclock to 3200MHz, giving a small performance bump. Cons LED lighting is poor. We found a Corsair RGB kit, with the same frequency and timings, for the same money. KitGuru says: While it may be fast, with tight timings, the Patriot Viper LED memory is let down by its lacklustre LED lighting.