DDR4 Round-Up: Corsair, G.SKILL, Kingston, PNY, Predator Tested

1. Corsair, G.SKILL, Kingston, PNY, Predator DDR4 Tested2. Predator Apollo RGB DDR4 32GB 3600MHz CL143. Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 32GB 3600MHz CL184. G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Elite 32GB 3600MHz CL145. Kingston Fury Renegade RGB 32GB 3600MHz CL166. Kingston Fury Renegade 16GB 5333MHz CL207. PNY XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGB 16GB 4000MHz CL188. Testing Methodology9. Compute and Productivity Tests10. Memory Benchmarks11. Gaming Tests & Overclocking12. Overclocking13. Closing Thoughts14. View All Pages

PNY’s competitor comes in the form of the company’s XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGB kit. A variety of capacities and specifications are available.

The kit we have is rated for 4000MHz supporting XMP, timings are 18-22-22-42 at 1.35V, and the 16GB set is 2x8GB using single-rank modules.

Those timings are actually pretty reasonable for a 4GHz kit, especially when the modest 1.35V rating is factored in.

The underlying ICs are Hynix-based but we could not validate the exact part number using Thaiphoon Burner.

PNY uses a conventional RGB memory module design; a large plastic light diffusion bar sits on top of a black aluminium heatspreader.

The heatspreader is not entirely black as PNY includes some red colouring for the branding. That feels out of place in my opinion, especially to somebody who may not want red with their build theme.

The plastic lighting diffuser aims to smooth the transition between the five RGB LEDs, but it is quite clear at first look that the light bar is not doing a good job. The individual LEDs are clearly visible, and there is obvious fade as you move between the zones of each RGB light.

This is certainly one of the poorer RGB memory module efforts that I have seen and perhaps indicates that PNY is targeting an aggressive price point. These RGB LEDs are compatible with the main motherboard vendors’ software for control.

At around 48mm maximum height, albeit in a slanting design, PNY’s height is not particularly accommodating for users with air CPU coolers. In fact, the slanting design means that the tallest parts of the modules are at each outer edge. Disappointingly, this brings roof-mounted AIO and chassis fan interference into the equation.

UK pricing is £108 on Amazon. US pricing is $158.99 on Newegg or $119.99 on Amazon.

• Model Number: MD16GK2D4400018XRGB
• Capacity: 16GB (2x 8GB)
• Rated Frequency: DDR4-4000MHz
• Rated Timings: 18-22-22-42
• Voltage: 1.35V
• Format: Non-ECC Unbuffered 288-pin DIMM

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