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Topower are a new name to the UK market, and availability right now seems limited to a few stores such as ILGS. This 8GB 1333mhz Black Edition kit isn't listed yet however we have been informed it will be on sale for around £45 inc vat, which means it offers reasonably good value for money.
That said, we need to look at this in a little more detail.
Topower are facing fierce competition from companies such as G.Skill, who are currently offering the RipjawsX 8GB 1600mhz kit for £39.95 inc vat on Overclockers UK. You really don't get more competitive pricing than some of the G.Skill memory in the UK right now.
Without question, performance of the 8GB 1333mhz Black Edition memory is strong, especially when factoring in that it overclocks to 1600mhz without any effort.
This raises a very important point however.
Why not release this Topower memory as a 1600mhz branded product targeting the enthusiast market? They do currently offer an 8GB 1600mhz kit which is priced at £56 inc vat, so perhaps the 1333mhz is the ‘bargain' in the group. Topower don't seem to list any timings, so the genuine 1600mhz kit might be CL7 rated, we don't know.
If it wasn't for this review today, many people will factor in the (unknown) name of the company and the rated ‘1333mhz' speed and dismiss the product immediately. I know I wouldn't make a purchasing decision on a 1333mhz kit which costs £5 more than a highly regarded enthusiast grade 1600mhz G.Skill RipjawsX 8GB kit.
This marketing mess doesn't however detract from the quality of the product, we managed to get the memory running at 1600mhz with 9-9-9-24 1T timings, which is just as good as the RipjawsX kit. We also like the appearance of the black and gold low profile heatspreaders which ensures complete compatibility with a variety of oversized CPU coolers, such as the Noctua NH D14.
If you are in the market for an inexpensive, high performance memory kit for the P67 or Z68 platform then the 1333mhz Black Edition memory offers good value for money, but the company are facing some stiff competition from other, higher profile companies. We aren't sure a 1333mhz branded product which should have been released as a 1600mhz kit will be enough to generate huge sales, especially as G.Skill offer similar performance products for less money.
Pros:
- Nice heatspreaders
- low profile.
- overclocks to 1,600mhz without any effort.
Cons:
- no 1,600mhz XMP profile, meaning you need basic bios knowledge.
- G.Skill RipjawsX 1600mhz is cheaper.
Kitguru says: Topower are marketing this product badly. It is at heart a 1600mhz kit running at a slower speed. Definitely worth a look however.
Well. im in two minds about this.
1: its good memory priced well
2: 1333mhz? everyone will just ignore it, why not 1600mhz with an XMP profile, remember a LOT of people dont like bioses. they are never even opened!
3: its not a good launch for them as people need to be awed by a new company.
Seems like another clueless chinese company ordering in decent memory and making a mess of it all from a marketing viewpoint.
lovely heatspreaders, much nicer than G.Skills.
Still not sure id buy them, that store you linked in the conclusion looks like a virgin media homepage. I stored a ‘search’ on the memory to look later and its stored in frames so you cant revisit the bookmarked page as it resets to a plain ‘search’ page without holding the name ‘topower’
they also have it all uncategorised, without pictures and details. its memory, why not put it in the memory section of their store? ill wait until a reputable store gets this for sale. if they dont then it will never make an impact on me.