Patriot Viper 4GB DDR2-800 (PVS24G6400LLK) Review

[One4yu2c]

We're still not ready to proclaim Vista a must-have upgrade, but as DirectX 10 titles continue to hit the market, the days of XP could be numbered among the gaming community. Factor in DDR2's rock bottom pricing, and 4GB kits have suddenly become a viable option, helping to negate the concerns over jumping onto Microsoft's resource hungry OS.

But despite deliciously low prices, gamers (and the overclocking enthusiasts who are synonymous with this crowd) aren't willing to bite on just any kit of RAM, instead showing an appetite for low latency modules. The reward for such selectivity typically manifests in better performance at stock speeds, along with a reasonable amount of frequency headroom. Or at least that's what we've become accustomed to in a 2GB world.

Today HardwareLogic plays with Patriot Memory's 4GB Extreme Performance Viper Series DDR2-800 kit. Slithering along at 800MHz with 4-4-4-12 timings, these DIMMs look promising on paper, but do they pack enough bite in a real-world setting?
Paul Lilly

Patriot Viper 4GB DDR2-800 (PVS24G6400LLK) Review

[RangerXLT8]

Nice review Paul, and impressive kit of memory. The heatspreaders are wicked looking... The Ocing performance with the looser timings was rather impressive.

[gvblake22]

Yeah, I'm diggin' those heatspreaders! Thanks for the review Paul!

[Capper]

A lot of people will look at the end result and not be happy with the overclocking performance....but lost in translation is the fact that the higher density parts don't typically OC well at all.

In my opinion, breaking DDR2-1000 with a DDR2-800 kit is pretty damned good.

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Capper

A lot of people will look at the end result and not be happy with the overclocking performance....but lost in translation is the fact that the higher density parts don't typically OC well at all.

In my opinion, breaking DDR2-1000 with a DDR2-800 kit is pretty damned good.

Actually that is a very good point that I kindof forgot myself. I was a little underwhelmed by the overclocking potential, but when you consider the high density of the 2GB sticks, it's much more reasonable.

[One4yu2c]

OCing was decent, and it would have scored higher in that category if:

A) The results were even better. As it stands, it wasn't bad for a 4GB part, but there are 2GB kits that will go higher, and that becomes a factor for some enthusiasts when deciding whether or not to make the jump to 4GB.

B) It took a lot of coaxing to maintain stability while OCing. Anything above DDR2-800 required 2.35V (the highest we're willing to test), and the timings were a bit more rigid than other kits we've played with.

All things considered (size, tight timings at stock, price, modest OCing performance, wicked heatspreader design), I think the conclusion nailed it on the head by saying "Patriot's 4GB Extreme Performance Viper kit stands out as a solid all-around buy."

EDIT: For the bang/buck crowd, note that Patriot also offers a lower priced version of this kit sans the nifty heatspreaders, though if it fits within your budget (and in your case), I'd recommend the Viper.

Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB DDR2-800 - $98 shipped (after $30 MIR)
Patriot Extreme Performance Viper 4GB DDR2-800 - $116 shipped (after $15 MIR)

[screwballl]

That is good for a performance based set of memory that will use what it has to offer. Otherwise DDR2 kits can be had for a bit cheaper price...
great review