Patriot Viper Extreme PC3-16000 CL9 1.65 V DDR3

Introduction

Last week I took a look at some new memory on the market, but today, we go back in time a bit, all the way back to October 19, 2010, and take a look at an older kit, that just might be more relevant to an overclocker than first meets the eye. The Patriot PX538G2000ELK is a 2000 MHz kit that was originally intended for the P55 platform, but we have entirely different plans for this kit. Here's what Patriot themselves has to say about this kit:

The Patriot Viper Xtreme Series, part of the Extreme Performance (EP) line, is the ultimate performance memory solution for the Intel P55 platform. Engineered for extreme enthusiasts and PC gamers, the Viper Xtreme modules utilize our custom heatshield solution with an extruded aluminum outer shield built around a copper core to provide improved cooling. Each module has 6 grams of copper at its core paired with an extruded aircraft-grade aluminum outer shield to deliver a 5% improvement in cooling over traditional aluminum heatshields. The Viper Xtreme series are built using only the highest quality pre-sorted IC’s available and are subjected to rigorous testing and validation on the P55 platform to achieve optimized performance and maximum quality. These modules are engineered to reach 2000MHz (PC3-16000) at 9-10-9-27 timings and are available in 4GB and 8GB kits and carry our lifetime warranty.

These kits were launched a long time ago, and since then, I can't honestly say I've seen many users with them, but they are around for sure, so either this kit is an amazing product that noone has ever had issues with, or perhaps it's as of yet "undiscovered", a gem hiding on your local store's shelves. Patriot themselves have been around for quite some time, and are no strangers to the memory market at all, offering a wide range of products from value-level all the way up to high-end enthusiast products. The Viper Xtreme Series has an interesting look that I've personally never forgotten, with copper peeking out from under a matte-black heatsink. Hopefully this Viper doesn't bite me back.

SPECIFICATIONS
SPEED RATING:	DDR3-2000 (PC3-16000)
RATED TIMINGS:	9-10-9-27
CAPACITY:	8GB (4 GB x2)
TESTED VOLTAGE:	1.65 V
PCB TYPE:	8 Layers
REGISTERED/UNBUFFERED:	Unbuffered
ERROR CHECKING:	Non-ECC
FORM FACTOR:	240-pin DIMM
WARRANTY:	Lifetime

Packaging

The Patriot PX538G2000ELK kit showed up on my doorstep wrapped in a standard cardboard protective box, with very little info on the front, other than the Patriot branding and a model number. The black and red box also has a logo for Patriot's 25th Anniversary, however, since it's been some time since this kit was originally released, it's been some time since that anniversary, but it does go to show just how long Patriot has been around. Flipping the package over and looking at the rear of the box, as shown in the second picture above, I again noticed very little information, which for me, having done motherboard reviews primarily, is a bit shocking, but in the end memory doesn't need alot of info other than speed, size voltage, and timings, all of which but voltage and timings is found right on the front of the box, anyway.

Inside the cardboard box I found another plastic package which contains the DIMMs themselves, as well as a paper installation guide, seen in the first two images above. The missing info about timings and voltages is on the sticks themselves, but I would have liked to have seen this on the outside of the box, too. Patriot does have two kits with very similar model numbers, but different timings, so showing this information on the outside of the box, to me, is critical in ensuring you get the right kit.

A Closer Look

I really cannot stress this enough...these sticks are heavy. After I pulled them out of the packaging, I noticed they're heavy right away, due to the copper and aluminum that wraps around the DIMMs. On one side we find the label, with timings and voltage listed, and on the other side is the "Viper Xtreme" logo. It's a very simple, yet flashy aesthetic design that I personally love, especially with the six-gram copper "cores" sticking out from the anodized-black aluminum. In the third image above you can see just how thick these heatspreaders are, standing out a fair distance from the DIMM's 8-layer PCB.


With a module on its own, it seems as though perhaps the heatspreaders are identical on either side, and that the label is covering the logo on the side it's affixed to. Again I've got sticks here that show the label on the side that faces away from the socket on Intel rigs, and towards the socket on AMD rigs; not something I prefer, but a minor issue that's more about personal preference than anything else. The heatspreader extends so low on the DIMMs that it very nearly reaches the DIMM socket itself, leaving almost the entire PCB hidden from sight, with just a few SMD components peeking out from the bottom edge, really helping the design stand out.


Looking at the PX538G2000ELK DIMM from the top and bottom really helps highlight how seamless the visual appearance of the heatspreader really is, even with the copper sticking out a bit. The copper core itself is made up of two three-gram copper shims that sit between the memory ICs, and the aluminum cover. Those that are into thermo-dynamcs know that copper is best for heat absorption, but aluminum is better to shed that heat, so this design makes perfect sense, and makes it easy to agree with Patriot's claim that this leads to lower temperatures. The little bits of exposed copper will aid in cooling too, provided there is sufficient case airflow.

The third image above shows the PX538G2000ELK DIMM's label, with the module's part number right up top, and speed, timing and voltage ratings found below that. It's nice to see that there is a claim to being "RoHS Compliant", meaning that "green" manufacturing processes and parts are used in assembly, which may not seem like a big deal to some, but to me, this is something I myself specifically look for on all parts I use in my own rigs.


In the two images above you can sneak a peek under the heatspreaders, and perhaps catch a glimpse of the ICs used, as well as notice the copper shim I just talked about. I didn't dare to try to remove the covers, but physical dimensions and design hints that these modules may very well carry the same Hynix "BFR" memory ICs that were also found on the G.Skill kit we reviewed several weeks ago. These ICs are known to be very flexible with timing adjustments, as well as offering some frequencies that many other ICs just cannot reach. Of course, testing can easily confirm or deny such as well, so let's get on with it.

Source: Techpowerup.com