Kingston And Patriot
Kingston KHX1600C8D3T1K2-4GX DDR3-1600 CAS 8
Kingston’s HyperX T1 series represents its best parts, with 2.38”-tall heat spreaders meant to provide minimal operating temperature under any condition.
Yet, while we previously questioned Kingston’s decision to provide DDR3-1600 modules to compete against its competitors’ DDR3-2000 parts, a more important question might be whether or not the big, expensive heat spreaders are really useful for this particular memory. Kingston does, after all, sell standard HyperX modules with the same ratings and smaller heat spreaders at a 10% lower price.
XMP-1600 requires the full 1.65 volt limit Intel recommends not surpassing on its memory controller to support 8-8-8-20 timings. Prior to user intervention, motherboards will automatically configure this memory to DDR3-1333 CAS 9.
Patriot PVV34G1600LLKB DDR3-1600 CAS 8
Patroit’s DDR3-2000 was just a little above our $150 limit, forcing the brand to instead try to match the higher-speed parts of its competitors with a lower-latency DDR3-1600 kit.
Black extruded-aluminum heat spreaders and black circuit boards help the Viper II Sector 5 modules stand out from Patriot’s other parts, though only testing can prove the effectiveness of this design.
A surprising second SPD value is given for a higher-than-rated voltage, while the rated DDR3-1600 CAS 8-8-8-24 at 1.65V is also XMP-supported. Motherboard auto-detection will force these to slower DDR3-1066 settings prior to BIOS adjustment.
