Patriot Viper RGB White DDR4-4133 C19 Review: Pure Performance

If you're a PC builder that's looking for memory that gels with a white build, Patriot's new Viper RGB memory kits come in both black and white flavors, with the latter ultimately tailored towards systems with a white theme.

Despite all the RGB frenzy, white PC builds are still a pretty popular choice, so hardware manufacturers still have a reason to continue offering their products in a variety of different colors. Nowadays, you can find just about any type of computer hardware in white. The Viper RGB series made its debut back in 2018, offering data rates from DDR4-2166 to DDR4-4133, and that line lives on with today's new kits. 

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As you'd expect, the memory modules flaunt an aggressive design that's worthy of bearing the Viper branding. The matte white heat spreader is made of aluminum and features the Viper logo with a reflective silver finish. The Viper RGB memory modules are 45mm (1.77 inches) tall, which may get in the way of some of the bigger CPU coolers. We recommend you check the clearance space for your cooler before contemplating this Viper RGB memory kit.

What's cool about the Viper RGB's design is the Viper's eyes, which glows along with the RGB diffuser. The Viper RGB memory modules come with five customizable RGB zones. As usual, you can tweak the illumination with Patriot's Viper RGB application or with the software that accompanies your motherboard. The memory is compatible with Asus Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome Sync.

Patriot's Viper RGB memory is manufactured with a black, eight-layer PCB. Given its white aesthetics, it would have been nice to have a white PCB. However, it's not a huge letdown. Samsung's K4A8G085WB-BCPB (B-die) integrated circuits (ICs) hide underneath the Viper RGB's hood.

The Viper RGB defaults to DDR4-2133 and 15-15-15-36 timings when you install the memory modules for the first time. The memory modules come with an XMP profile for DDR4-4133 and a secondary profile for DDR4-4000. Regardless of the profile, the memory sticks to the advertised 19-21-21-41 timings and a 1.4V DRAM voltage. For more on timings and frequency considerations, see our PC Memory 101 feature, as well as our How to Shop for RAM story.

Comparison Hardware

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We used two testbeds for reviewing memory kits. The Intel system revolves around the the Core i9-10900K and Asus ROG Maximus XII Apex (0901 firmware), while the AMD system consists of the Ryzen 9 5900X and Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero (3501 firmware), Although a bit outdated, MSI's GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio ensures we don't have a graphics bottleneck during the part of RAM benchmarks suite that involves gaming.

Intel Performance

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The Viper RGB memory kit skyrocketed to the top of the cumulative application chart but ended at the bottom of the gaming chart. In the former, the memory outperformed the slowest memory kit by 3.8%. Specifically, it excelled in the Adobe Photoshop, 7-Zip compression and y-cruncher benchmarks.

AMD Performance

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On the AMD platform, however, we saw the opposite. The Viper RGB was the worst memory kit out of the group and ranked last and second-to-last in the application and gaming performance charts, respectively. Not many Ryzen processors can maintain the FCLK in a 1:1 ratio with the memory controller past DDR4-4000. Therefore, many DDR4-4000+ memory kits don't reach their potential on an AMD platform.

Overclocking and Latency Tuning

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The Viper RGB memory kit draws 1.4V for DDR4-4133. We bumped it to 1.45V to hit DDR4-4300. The only sacrifice that we made was to loosen the CAS Latency to 21, as the other primary timings were fine at DDR4-4300.

Lowest Stable Timings

The memory modules feature Samsung B-dies so we knew that the timings could be tighter with an increase in the DRAM voltage. Again, we upped the voltage from 1.4V to 1.45V and we got the timings all the way from 19-21-21-41 down to 16-16-16-36. These are awesome timings for a DDR4-4133 memory kit.

Bottom Line

The Viper RGB White DDR4-4133 C19 targets system builders that need memory that has a white theme, enthusiasts that don't leave any performance on the table, or both. True, this particular memory kit is compatible with the latest Intel and AMD platforms. However, the odds of AMD owners unleashing the Viper RGB White DDR4-4133 C19's full performance is slim unless you have an exceptional Ryzen processor, which is very hard to come by.

Patriot prices the memory kit very competitively. The Viper RGB White DDR4-4133 C19 is available through Amazon for $129.99. There shouldn't be any reason why you wouldn't want to pick it up. If white is a letdown for you, remember that Patriot also sells the same memory kit in a sleek, black trim.