Patriot Viper Venom RGB DDR5-6200 C40 Review: Stealthy Stinger

Patriot's Viper Venom DDR5 kit arrives with DDR5-6200 CL40 speeds and an option for a bright RGB exterior, vying for a spot on our list of best RAM. Patriot may seem a bit late to the DDR5 party, but some brands took a bit more time to develop and consequently release their first DDR5 memory kits to the market. Of course, that isn't a big deal since DDR5 is here to stay, and it still carries a premium. Patriot, in particular, has opted to extend the brand's prominent Viper series with the new Venom DDR5 lineup, which the manufacturer offers in RGB and black variants. The Viper Venom DDR5 features kit capacities from 16GB (2x8GB) up to 32GB (2x16GB) and data rates spanning from DDR5-5200 to DDR5-6200.

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The Viper Venom DDR5 memory modules sport a two-tone exterior with a primary matte black design complemented with brushed aluminum accents. In addition, Patriot has tactically placed its red Viper logos in different parts of the heat spreader to be visible to bystanders from every direction. Overall, the memory modules look pretty cool without being overly tall. On the other hand, they measure 43mm (1.69 inches), so they don't precisely fall into the low-profile category, either.

The RGB version of the Viper Venom comes with an RGB diffuser. The diffuser doesn't add height to the memory module as the non-RGB versions also stand 43mm tall. For the non-RGB versions, the memory module has a black bar instead of a diffuser. You can customize the RGB-lit memory modules to your heart's content through Patriot's own Viper Venom RGB software or your motherboard's software. For the latter, the memory is compatible with Asus, ASRock, MSI, and Gigabyte software.

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Patriot's memory kit arrives with two 16GB DDR5 memory modules with a single-rank design. The integrated circuits (ICs) are from SK hynix, specifically the latest H5CG48MEBDX014 (M-die) chips. As for the power management IC (PMIC), Patriot opted to use the "0D=9B 409" unit, which according to the CPU-Z dump, comes from Richtek.

For compatibility sake, the memory modules default to DDR5-4800 with standard 40-40-40-77 timings. Patriot has capitalized on the XMP 3.0 standard and loaded the memory modules with three profiles. Profile 1 sets the memory to DDR5-6200 with 40-40-40-76 timings and a 1.35V DRAM voltage. Profile 2 drops it to DDR5-6000 with identical timings but with the DRAM voltage down to 1.25V. Finally, profile 3 puts the Viper Venom RGB to DDR5-5600 at 36-36-36-68 with 1.25V. See our PC Memory 101 feature and How to Shop for RAM story for more on timings and frequency considerations.

Comparison Hardware

Our DDR5 test system consists of Intel's Core i9-12900K flagship Alder Lake processor with Corsair's CUE H100i Elite LCD liquid cooler taking care of the cooling. The 16-core Alder Lake chip resides on the MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X motherboard, running the 7D28vA8 firmware. On the other hand, the MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio is responsible for our gaming RAM benchmarks.

Our Windows 11 installation, benchmarking software, and games reside on Crucial's MX500 SSDs, whereas the RM650x feeds our entire system with power. Lastly, the Streacom BC1 open bench table ensures all of our hardware is well kept and tidy.

Intel Performance

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The Viper Venom RGB placed fifth overall in the performance chart. The memory kit didn't win any first places, but it frequently found itself in the top three positions in many workloads.

Overclocking and Latency Tuning

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When you run hardware outside of the manufacturer's specifications, there's always a potential risk of damage. That's the standard caveat with overclocking any hardware, not just memory. Although we've already reached out to SK hynix to inquire about the maximum safe voltage for its ICs, we haven't received any feedback on safe voltages for overclocking. However, after speaking with various memory vendors, they've agreed that 1.4V is the maximum voltage you would want to pump into DDR5 for an extended time.

One advantage of the Viper Venom RGB is that the memory uses SK hynix M-die ICs similar to other faster rivals, such as the V-Color Manta XPrism DDR5-6200 C36. As a result, we didn't have any issues getting the Patriot's memory to DDR5-6400 with 36-38-38-76 timings once we pumped 1.4V into the memory modules.

Lowest Stable Timings

Similar to the Manta XPrism, the Viper Venom RGB could also do 36-37-37-76 on 1.4V at DDR5-6200. Therefore, with some diligent tweaking, the Viper Venom RGB has the potential to counterpoise the Manta XPrism's stock performance.

Bottom Line

There aren't many DDR5-6200 memory kits on the market right now, so the Viper Venom RGB DDR5-6200 C40 doesn't have a lot of rivals. On the other hand, the memory kit was slightly slower than the V-Color Manta XPrism DDR5-6200 C36 ($399.99) right out of the gate. So the margin isn't huge. If we add overclocking to the equation, however, the Viper Venom RGB can be on par with its more expensive competitors since SK hynix's M-die ICs are presently very popular in high-speed DDR5 memory kits. The Viper Venom RGB also comes with three XMP profiles, which is an excellent detail if your system can't handle the advertised DDR5-6200 data rate.

The DDR5-6200 category has intense competition. The Viper Venom RGB DDR5-6200 C40 currently retails for $284.99. It's a reasonable price for a DDR5-6200 memory kit. Patriot's memory kit is a decent option if you don't mind the standard timings.