Another Bright Idea
The latest brand to bring illuminated DIMMs to these labs, Klevv is actually the newest name…in memory. Founded in 2014, Essencore introduced Klevv as its first retail brand. The firm even secured Web marketing giant Newegg as its first seller.
Perhaps getting Newegg on-board wasn’t so difficult. After all, Essencore didn’t simply burst onto the scene by the power and grace of individual efforts, but was instead spawned as a consumer/prosumer brand of SK Hynix. It’s going head-to-head with Crucial. And, like Crucial, it gets first crack at the top ICs produced by its parent manufacturer.
Pick-of-the-litter status should give Klevv buyers access to the most overclockable parts Hynix produces, especially if they pick from among its top-model Cras DDR4 or even its Urbane DDR3. Cras even comes with machined heat spreaders to maintain overclocking stability over time.
These modules also come with eight LEDs and an acrylic light spreader, just to let everyone else know that you have something special.
Like most high-end DDR4 kits, Klevv's Cras DDR4-3000 contains DDR4-2133 boot values, offering only its XMP value as an alternative. That means going into your BIOS and enabling XMP on most motherboards, though Asus has quite a few boards with an XMP always-on selector switch.
Unlike several competitors, Klevv rates its Cras DDR4-3000 at super-lengthy 18-cycle tRCD and tRP. We weren’t sure if this was due to a limitation of the memory or the company’s desire to enhance stability, but it’s being compared to modules with XMP-determined turnaround types up to three clock cycles shorter.
| Rated Specifications | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model Name | Data Rate | Capacity | Timings | Voltage | Warranty |
| Klevv Cras KM4C4GX4N -3000-16-18-18-36-0 | DDR4-3000 (XMP) | 16 GB (4x 4GB) | 16-18-18-36 (2T) | 1.35 Volts | Lifetime |
| G.Skill Ripjaws 4 16GB F4-3000C15Q-16GRR | DDR4-3000 (XMP) | 16 GB (4x 4GB) | 15-15-15-35 (2T) | 1.35 Volts | Lifetime |
| Kingston HyperX Predator HX430C15PB2K4/16 | DDR4-3000 (XMP) | 16 GB (4x 4GB) | 15-16-16-39 (2T) | 1.35 Volts | Lifetime |
A few hours of stability testing proved that Klevv’s Cras XMP-3000 is just as capable as Kingston’s HyperX Predator DDR4-3000, providing pure stability at the same 15-15-15 CAS-tRCD-tRP. Dropping from the 125MHz BCLK required to reach DDR4-3000 to the CPU’s default 100MHz, we were also able to drop the latencies of both module sets to 12-12-12 and DDR4-2400.
| Best Stable Timings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| DDR4-3000 | DDR4-2400 | DDR4-2133 | |
| Klevv Cras KM4C4GX4N -3000-16-18-18-36-0 | 15-15-15-30 (1T) | 12-12-12-24 (1T) | 11-11-11-22 (1T) |
| G.Skill Ripjaws 4 16GB F4-3000C15Q-16GRR | 14-15-14-28 (1T) | 11-11-11-22 (1T) | 10-10-10-20 (1T) |
| Kingston HyperX Predator HX430C15PB2K4/16 | 15-15-15-30 (1T) | 12-12-12-24 (1T) | 11-11-11-22 (1T) |
One problem for premium memory kits from both Klevv and Kingston is that G.Skill's competing samples can be pushed a little tighter. Another issue is that those tightly-timed modules are no longer priced as premium products. In search of a better kit, we’re going to push for a maximum overclock to see if Klevv can still come out on top.