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Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800MHz 16GB Dual Channel Memory Review

Most of the DDR4 memory we previously reviewed were quad channel kits, made available in line with the release of the X99 platform, including the Viper 4 DDR4-2666. Today, we take a look at and review the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800 16GB (2x8GB), a dual channel kit which is basically an ideal memory kit for Intel 100 series platforms, specifically Z170 motherboards supporting dual channel DDR4 DIMM slots. The kit we have here comes in a nice matte black PCB, unlike the previous Viper 4 we reviewed that came with a green PCB. Currently, the Viper 4 DDR4 is one of the cheapest DDR4 memory kits available in the market, but is it worth it? Can it compete with other expensive memory kits in the market? Find out in our Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800 16GB dual channel kit review below.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 16GB Dual Channel Kit Review

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 Review – 16GB Dual Channel Kit

This is the second Viper 4 memory kit that Patriot Memory sent us for a review. The first one was a quad channel kit design and optimized for X99 systems. You can check out the review here. This second kit we got is a dual channel kit, it can also be used in an X99 system but it is best suited for the newer Intel 100 series motherboards, specifically the Z170 motherboards supporting dual channel DDR4 memory.

The Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 series features a custom design high performance low profile heat spreader to make sure that the memory is running within normal operating temperatures. It’s available in quad and dual channel kits with speeds of up to 3000MHz. There are newer Viper 4 DDR4 kits that can go as high as 3200MHz or 3400MHz via XMP. According Patriot Memory, they are using highest quality of ICs and are 100% hand tested to ensure you will get an ultra-responsive faster overall system that can handle high memory intensive applications.

Aside from having speeds of up to 3400MHz, the Viper 4 memory module fully supports XMP 2.0 and has an operating voltage of 1.2V (higher voltage at higher clock speeds). It’s available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB kits and the company is offering a lifetime warranty. Another interesting feature that the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 memory kit has is that it has sensors for temperature. Not all DDR4 (or DDR3) memory modules have temperature sensors on them.

Below is a screenshot of the SPD information of the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800 16GB memory kit taken from AIDA64’s report. Let’s proceed to the next page and take a closer look at the memory itself.

aida64 spd

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 Specifications

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 Dual Channel Kit Specifications

Packaging and Closer Look

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The Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800 16GB memory kit comes in a nice and simple packaging. The box is similar with their Patriot Ignite SSD that we recently reviewed. The package only includes the Viper 4 DDR4 and a small Patriot Memory sticker.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 16GB Dual Channel Kit Review-09 Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 16GB Dual Channel Kit Review-08

Here’s how the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 memory looks on both sides. The design is simple, yet it will blend nicely with a red themed system.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 16GB Dual Channel Kit Review-07 Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 16GB Dual Channel Kit Review-06

The Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 features a low profile memory heat spread. Obviously you won’t be having any problems if you are using an AIO cooling, but if you are using a really large CPU cooler, like the Noctua’s, you can remove the red fins. Removing the red fins is very easy, just unscrew the two tiny screws on both sides and you get a black-top heat spreader.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 16GB Dual Channel Kit Review-05

As you can see from the photo above, the Viper 4 DDR4 still looks presentable even without its top serrated red fins. Aside from turning it into a low profile heatsink, it makes the Viper 4 looks minimalistic and plain. After removing the top fins, we can further remove the heatsink to reveal the whole PCB and the memory chips.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 16GB Dual Channel Kit Review-04

Looks like, Patriot Memory is using a new set of memory IC in this dual channel memory kit. The chips are branded with Patriot’s logo, unlike the quad channel kits before.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 16GB Dual Channel Kit Review-03

I can’t find any information regarding these specific memory chips but each chip is 512MB in size resulting into 8GB per stick. Now let’s put the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 into our test system and see how it performs.

Test Setup and Overclocking

In testing the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800 16GB dual channel memory kit, I am using a Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 7 motherboard powered with an Intel Core i7-6700K Skylake processor. Below are the rest of the specifications of the test system.

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Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64bit
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7
Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800 16GB
Graphics card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti AMP! Edition
Storage Drives: Plextor M6e Black Edition
Power Supply: Seasonic 1050W Platinum
Chassis: DimasTech Bench Table Easy V3.0

Here is a CPU-Z screenshot of the Z170 system, where the memory is configured using the Intel XMP Profile.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 XMP CPU-Z

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 Temperature

The each Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 stick has a temperature sensor. Below is a screenshot from HWMonitor showing the operating temperature of each individual memory sticks. The first one is the temperature at XMP configuration, while the second one is the overclocked temperature.

Patriot Viper 4 XMP temps Patriot Viper 4 OC temps

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 Overclocking

Just like the quad channel Viper 4 DDR4, I was able to easily overclock this Viper 4 DDR4 dual channel kit and pushed its speed to 3000MHz, with memory timing of 16-16-16-36 and at 1.35V. From 2800MHz XMP to 3000MHz OC speed, that’s a 200MHz increase. I tried bumping it up further to 3200MHz or around 3100MHz, but the system became unstable already.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 3000 OC CPU-Z

Whether or not bumping its speed to 3000MHz will yield an extra juice in the performance, we will find that out on the benchmark results.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800 16GB Benchmark Results

In testing the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800 16GB dual channel kit, I used some of the popular benchmarking tools available, namely: AIDA64 Memory Benchmark, SiSoft Sandra and RealBench 2.4. Below are the results I got during my tests.

AIDA64 Engineer

Memory bandwidth benchmarks (Memory Read, Memory Write, Memory Copy) measure the maximum achievable memory data transfer bandwidth. The code behind these benchmark methods are written in Assembly and they are extremely optimized for every popular AMD, Intel and VIA processor core variants by utilizing the appropriate x86/x64, x87, MMX, MMX+, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE4.1, AVX, and AVX2 instruction set extension.

The Memory Latency benchmark measures the typical delay when the CPU reads data from system memory. Memory latency time means the penalty measured from the issuing of the read command until the data arrives to the integer registers of the CPU.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 Aida64 Memory Benchmark

SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2016

SiSoftware Sandra is a 32- and 64-bit client/server Windows system analyzer that includes benchmarking, testing and listing modules. It tries to go beyond other utilities to show you more of what is really going on under the hood so you draw comparisons at both a high and low-level in a single product. You can get information about the CPU, GPGPU, chipset, video adapter (GPU), ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals even .NET and Java.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 SiSoft Mem Bandwidth Benchmark

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 SiSoft Mem Latency Benchmark

RealBench 2.4

Realbench is a benchmark that uses open source applications and simple scripting to simulate real-world performance of a PC system. It’s designed for to show the difference: Before and after a PC upgrade. To gauge the real effect of an overclock.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 RealBench Memory Benchmark

Based on the benchmark results above, bumping the memory clock speed to 3000MHz yielded better performance, evidently seen on the AIDA64 memory benchmark. The difference is not that huge, but it gave the Patriot Viper 4 a slight boost in read and write speeds, and was able to perform on par with the Klevv Cras DDR4 at 3000.

However in the RealBench 2.4 benchmark, which is as close as we can get to real world use, there is very little to unnoticeable difference in the kits I previously tested. This shows that the difference between a 2666MHz to 3000MHz may not or may show very little difference in terms of performance depending on the system’s setup or configuration.

Price and Availability

The Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 memory module is now available in the US. At the time this review was published, availability is somehow limited or out of stock. The price of the DDR4-3000 16GB (2x8GB) dual channel memory kit was around $89.99, so I’m not quite sure how much is the DDR4-2800 variant. But you can check the latest pricing and availability by following the links below.

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 2800 16GB Dual Channel Kit Review

Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 Dual Channel Review: Conclusion

The Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800MHz 16GB dual channel memory kit that I tested performed relatively well. It somehow was able to perform on par with other memory kits like the Klevv Cras DDR4. I was able to overclock it even further to 3000MHz which gave it a slight boost in its performance. Overclocking the memory a step higher than its rated speed will not always produce a noticeable performance but it’s good to know that you can still push it a little bit further specially when you need to.

Aesthetically speaking, the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 looks good, it’s simple but it works, specially with a red and black themed motherboard. And having the option to remove the serrated red fins gives it a little bit of flexibility. The last Viper 4 kit we reviewed had a green PCB. As you can see, this kit has a matte black PCB, and it looks way better than the kits with green PCB. I think every memory manufacturer nowadays, specially those who are targeting the enthusiasts and gamers, should use a black PCB.

In terms of pricing, the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4 is an affordable solution. It’s cheaper actually but it still performs on par with some of the more expensive memory kits in the market. The only problem is availability. At the time I published this review, availability is very limited, most of the time it’s out of stock. I’m not sure if your local stores have these kits, but it would be great if they have it on stock.

Overall, like the quad channel Viper 4 DDR4 kit, this dual channel variant is a good solid performing memory as well. Honestly, this is not the fastest DDR4-2800 out there. There are other memory kits with the same clock speed that can perform (tad) better than this kit. But because it’s more affordable, this makes it a good option specially for those who are on a tight budget. If you can find one, the Patriot Viper 4 DDR4-2800 16GB is definitely a highly recommendable product.

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Peter Paul
Peter is a PC enthusiast and avid gamer with several years of hands-on experience in testing and reviewing PC components, audio equipment, and various tech devices. He offers a genuine, no-nonsense perspective, helping consumers make informed choices in the ever-changing world of technology.

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