Patriot Sandy Bridge Optimized Memory

Product(s): Patriot G2 DDR3-1600 CL9 4GB Kit
                 Patriot Viper Extreme Div.2 DDR3-1866 CL9 4GB Kit
Provided By: Patriot Memory
Price: Find Lowest Price on Patriot Memory

Introduction:

Today we are looking at a couple sets of memory from Patriot that are designed and "optimized" for the Sandy Bridge platform from Intel.  This platform has recently be under scrutiny as there was an issue discovered in regards to the storage controller.  Patriot released us from our obligation to review this memory, but we feel that the storage issues won't have a negative effect on this memory.  We will be reviewing the G2 DDR3-1600 CL9 kit right alongside the Viper Extreme Division 2 DDR3-1866 CL9 kit.  Also thrown into the mix is the OCZ PC3-17000 DDR3-2133 Kit we've looked at recently.  It should be an interesting comparison.

G2 Box

Viper Extreme Box

Both kits come in attractive boxes that show the memory speed and a few vital specifications.  Inside the box is a plastic clamshell package that shows the memory clearly.  One thing I noticed is that the package is designed to hold dual and triple-channel kits.  This saves a lot of package costs down the road.

G2 Clamshell

Viper Extreme Clamshell

First Impressions:

It has been a while since we've looked at some Patriot Memory and I was quite happy to see how this would perform on our new 2500K CPU from Intel.  Once I discovered that the G2 kit had timings of 9-9-9-24, I honestly wasn't quite as excited.  Most DDR3-1600 memory runs a little tighter and we'll have to see how stock performance compares.  The Viper Extreme Division 2 memory is a little faster but still has CL9 timings.  It clocks in at 1866MHz with 9-11-9-27 timings and really doesn't come across as all that exciting.  Still, we'll find out how these kits perform a little later on.

Overall, the fit and finish of these kits are pretty decent.  The Viper Extreme kit doesn't cost much more than the G2 kit and it feels much more solid.  The reality is that you're mostly paying extra money for a heatspreader - at least is you keep this kits at stock speeds.  Again, we'll find out more in a few minutes.

G2 Profile

Viper Extreme Profile

On the next page, we'll briefly cover the specifications of these kits before we jump into testing.