Patriot Memory Viper Extreme 2x1024MB PC3-15000

Patriot Memory has become an impressive power house lately. In a previous review that I wrote, we saw how well the Patriot Memory DDR3 modules go overclock and I speculated that high binned products would excel just as well.

In our review of the Patriot Memory Viper Extreme PC3-15000, we achieved some remarkable overclocking results. This kit almost broke 1000Mhz, it maxed out at a very impressive 981Mhz. Keep in mind that every kit will overclock differently and your success is proportional to the hardware you have the your overclocking knowledge/capability.

The kit comes in one of the nicest packages I have ever seen. Instead of a boring clamshell, you get a box with a strategically positioned window to show off the memory heatsinks. You’ll notice that the standard heatsinks have been replaced with a finned variation. They are staggered and allow Patriot Memory to maximize cooling efficiently.

Since the kit comes clocked at a very high frequency, we can expect great performance out of it, assuming your machine can handle the high speeds. Unfortunately, Asus Maximus Extreme users will not be able to take full advantage of the XMP profiles, this is a problem only with this board. P5E3 users and other x38 and x48 users will have no problems.

Patriot Memory has really stepped up their game with this Viper Extreme offering. An unrecognized name in a lot of enthusiast circles, Patriot Memory has obviously decided that they want to adjust that anonymous position with an impressive initial DDR3 offering. The PC3-15000 kit we looked at today is amongst the highest kits for rated frequencies of DDR3 memory available and to specify this kit for operation at 1.90v on both P35 and X38 is very industrious. Patriot hasn’t just put a set of extremely fast modules out there, they have put together a complete package from head to toe.

A whole new heat sink mated to these lighting fast modules wrapped in a mature and elegant package are all the elements a high-end computer user is looking for. There is no denying that the price attached to this impressive kit is not something that everyone will be able to budget for but Patriot does offer a lower binned PC3-12800 that is very reasonably priced as far as DDR3 memory goes. The PC3-12800 kit comes complete with the same innovative Viper Fin heat sinks and pedigree that we saw today.

Despite the fact that it is all but impossible to quantify the ability of memory heat sinks, there are a lot of things to like about the Viper Fin for people to excited about. They are made of a new composite material and the very elegant design that we saw doesn’t hinder installation much if at all. To top it off, they just look good. They have clean lines, a unique color palette, lots of surface area for functionality, and simply impress when you first lay eyes on them.

The lofty rated operating frequency of these modules had me a little concerned overclocking was going to be limited to CL8 and that there wasn’t going to be much over-head, but, this wasn’t the case. The CL6 and CL7 clocks were not the best we have seen but above average and the overhead offered at CL8 was certainly plentiful. Aside from the small issues with the XMP profile that Patriot will have to fix, the PC3-15000 Viper Extreme memory from Patriot really impressed. For those looking for guaranteed high frequencies, get your gold and platinum credit cards out and ready for action.

Tags: DDR3, Overclockers Online, Patriot Memory, PC3-15000, Review