Patriot Viper PC12800

This is the package the modules came in :



As the modules themselves are quite tall, they need a larger package than average to support them. Inside the cardboard box we find two blisters, one containing 2 modules, the other with one module. Patriot also thoughtfully includes a manual, something I always appreciate, even though 99% of the public for these kinds of memory products knows their way around a motherboard and a memory slot.


Packaging, backside, blister

Let's have a look at the real product now, pictured below :



The Patriot modules really look like they mean business, and look very promising indeed. The light blue color of the heatspreader is a Patriot trademark, the heatspreaders I should say, as they are two separate blades attached on both sides of the modules. As you can see, the modules are quite tall, although the underlying black PCB is of standard height.
On the front of the modules, only the Patriot logo is displayed, while on the backside a sticker with the specifications is accompanied by a "DDR3" signature. All in all a very respectable package, sure to attract some attention when displayed inside your windowed case... Below are some more module details, click the thumbnails to enlarge them.


More module images

As you can also see in the third thumbnail above, these are the specifications for the memory kit :

1600MHz DDR3 (PC12800)

Latencies : 9-9-9-24-2T (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS-CR)

Operating voltage : 1.65 Volts

240pin DIMM

Parity : Unbuffered

Memory size : 3x 2048Mb

After looking at the appealing package and the modules themselves, the specifications are a bit disappointing: they seem more in line with a value part than with a performance kit. First looks can be deceiving though, from the outside as well as the inside... Just read the overclocking paragraph and you'll know what I mean.

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Overclocking

Time for some overclocking fun. The Patriot modules proved to be a bit more difficult to overclock as our first two candidates, as they seemed to have a curious quirk, at least on the Gigabyte board we tested on. The modules refused to work properly with the 2:12 memory divider once we hit speeds over 1600Mhz. While the standard setting (133Bclk 2:12) was not a problem, as soon as we increased Bclk the board refused to boot. Not to despair however, the 2:10 divider worked flawlessly, and provided some interesting results.

First and most important, it seems that Patriot is very conservative when speed-labeling the modules, as our kit did not have any problem with the tighter cas 8 latencies at 1600Mhz, even with a command rate of 1T. Cas 8/1T, the kit even scaled up to 830Mhz (1680 Mhz DDR), an excellent result for a cas 9 kit.

At cas 7, performance was adequate as well: the modules hit a respectable 745Mhz (1490Mhz DDR). The result for cas 9 (stock timings) was excellent as well, surpassing 1800Mhz DDR easily, to top out at 906Mhz prime stable, still at a command rate of 1T. This represents a 13% gain in speeds, which can be improved when you relax the command rate to 2T. Below are the screenshots from the prime tests once more (click to open)


Maximum Overclock cas 7, 8 and 9

Next is G.Skill...>