Patriot is one of the most known computer brands to this day because of their excellent RAM. Today in our Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM review, we’ll focus on their latest gaming memory that falls under their Viper Gaming brand.
We previously reviewed the Patriot Viper RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM, which is essentially the same RAM, but the Viper Steel RGB has a newer and aggressive design. Over the years, people get fed up with the same design, that’s why we always get a newer and better one aesthetically and feature-wise.
Patriot’s new Viper Steel RGB series focuses more on extreme performance paired with easily-customisable RGB illumination. It also has a new heatsink design which fits the modern design standard.
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB comes in two speeds: 3200 MHz and 3600 MHz. There’s also the non-RGB version, but the RGB version looks better on flashy builds. The 2x8GB RGB version comes at $89.99, which is $10 more than the non-RGB version.
Our product sample here is two kits of 2x8GB Patriot Viper Steel RGB. Is the RGB version worth $10 more or is it just a gimmick? Let’s take a look at the design and also do a comparison against the non-RGB version.
But first, let’s head over to the packaging section of our Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM review.
Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM Packaging
Packaging Design
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM came in a flat, small, black box with flashy colourful bezels surrounding the RAM overview. It indicates that this is indeed the RGB version.
The front side is already looking extraordinary. There’s Patriot’s Viper Gaming logo on the top-left, as well your RAM series and version in the middle.
The RGB compatibility is at bottom-left, while the RAM purpose is at the bottom-right. Lastly, there’s a sticker on the top-right corner that indicates the kit.
In our case, we have two PC4-2880 3600 MHz 2x8GB DDR4 kits. On both sides, you’ll find the typical Patriot logo, which is the brand’s main branch. If you’re looking for RAM, make sure to check all the necessary information before buying it.
As we flip the box, the rear side reveals a couple of other details regarding the memory module you got.
Out of the box, the RAM modules are protected inside a plastic clamshell case that sits firmly. The heat spreader is why the modules fit well in the clamshell, so you shouldn’t worry about it breaking randomly.
All in all, the packaging is properly secured and protected from any form of static. Let’s now move to the design and functionality section of our Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM review.
Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM Review – Design and Functionality
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB series received a huge aesthetic upgrade over the previous Viper RGB series. The design is much slimmer, simpler, and cleaner in every way you look at it.
On the other side of the memory, there’s a sticker that indicates the speed, timing, part numbers, and more. Stickers are common on any RAM, and it’s important, especially if you lost the receipt.
The heat spreader comes with an aggressive design that caught our eyes. The modules overall are pretty neat, due to its matte black finish PCB and heatsink.
The branding is minimal, with only the gold Viper Gaming logo in the middle. The logo also makes up for the gold-plated contacts of the RAM. Patriot made it simple, as you can rarely see it when installed onto the motherboard.
When taking a closer look at the Patriot Viper Steel RGB, you can see that it has a lovely RGB diffuser that shines the whole memory. Branding is also kept simple, as you can see on the top, only putting a small “Viper” printing. With that simple logo, the RGB effects won’t get overly hidden.
By default, the lighting is set to Breathing. If you want the lighting to match your overall setup, download the Viper RGB Software or pick the software that your motherboard needs.
The Viper Steel RGB is also compatible with ASUS Aura Sync, ASRock’s Polychrome Sync, MSI Mystic Light Sync and GIGABYTE RGB Fusion software. If your motherboard has RGB configuration on the BIOS, the memory is entirely compatible.
That way, you can also change your overall system lighting to a specific theme where the cooler, chassis, board, and memory sync altogether.
Most gaming memories are bulky or surprisingly large, but the Viper Steel RGB surprised us. In terms of build design, the Viper Steel has a slim design with a light bar on top. It’s a bit thicker than usual, but the modules remain slim, allowing a decent spacing between them when installed.
The diffuser also has the most aggressive design, leaving some serrated jagged edges that make it look more premium as a gaming memory. The heatsink is a little taller, allowing the light bar to pass through any side while also improving cooling performance.
Since they aren’t that tall, compatibility with most CPU coolers shouldn’t be a problem. Overall, the design is clean, simple, and very stylish because of its RGB feature.
Let’s now move over to the key features section of our Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM review.
Key Features of the Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM
Multi-Platform RGB Lighting & User-Friendly Software
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM is certified to work with Viper RGB software, MSI Mystic Light Sync, ASUS Aura Sync, ASRock Polychrome Sync and Gigabyte Aorus RGB Fusion 2.0.
Low-Profile Form Factor
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM comes with a low-profile design that fits most computer builds with large CPU heatsinks.
Designed Specifically For Gamers
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM provides most of your CPU performance, especially if you’re using Ryzen. You can also overclock the RAM to squeeze more performance.
Excellent Aluminum Heat Spreader Design
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM features an aluminium heat spreader that protects the DRAM chips with excellent cooling performance.
Intel® & AMD XMP 2.0 Profiles For Easy Configuration
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM can easily be configured with Intel’s XMP technology for an easy way to reach the default frequency without the hassle of fiddling with other settings. Select a preset where you’re comfortable and avoid any unstable frequencies with pre-configured frequencies.
Tested on AMD and Intel Platforms For Reliably Fast Performance
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM is certified to work on any platforms and any latest motherboards. But you should also make sure to check the motherboard manufacturer’s website for additional compatibility information.
Limited Lifetime Warranty
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM offers a limited lifetime warranty. Be sure to keep the box, receipt, and other proofs of purchase to ensure a hassle-free warranty.
Specifications
Let’s now focus on the RAM hardware specifications in this section of our Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM review.
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM (8GBx2) has a speed of 3600 MHz frequency that can be fully utilised when using the following presets: DOCP (ASUS & AMD Motherboards), EOCP (GIGABYTE & AMD Motherboards), and XMP Profiles (Intel Motherboards).
The RAM modules also have a base voltage of 1.35V, a base frequency of PC4-21300 (2166 MHz), and 288 pins. These DDR4 modules cannot be used on server computers, as they’re Non-ECC Unbuffered DIMMs.
Now that you’ve familiarised yourself with the Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM specifications, let’s put it to the test.
We’ll do all the performance testing on the hands-on section of our Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM review.
Hands-on with the Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM
In this section, we’ll fully utilise the RAM by making sure we configure and select the correct speed on our motherboard’s BIOS setup utility.
But first, let’s fiddle with the Viper RGB software to control our Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM lighting.
Software Usage
The Viper RGB memory modules can be fully-utilised with Viper RGB software that controls and manages all the RGB lighting. These include LED brightness, lighting mode/preset, and LED speed.
Before utilising the Viper RGB software, keep in mind that it may conflict with other motherboard RGB control software applications. If you want to use the Viper RGB software, make sure you don’t have your motherboard RGB control software running in the background.
With the Viper RGB Software, you can set up and configure up to five profiles. As soon as you get to the software, you’ll be taken to a screen displaying your current modules. It also lets you switch the heat spreader’s colours, giving you a better idea of what colour your theme should base.
There’s also plenty of presets you can choose from, including Breathing (set by default), Heartbeat, Dark, Viper, Raindrop, Marquee Aurora and Neon. If you’re someone who isn’t into RGB lighting, you can use the Dark mode to completely disable the lighting.
Synthetic Benchmarks
CineBench R15
On CineBench R15 Multi-Core @3600 MHz XMP Profile, we got a score of 2092.
AIDA64 Memory Bandwidth
For the AIDA64 Memory Bandwidth benchmark, the Viper Steel RGB @3600 MHz got a score of 57017 MB/s on reading, 55164 MB/s on write, and 51903 MB/s on copying.
PCMark 10 Productivity
For the 3DMark Physics benchmark, the Viper Steel RGB@3600 MHz reached a score of 12275.
With all that aside, let’s summarise and wrap up our Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM review.
Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM Review Summary
We’re now at the summary section of our Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM review, and here’s where we’ll discuss most of the advantages you get with the Patriot Viper Steel RGB 3600 MHz DDR4 RAM.
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM kit exceeded our expectations throughout the benchmarks and delivered some pretty remarkable results overall.
That’s no big surprise, as 3600 MHz is faster than almost any 3200 MHz kits. Even if you’re not into games, having a faster memory can be very beneficial to overall productivity, especially if you have a Ryzen build.
Although the heat spreader is quite large, its design is still decently slim. We were also able to push a small overclock, taking the kit to a rather tasty 3800 MHz, but the performance gains you’ll get aren’t particularly huge. We still recommend leaving it on the default XMP profile.
The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM kept a simple, yet elegant design. Lots of RGB RAMs are way too flashy and come with an unpleasant price tag. The simple matte black finish on the heat spreaders looks neat and tidy, easily blending into any build.
Should I Buy The Patriot Viper Steel RGB 32GB DDR4 RAM?
While there’s still a lot of shortage going on with many tech products, they will resolve themselves eventually. The Patriot Viper Gaming memory kits are among the best memories that we’ve tested so far, clocking at only 3600 MHz.
We highly recommend this to gamers who are looking for an enthusiast-level of RAM. The RGB version is definitely a go-to if you’re focusing on your build to look more flashy or aesthetically better overall. If you’d like to grab one, click here and you’ll be redirected to Patriot’s store locator.
We hope you find our review helpful!
