Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 RGB DDR5-8000 48GB Dual-Channel Memory Kit Review

TweakTown's Rating: 99%

The Bottom Line

As long as your system can handle the speed, these Viper Xtreme 5 RGB deliver in all respects. With plenty of room to play around and XMP results that top most charts, you cannot ask for better in this class of DDR5.

Pros

• + RGB
• + Tight timings
• + Performance
• + Overclockability
• + Lower cost

Cons

• - Performance in a few tests
• - Speed might be too much for some

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

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In November, we had a look at a similar set of RAM when Patriot delivered the PVXR548G7636K kit, and almost the same thing when we looked at the PVXR532G80C38K, but what if you want the best of both kits? Well, we will soon have that answer, as we have the fastest of the two options and another non-binary set of 48GB with the latest sample. So not only do you get the advantages of expanded density, and the speed doesn't hurt us, but it is yet another opportunity to play around with another spectacular set of Hynix M-die sticks.

Normally, we would continue with some fluff from marketing seen on the site or maybe taken from an email, but we would rather continue with some observations. First, there is performance, which is the whole point of buying faster than JEDEC RAM is all about. Then there is styling, which is huge to many and sometimes supersedes performance. However, cost is also a major concern, and a company rarely continues to hit on all three, almost every time. We say "almost" as a CYA type of term, but we are hard-pressed to recall a time when Patriot has let us down on the big three. Not many companies making DDR4 and DDR5 can say that; just look at our charts.

So, with high expectations and the likelihood of being let down next to nil, we eagerly want to discuss what we found with our latest set of Patriot Viper Xtreme RGB. It has the speed and backing, but can it take the same top honors across the board as the previous kit? Please stick around and find out, but here is a hint: it is still pretty impressive. What is best is it does so at a similar cost to other manufacturers who have proven in the past not to take as much time binning, programming, or cooling their RAM in the way Patriot tends to their kits. If you want some of the best DDR5 in the game, look to Patriot, and if your system can push the speed, maybe even at a kit like we have for you now.

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As with other Xtreme 5 RGB kits, the PVXR548G80C38K comes with black aluminum heat spreaders with pops of white used for the name and logo. This DDR5 starts with a 5600 MHz JDEC setting, unlike others sticking to the basic 4800 MHz, with timings of 46-46-46-89 2T, while sipping 1.10VDIMM. However, the XMP profile for this set is much higher, where we find 8000 MHz as the rated speed. At that speed, the timings are set tight, at 38-48-48-89 2T, but to do so, it will need 1.45VDIMM.

Beyond that, we also find another pair of profiles in the XMP options tab. The first option is to set the Xtreme 5 RGB to 7800 MHz with 38-48-48-84 2T timings, still requiring 1.45VDIMM. The third profile has the Xtreme 5 RGB set at 7600 MHz, with much tighter timings set to 36-38-38-84 2T, again, needing 1.45VDIMM. Beyond that, we can see the dimensions, where the 47.66mm height is likely the most important, and each stick weighs nearly 50 grams. Lastly, should you have an issue with your set of Patriot RAM, Patriot covers it with a limited lifetime warranty.

Obtaining an 8000 MHz set of DDR5 typically comes with a premium price point, and on top of that, we are talking about a 48GB kit, which also tends to shoot the price up. However, as we look around, we see that few sets in this league are currently on the market, and those we find are set at CAS40. What we find is priced at $259.99 and is from G.Skill, but we already know that they do not cool their PMIC, which is a huge letdown and hinders overclockability. When you look at the similarly priced set of Patriot Xtreme 5 RGB we have for you today, you will be asked to pay $259.99. Still, you will get a thermal pad on the PMIC, multiple XMP profiles, and tighter timings, which, in our minds, makes Patriot the superior product and worthy of the price, unlike the current competition in this class.

Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 RGB DDR5 RAM 32GB (2X16GB) 8000MT/s

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$224.99	$224.99	$224.99	$217.99	Buy
	$229.99	$229.99	$229.99	$229.99	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 4/26/2024 at 10:47 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Packaging and Patriot Xtreme 5 RGB

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The Xtreme 5 RB comes in a matte black package with light trails and wisps of smoke around the image of the illuminated pair of sticks in the center. At the top, we see the manufacturer and logo, along with the density and speed sticker to the right. At the bottom, we find the series name and the various sync methods that will control the RGB portion of this RAM.

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At the back, we see that this is DDR5, performance UDIMM, which is XMP 3.0 ready and ships with a limited lifetime warranty. Next to the windows, we find the part number and a code to take a mobile device to the Patriot memory page. We also see their social media handles and that this set is made in Taiwan.

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As many makers do, the Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 RGB ships inside of form-fitting plastic. The plastic keeps the RAM in place, protects the finishes, and works as the anti-static measure to ensure their DDR5 arrives at your door in perfect visual and functional condition.

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The Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 RGB comes with thick black aluminum heat spreaders to help keep thermals in check. Their design is simpler than most, with the textured finish and pair of angled grooves running across them, but it makes the white logo and series name pop when applied with white paint. We also like that the diffusers match the paint color, but that will change once we fire up this kit.

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Flipping the sticks around, we find they are identical to what we saw on the front, but an additional sticker is applied. On the sticker, we see the part number, serial number, density, speed, CAS, and voltage, but more importantly, we can also see one of the four screws that hold the diffusers and heat spreaders in place and will not void the warranty if removed.

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As many would view them in a build, the Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 RGB is stunning, and we have yet to apply power to them. With the ability to match any theme, the bold contrast of black and white ensures that anyone taking a peek into your chassis will immediately know who you go to for your DDR5.

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With the angular shape of the spreaders matching the top edge design of the spreaders, it leaves only two choices for name placement. Patriot chose to use the lower-end to put the Viper name on this kit, which is easily visible now, as well as when the RGB comes to life.

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We only needed to remove two of the four screws for access to a view under the hood. We can see a thermal pad for the PMIC and thermal tape for the ICs inside the heat spreader, while on the PCB is a set of eight ICs, which are Hynix M-die, and a row of eight LEDs across the top edge of the PCB.

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Opening up Thaiphoon Burner, the left column shows the maker, speed, speed grade, and PMIC model. The center shows Hynix ICs with an H5CGD8?GBDX021, where the question mark is an M for M-die. The right column shows the SPD hub model, and this kit does not have thermal sensors.

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A look at Mem TweakIt tells us a lot as well. While we can see the primary timings mentioned earlier, we can also see the secondaries. The tRFC is opened a bit to allow this speed, and the tREFi is also higher than in previous slower kits. While these could affect performance, the higher speed will help to offset these timings.

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Installed and powered, the booth lighting washes out what the Patriot RGB display offers. You can see a smooth blend of the colors as they change, without hotspots, and in a darker environment, the glow from them will flood much of the surrounding area with light.

Test System Details

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To obtain the Intel CPU-Z screenshots, you will see directly following this image; this is the system we used to do it, as well as to get the results seen in the following pages. Thanks to Intel, be quiet!, MSI, EKWB, and Sabrent for supporting us with this venture. Detailed specifications of the system can be found below.

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As we do, after clearing CMOS and enabling the XMP option, we boot into Windows and verify what we have. In this instance, the Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 RGB delivers in spades. We indeed get the 8000 MHz speed, and the timings are 38-48-48-84 2T as described. It will require 1.45 VDIMM and VDDq, but our APEX Encore pushes 1.233VSA, and the MC needs 1.385V.

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We also try to lower the timings as much as possible while ensuring stability with the 36-46-46-84 2T timings we see in this screenshot. Voltages remained the same as above, as additional voltages made no difference in our quest.

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In the pursuit of maximum speed, we got to 8400 MHz while still using the XMP timings. Much like with the non-RGB 7600s we looked at before, we got to 8600 MHz with much more VDIMM and got 8800 MHz into Windows, but with limited stability. However, to get the 8400 MHz out of these sticks, again, XMP voltages were enough while still delivering stability.

Chad's Intel DDR5 Dual-Channel Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS Maximus Z790 APEX Encore - Buy from Amazon
• CPU: Intel Core i9 14900K - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: EK Nucleus AIO CR360 Lux D-RGB - Buy from Amazon
• Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming Trio 24G - Buy from Amazon
• Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4 PLUS-G 4TB - Buy from Amazon
• Case: Custom Thermaltake Core P3 TG
• Power Supply: be quiet! DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Home - Buy from Amazon

Intel Performance

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As expected, throughput from the Patriot Xtreme 5 RGB at 8000 MHz takes top honors at 121,623 MB/s with the XMP profile employed. We lost some ground with tighter timings, but at 8400 MHz, we see an increase of 5257 MB/s at 126,880 MB/s at the top of the read performance chart.

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Testing the write performance gave us a similar chart, with the X5R 8000 MHz RAM at the top. With XMP active, we got 100,786 MB/s, a healthy increase from the 7600s in second place. Using 36-46-46-84 2T lost points to XMP, but at 8400 MHz, the Patriot kit boosts the Mb/s to 102,480, 1694 Mb/s better than XMP delivered.

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Again, Patriot tops this chart when looking at copy performance. Out of the box, we start at 105,681 using XMP. We took a similar loss in performance with tighter timings as the previous tests showed, but increasing speed is worth the effort. At 8400 MHz, we got this kit up to 108,854 MB/s, which is 3173 MB/s more than XMP gives us.

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Latency is also good, which many would expect it not to be, but Patriot takes the time to ensure you get the performance you'd expect from such a kit. While not massively faster than the 7600 C36 submission, it is still better XMP vs. XMP, and again, our best results were obtained by adding more speed.

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Using Super Pi to get results, we can see that sometimes speed and tighter primary timings are not the answer to all situations. With tighter secondary timings, the 7600 MHz kit can pull ahead slightly, but we still find the results respectable, as only one kit did better, and we do not find them in the middle of the pack.

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Looking at PCMark 10 for some answers, we find it does not appreciate the Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 RGB as much as we think it should have. The XMP results land somewhere in the middle of the pack. Tighter timings made it worse, but by adding some speed, the overclocked results are respectable.

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7-zip file compression likes the Patriot 8000 MHz kit, as we find it back to the top of this chart. XMP results are almost four seconds faster than the next offering in line, but we did lose half a second with tighter timings. We gained another couple of seconds back with additional speed versus the XMP results, nearly six seconds faster than the 7600 MHz kit in second place.

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Transcoding with Handbrake shocked us slightly, as we were sure the overclocked run would top this chart, but we find the XMP results get that honor if only a tenth of a second faster than the Viper Xtreme 5 7600s. Our overclocked results are not horrible, but they are both slower to finish this test than you get right out of the box; no messing around is needed.

Final Thoughts

At some point, we will have to start to sound like a broken record, but when you find a manufacturer that can continue to impress, time after time, you can only spin that information so many ways before it starts to sound the same. You can keep going to companies like G.Skill, Kingston, Corsair, or TEAM, but they do not offer what Patriot does. In all the kits we have seen, Patriot continues to deliver performance above all else in their class. That does not mean that they slack off in other areas. They just keep their mind on what is most important first. With top-tier performance, seen in almost all metrics, it is hard to find fault with such a product, as Patriot is one of the only manufacturers considering everything.

They could use some mediocre ICs and bin them for whatever spec is on the box, but they don't. They go further to help ensure fewer compatibility problems down the line, as long as your system can handle what you buy in the first place. Part of this, beyond giving us sticks that we can overclock well past spec, we also find all three XMP profiles programmed. If you find that your Intel 12xxx CPU or your AMD CPU will not run 8000 MHz stable, Patriot gives you two other options. These are not lazy profiles, either. They are tightly timed and well-tested options that Patriot puts in those slots. On top of this, you get a thermal pad on the PMIC to allow less heat to soak on the PMIC when raising voltages, and the ICs are also cooled with thermal tape. Another option is to remove the diffusers and cool these sticks with a fan directly over them, dropping thermals dramatically without the wrath of the Patriot RMA department for attempting it. These kits are called Xtreme for a reason.

You also get a very attractive visual appeal with the performance, thoroughly refined options, and binning. Black spreaders will fit any theme, and the white contrast of the logo and name on the sides is nothing to complain about and will go along with anything you have in the rest of the system. Beyond that, we also get the bright, smoothly transitioning, colorful RGB LEDs under the diffuser, eliminating bright spots from the LEDs and giving many customers another place to put lighting into their builds.

While there is no current deal where you can find the Patriot cheaper than others, matching the market at $259.99 for 48GB of 8000 MHz memory is still very fair. Compared to the Trident Z5 RGB, you get better-looking sticks with much more involvement. While you may not immediately think of everything that goes into a kit of DDR5, if performance is your main concern with a keen eye on styling, you do not need to look elsewhere. Patriot checks every box while delivering a product we continue to find superior to the competition. In these Viper Xtreme 5 RGB 8000 MHz 48GB modules, you get everything you invested in with all of the bells and whistles from a manufacturer that continuously goes beyond others to ensure such things, showing they care about the consumer and not simply making a play for more money.