A Closer Look:

Viper PC3-16000

2000 MHz!

Since the memory has been officially tested and certified with the Nvidia based 790 chipsets, primarily the EVGA 790i Ultra SLI, it will arrive with what's now been patented as "Nvidia Green" heat spreaders. I guess it's fitting since the best results have been achieved with the current chipset.

Front

The Nvidia Green spreaders are carried over from the Viper series. The Viper sinks are pretty simple in design. Each side has a smooth, flat green finish without any clear coat effects. Double sided thermal tape does a really good job of keeping these in place.

Back

The memory has achieved the best results on the 790 platform which is why you see the EVGA 790i Ultra SL771 A1 Motherboard noted. Any guess as to whether or not that motherboard is a good overclocker? I'd have to say yes since the memory operated at 2000 MHz and passed testing. I'd also imagine the memory is amply capable on any other 790i chipset as well. We'll see for ourselves very soon.

One of the nice benefits of the Nvidia 790 motherboards is that you can overclock the memory independently from the processor's FSB. On the latest Intel chipsets, you can't access higher memory frequencies unless the FSB is increased to match. In other words, to access 2000 MHz memory settings, the processor's FSB must first be increased to 2000 MHz. This is where issues can arise depending on the motherboard.

Fins Up Close

This doesn't mean the memory isn't capable on other platforms like the P35, X38, and X48 chipsets supporting DDR3. Even if the memory doesn't reach 2000 MHz, it doesn't mean it's under performing. There are a few Intel based motherboards that have been keeping up with extreme memory frequencies. That has to be kept in mind if you're picking up some of this amazingly tuned memory for your system since not all chipsets and BIOS revisions are the same.

If you've followed a few of my past memory reviews, then you're probably familiar with the rule of high frequencies versus higher memory timings. Higher memory frequencies almost always require higher memory timings in order to be stable and can result in almost no performance gain versus lower timings. For example, a few earlier 1800 MHz memory kits achieved close to 2000 MHz, but required CAS 10 timings. The memory performed better at 1900 MHz with 9-9-9-24 timings rather than 1950 MHz with 10-10-10-30 timings. Thus, the CAS 10 timings were too high and hindered performance rather than improve it.

Spec Stickers

In this memory kit, 2000 MHz at 9-9-9-24 is stock. This is actually pretty impressive given that there are other slower 1600 MHz memories around requiring 9-9-9-27 to be stable. Keep in mind that previous 1333 up to 1866 MHz were built with 1066 MHz ICs at the time, thus the variances in timings throughout the industry. Alright, let's see if we can melt some chipsets!

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