Over the past eight years I have seen how Patriot has improved its brand and enthusiast level memory product stack. As each new platform arrived, Patriot had a set of modules that fit the performance needs of not only the system builder, but the enthusiast and gamer. Intel's introduction of the Haswell-E X99 platform ushered in the age of DDR4 memory. Coming along for the ride was a big jump in speed bins and bandwith associated with the higher speed ratings. The downside was that the primary timings were much looser to run the numbers thanks to the lower 1.2v JDEC operating spec.

As it did when Haswell-E launched, Patriot was ready with high speed DIMMs when the Z170 platform was launched. Today I will be looking at an 8GB dual channel set of Patriot's dual channel Viper 4 modules rated to run at 3400MHz with timings that are reasonable at 16-18-18-36 using 1.35v. Each of these Viper 4 modules are hand tested to ensure high quality standards that allow Patriot to offer a lifetime warranty.

At introduction, it was tough to swallow the cost of DDR4 DIMMs. Thankfully the cost of entry has come down significantly as the technology base is growing. To meet that need, Patriot offers Viper 4 modules in 8, 16, and 32GB kits with speed rating of up to 3600MHz. Pricing should be in the $75 range for these modules, putting them in a pretty sweet spot when you look at the XMP 2.0 rated speed of 3400MHz.