Testing Methodology
We are using a fairly decent CPU overclock for all testing because greater CPU overlocks allow for memory performance increases to be properly utilized. We have used the same processor as our previous memory test; an i5 2500K. We have overclocked the CPU significantly at 4.32 GHz (A 1 Ghz overclock from the stock speed) to allow for the memory performance to be properly utilized.
Test system
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K @ 3.30GHz (Overclocked to 4.32 Ghz)
Motherboard: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P8Z68-V GEN3 (LGA1155)
Graphics: 2 x 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (NVIDIA) (SLI Disabled)
NVIDIA Driver version: 347.52
PSU: Corsair TX650 650W
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 240 GB SSD + 2 TB Seagate (SATA)
Operating System: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
[pullquote]XMP profiles automatically activates the respective frequencies, timings and voltage, no need to fiddle with these settings manually.[/pullquote]
There is a slight chance that your motherboard won’t let the RAM run at 2400 Mhz, because that’s too high even for the performance based motherboards to compute. In such cases the easiest solution is to load memory XMP settings if your motherboard has an option for it. You will have to select the XMP profile in the BIOS to enable high frequencies. XMP profiles automatically activates the respective frequencies, timings and voltage, no need to fiddle with these settings manually. For a frequency of 2400 Mhz you’ll be touching RAM voltages of 1.65V. Of course do check your motherboard compatibility before making any changes. Our test setup only allows the memory to run at 2133 Mhz.
CPUZ
AMD 64 Extreme
3D Firestrike test
Firestrike is 3DMark’s latest suite for benchmarking DirectX 11 based polygons and instruction sets, and is meant for high performance PCs. This test runs an intensive 3D sequence with a lot of particle, lighting and shadow effects.
Game Benchmarks
Metro: Last Light
- Average Framerate: 29.54
- Framerate: 58.01
- Framerate: 10.50
Bioshock Infinite
- Average Framerate: 82.65
- Framerate: 157.53
- Framerate: 14.53
Unigine Valley Benchmark 1.0
- Average Framerate: 43.7
- Framerate: 80.5
- Framerate: 21.7
Batman Arkham Origins
- Average Framerate: 41
- Framerate: 68
- Framerate: 6
We see that most games failed to make use of the excess bandwidth that the Kingston HyperX Predator provides over the Standard Corsair vengeance. Bioshock: Infinite showed the most improvement while the Unigine Vally test registered no change at all. Metro Last Light and Batman: Arkham Origins showed decreased performance. Such a high variation in Batman Arkham Origins makes me think that other factors may have influenced the test. Unfortunately we did not have the Predator memory with me to at that point to rerun the test.
Conclusion
The Kingston HyperX Predator 2400Mhz boasts of some impressive numbers out of the box. This is a top end product and it portrays that both in its looks and design as well as its capability. Kingston’s works around the issue of heat dissipation issue with the use of a larger heatsink. While our in-game tests failed to give any impressive results do keep in mind that the memory was limited in its performance due to a motherboard bottleneck. Also I was not able to find a definitive price for the memory as no local retailer or e-retailer has the product up for sale. The competitive memory in this performance range lie within 9k to 12k.
The barrier to entry would be the high system requirements that one needs to make full use of the memory chip. A purchase would make sense if you already have a top of the line motherboard and processor to make full use of the overclocked bandwidth otherwise you will not notice any visible performance increase for the extra premium you will be shelling out for the product. Given the excellent compatibility though the memory would work fine in just about any motherboard with DDR3 support. Given Kingston’s lifetime warranty it would make sense if you have the cash available to go for the top end product; but do make sure to check out the competition first.
[signoff]We got in touch with Kingston regarding the availability and got back this reply.
“The Retail price is ₹ 6400/- (for kit of 2x4GB). This is a niche gaming memory module and hence is available at select outlets and distributors. The readers (pan-India) can inquire with Kingston on either vaibhav_kulkarni@kingston.com or marketing_india@kingston.com and we will respond to them with the best package.”
This makes it the cheapest available 2400 MHz ram on the market as of this writing, but the lack of local availability does make the process cumbersome. [/signoff]
What’s iLL
+ Performance
+ Huge heatsink for better cooling
+ XMP profile at both 2400 MHz and 2133 MHz
+ Wide compatibility with all current systems
What’s not
– Large size can interfere with some large coolers
– Very limited overclocking potention
– Limited availability in India
Page 1: Specifications & Build
Page 2: Benchmarks & Conclusion
