Kingston HyperX DDR3 CL9 2000mhz 3GB Triple channel kit
Packaging & Appearance
Arriving in an understated plastic pack, the HyperX kit was moderately well packaged and should reach you in good condition provided it is adequately packed. A tamper proof seal is stuck over the outer shell ensuring you don’t end up with someone else’s RMA. Printed on the seal is the model number, CAS setting (9), and the PC3 speed (16000), not to be confused with 1600MHz.
Hidden underneath the centre stick is the warranty leaflet which doesn’t really offer any valuable information other than the kit carries a lifetime warranty. This warranty is rapidly becoming the standard now albeit a welcome one and should provide piece of mind to the end user.
The modules themselves are nothing special on the outside. While the blue satin, anodised finish to the aluminium heat spreaders are attractive they are a far cry from the over sized heat spreaders used on modules such as the Corsair Dominator and Patriot Viper kits we have previously reviewed. That said, they are attractive and Kingston obviously have faith in the heat spreaders as these modules are rated up to a maximum 1.65v and running at 2000MHz they are sure to get a little toasty. In view of this there is a separate kit available with extended memory heatsinks.
As you can see below, the heat spreaders do not add very much to the size of the modules and certainly will not interfere with the fitment of over sized CPU coolers, no more than a standard module would in any case.
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Below right we see the same info printed on the module sticker as is printed on the package seal. Again, no specific information is provided such as the ram timings but the stock voltage of 1.65v is clearly printed. On the Kingston website, more information is available with rated speeds of 9-9-9. Notice I didn’t mention a RAS Active delay timing? Kingston didn’t either! So IÂ will leave that setting to AUTO when testing and see what we come up with.
Removing the heat spreader was easily done with just thermal tape attaching the spreader to the integrated chips. Here we see that the HiperX 2000MHz modules make use of Samsung 843 HCF0 chips which are quality IC’s and can no doubt run at the rated speed with ease. I would have liked to seen a different colour PCB than the standard Green as this colour looks dated by today’s standards. I feel a matching blue PCB would have added to the aesthetics of the kit but as long as it performs who cares right?
So there you have it. A good looking kit that while not exactly setting new standards in design, does the job and ticks all the right boxes, except one. Let’s take a look at our run of benchmarks to see if it can make a clean sweep…
