Despite the fact that we are approaching the end of the DDR4 life cycle, this doesn’t meant we can’t still get good deals when it comes to RGB RAM kits. These Silicon Power RGB kits from their XPOWER Turbine series are just that, a best buy, even in today’s global chip and semiconductor shortage.
Today we are going to examine two kits from this series, the 16GB 3200 MHz CL16 and the 32GB 3600 MHz CL18. The third main option comes in a 4133 MHz CL19 flavour.
Founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic data storage industry experts, Silicon Power is committed to delivering outstanding product and service quality. Headquartered and with our own state-of-the-art production site in Taipei, they have become a leading manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, solid state drives, DRAM modules and industrial-grade products. As an international player with four branch offices around the globe, they continuously strive to offer the perfect data storage solution for all requirements of modern digitalized life. With a strong focus on combining innovative technology and award-winning design, they live up to their brand promise to reliably preserve and protect your most valuable data. Because memory is personal.
Prices and Availability
Usually prices for RAM will increase just before the newer generation is getting close to an official release date but nowadays we have this global chip shortage on our hands and thus the prices and inventory will be even more affected.
However, at the time of the writing via Newegg, you would be looking at $100 for the 16 GB 3200 MHz CL16 kit and $185 for the 32GB 3600 MHz CL18 one.
*03.06.21 – Don’t forget to check the video review as well!*
Presentation and Specification
*Courtesy of their website.*
The Ultimate Gaming Aesthetic – The XPOWER Turbine RGB DDR4 memory module is a bold, new companion to match the aesthetics of your rig. The heat sink, an intense set of teeth that appear to bite into the mesmerizing LED display glow, guards your memory module against overheating meltdowns. The XPOWER Turbine RGB DDR4 memory module, designed for eSports pros and enthusiasts, combines high performance with a dazzling, colorful RGB aesthetic.
The Chosen eSports DDR4 – Designed to be the go-to RGB DDR4 memory upgrade for the most dedicated gamers and modders, the XPOWER Turbine RGB DDR4 is the perfect addition to a completely unique gaming setup. Maxing out at speeds of 4133 MHz with low 1.4V power consumption, the Turbine RGB allows you to play your favorite games at the highest settings with automatic overclocking. Highest quality renders, picture perfect animations, and smooth gameplay during League of Legends, Counterstrike, and PUBG.
Backed By Major Motherboard Brands – This memory module supports the RGB lighting control software of the major motherboard manufacturers. With support from leading brands, the Turbine RGB stands up to fully optimized testing to ensure it is fully compatible on most leading high-end gaming motherboards including ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASROCK-Polychrome Sync.
A Lifetime of Quality – The XPOWER Turbine RGB DDR4 selected original memory module is 100% factory-tested to guarantee high stability, durability, and compatibility. The XPOWER Turbine RGB DDR4 is backed by a lifetime warranty promising complete Silicon Power technical support and services.
Features and Specs:
* Authentic and high-quality SP memory module combining high gaming performance with colorful RGB display
* High speeds with almost no lag time allow maximum DDR4 performance
* 100% tested for stability, durability, and compatibility on major motherboard brands
* Dynamic thermal heatsink mechanism to prevent overheating
* Supports ASUS Aura Sync / GIGABYTE RGB Fusion / MSI Mystic Light Sync / ASROCK-Polychrome Sync
* Up to 10-layer PCBs to ensure stability and reliability
* Capacity per stick 8GB, 16GB
* PatentTW Patent No. D199314
* Form Factor288Pin UDIMM
* Frequency (Speed): 3200/3600/4133 MHz
* CAS Latency: CL16(3200)/ CL18(3600) / CL19(4133)
* Warranty: Lifetime
Visual Inspection and Installation
This Turbine RGB series from Silicon Power have an excellent branding since the packaging is divided in two halves, the left side that shows the actual RAM stick while the other employs a visual depiction of the RAM kit in action. Then it’s easy to tell that these memory modules have RGB and they support the built-in light software from all of the major motherboard vendors.
There’s not much happening at the back of the box, just the usual multilingual quick intro and the addresses of some global services.
Inside, we have the memory modules securely nested in this plastic tray.
Right, here they are. We have a 10 layer black PCB with a gunmetal grey two-part aluminium heatsink.
Height wise, they are 40.8mm tall from the contact PCB to the top, thus when installed the clearance should be under 40 mm. Also located here is the main specs sticker.
As for the fun bits here are top mounted full length light bars. As you will see later, they have a nice colour spread.
Here they are installed in our ITX system and despite this low profile build, these Silicon Power RGB Turbine RAM kits fit without a problem (since the case accepts sticks up to 52 mm tall).
Finally let’s enjoy the RGB show. Our motherboard is an ASUS STRIX B550-i which has no problems to detect and interact with the Turbine RGB kits.
Even with the perforated side panel on, it looks really good.
Testing Methodology
We will employ a run of synthetic benchmarks at their X.M.P/D.O.C.P value of 3200 MHz for 1.35v @ CL16-18-18-38 and 3600 MHz with 1.35v @ CL18-22-22-42 respectively. After this we will then try to overclock them further to see how much free performance we can squeeze out of them.
As for the overclocking scenario, for the 32 GB kit we managed to reach 4000 MHz by increasing the VDIMM voltage from 1.35v to 1.425v and more importantly with the same stock latencies and 1T command rate(!) but with only a small penalty in tRC 92 vs 83 stock XMP/DOCP. This is considered an even better overall result because that’s an ideal scenario when it comes to RAM, to increase the speed (MHz) without sacrificing on the looser main timings front. As for the 16 GB 3200 MHz kit, here we only managed just a 200 MHz increase with one point penalty for the tRCD and tRP sub-timings (also tRC 78 vs 74 stock) but still a good OC value, despite the fact that it required 1.45v.
We tried to match the 4133 MHz value from their 3rd official Turbine series kit when OC’ing the 32 GB kit, but they required way too much voltage (over 1.45v in our book for safe daily usage) even with looser timings. As for the 16 GB 3200 MHz kit, we wished they could be more flexible as their sibling but that’s the silicon lottery for you.
These being said, we strongly recommend that you don’t touch the SOC voltages since this will create instabilities for the PCIe Gen4 AMD motherboards. Hence why the above OC was achieved by taking the stock X.M.P/D.O.C.P profile and manually adding the MHz and DRAM voltage while leaving the sub-timings on auto.
Hardware used:
– CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3100 AM4 – 4c/8t @ 65W TDP
– CPU Cooler: Asetek 645LT 92mm AIO
– Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX B550-i Gaming mITX @ BIOS 1803
– RAM: 32GB Corsair LPX Vengeance 3600 MHz CL18
– Boot SSD: Silicon Power 2TB UD70 M.2 Gen3x4 QLC PCIe NVMe
– Video card(s): ASUS GTX 1080 STRIX A8G
– PSU: Corsair SF750 SFX Platinum
– Case: DAN A4-SFX V4.1 ITX
– Case fans 92 mm: Noctua NF-A9x14 HS-PWM.chromax.black.swap
Competition RAM:
– 32GB DDR4 Crucial Vengeance LPX 3600 MHz CL18
– 32GB DDR4 Neo Forza FAYE 4000 MHz CL19
Software:
– OS: Windows 10 Pro x64 Version 20H2
– CPU-Z v1.95 – To verify the CPU’s and RAM’s statistics
– Aida64 Extreme v6.20 – Memory analysis and Benchmark suite
– Geekbench Pro v5.2.5 – Great overall benchmark suite of tests
– Cinebench R15 – Popular CPU benchmark
– Cinebnech R20 – The new revised version optimised for the newer multi-core CPUs
– 3D/Game(s) – Assassin’s Creed Valhalla set at FHD, with everything at Max quality Settings, no V-Sync
– NVIDIA Drivers – 466.27
Testing, Results and Analysis
Let’s start with the CPU intensive benchmark – Cinebench’s R15. This is not a direct test for RAM but more an indirect help to the CPU to get better results. The first picture will cover the 32GB 3600 MHz kit while the second one is for the 16GB 3200 MHz set. Everything on the left reflects the stock settings while on the right we have the overclocked scenario.
The results are mixed as in an interesting way because, apparently the R15 favours lower timings to raw MHz speed.
Next up is R20 which is a more modern up to date multi core benchmark suite.
Weirdly enough, again the 16GB 3200 MHz starts the chart in stock form and ends it while OC’d.
Next up is the integrated memory benchmark from AIDA64 so we can inspect the overall read, write and copy bandwidth.
Things start to make more sense here where the higher speed and larger capacity kits take the lead.
The last synthetic test comes from Geekbench which gives us an overall performance index for both single and multi core scores.
The overall hierarchy is preserved here as well since AIDA64. In the synthetic benchmarks, both Turbine kits are performing really well, with some unexpected spikes for the 16GB 3200 MHz kit as seen in the Cinebench tests.
Now for a gaming session, one benchmark run in the latest Assassin’s Creed title, Valhalla.
The overall results are quite tight since both the NVIDIA drivers and the game have been updated since our last RAM review and please check the video as well for the full perspective.
Conclusion
These Turbine series from Silicon Power have been on the market for quite some time and the RGB implementation was the last box to check in order to satisfy a broader audience. Both kits in our tests today gave some pleasant surprises in the overclocking department and this combo of speed, timings and capacity will ensure their place in the market until DDR5 will arrive. The low footprint at under 40 mm when installed, gives the RGB turbine kits a slight advantage over the competition where you either go for pure LP kits or sacrifice some clearance for the RGB eye candy. All in all, these kits are most definitely a best buy.
The good:
+ Excellent value for money
+ Great OC potential to discover (especially 32GB 3600 MHz kit)
+ Aluminium heatsinks
+ Lower footprint than other RGB kits
The bad:
– No proprietary lighting software
– Needs more heatsink colour options
Glob3trotters “Best Buy” Award 4.5 out of 5
A lot of thanks to Silicon Power for supplying us with these amazing RAM kits !
