Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 DRAM 2666MHz (PC4-21300) C16 Memory Kit - Black

I purchased the Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2666MHz for a mid-range build, and it’s been working flawlessly. Installation was quick and easy, and my system recognized the full 16GB without any issues. The performance is stable and reliable for everyday tasks, gaming, and light productivity work. While 2666MHz isn’t the fastest speed available, it’s more than enough for most users, and Corsair’s reputation for quality definitely shows here. The low-profile heat spreaders are a nice touch, especially for builds with limited space or large CPU coolers. No overheating or stability issues so far. If you're looking for dependable RAM at a reasonable price, this kit is a great choice. Highly recommended for budget-conscious builders or anyone upgrading an older system.

I've turned into the kind of dad that looks over his power bill and watches the thermostat like a hawk, so after a few painful power bills in a row I finally retired my first-gen socket 1366 Intel Core i7 system (the processor used over 250 watts when overclocked!) to a new and more efficient Skylake system. It kind of hurt to do since I had no performance problems even six years after I built it, but it was probably time. Anyways, this kit was the best price for 4x8GB DDR4 memory I saw on Amazon at the time of purchase, and since I've had to deal with Corsair's excellent support in the past I generally lean toward buying their products. Their warranty, in my opinion, is the best in the business -- most recently they replaced the 6x2GB triple channel kit from that 1366 PC more than 6 years after I bought it, no hassle and no cost on my end. As of late October the C15 kit (also 2666MHz) is listed for just $10 more than this one, so it may be the better buy right now. When I purchased this kit, the C15 version was about $50 more and I didn't want to stretch my budget any further since I sprang for the i7 over the i5. I am using this memory in a ASUS Z170-A socket 1151 motherboard. An earlier review said the rated speed/timings didn't work on an X99-based motherboard, which may be the case, but I can verify that this kit works as advertised on my particular system. All modules were immediately recognized on POST and all I had to do was set the timings (16-18-18-35), the speed (2666MHz), and the voltage (1.2v) in the BIOS and I was done. The only negative, and it's a stretch, is that the suggested timings were not printed anywhere on the box or individual modules, nor was there a slip of paper with that information in the box -- I don't know if my package had been tampered with or something, but that is basic information that needs to be included with the product. This is just a minor gripe, really, but I'm the kinda old-school PC guy that builds his systems out of the case on a static-free workbench, far away from my router, so I ended up having to look up the timings on my phone. I could have let them run at the default values (MB set them to 15-15-15-36 @ 2133MHz) and set the timings later, but I don't think I should have to go online to get that information. All in all, the kit works at the advertised speed/timings with no hassle and have the added bonus of Corsair's warranty/support. I'm confident that I won't have to buy another kit until it comes time for me to build a new PC -- which hopefully isn't for another six years! I'm sure there is more overhead in these modules for overclockers who want to get every last drop of performance, but I haven't had the time or energy to sit down and focus on that -- maybe I'll play around with it over the Thanksgiving holiday as an excuse to get away from the in-laws. If so, I'll report back with whatever timings give me stable performance.

I will go into in-depth detail on any item since other popular reviews have given excellent information, so in quick summary: My Build (all components work flawlessly): 1. Zalman ATX Mid Tower Case R1 (Nice looking case, provides room for everything, adequate cooling and allows good cable management). 2. ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-H GAMING LGA1151 DDR4 HDMI DVI M.2 Z370 ATX Motherboard with Gigabit LAN and USB 3.1 for 8th Generation Intel Core Processors (Great expandability and room for future upgrades, enough USB ports for most applications). 3. EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti GAMING, 8GB GDDR5, EVGA OCX Scanner OC, White LED, DX12OSD Support (PXOC) Graphics Card 08G-P4-5670-KR (Great balance of price and performance). 4. Intel Core i7-8700 Desktop Processor 6 Cores up to 4.6GHz Turbo LGA1151 300 Series 65W BX80684i78700 (Came with a thermal solution (fan) but I used the Cooler Master - see below). 5. 2 of Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD - CT500MX500SSD1(Z) (Man this is fast, Win10 boots in about 5/6 secs. and programs open fast as well). 6. Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA M.2 Type 2280SS Internal SSD - CT500MX500SSD4 7. CORSAIR TX Series TX850M 850W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply (Adequate power supply for into the future and has ample connectors). 8. Corsair LPX 32GB DRAM 3000MHz C15 Memory Kit for DDR4 Systems (Adequate for my application for work and gaming) 9. Cooler Master Hyper RR-212E-20PK-R2 LED CPU Cooler with PWM Fan, Four Direct Contact Heat Pipes (Instructions are poor, system builders with experience will have no problem, first timers will eventually figure it out. Comes with all you need including thermal paste). 10. ASUS MX239H 23-Inch, Full HD 1920x1080 IPS, Audio by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower HDMI VGA Frameless Monitor (Really nice monitor for the price though those heavy gamers will want something far superior. Built in Audio is good enough for You Tube and regular use, but I personally find its not so good for Netflix, look at some decent speakers based on your needs). 11. Sabrent 74-In-1 3.5" Internal Flash Media Card Reader/writer with USB Port , Black (CR-USNT) (For the cost and convince you can’t go wrong). 12. Asus DRW-24B1ST-KIT 24x Internal DVD Burner + Nero 12 Essentials Burning Software + Sata Cable Kit (Obsolete in some ways but good to have at times as some persons still give work items on CD). 13. Backlit Gaming Mouse, Gaming Keyboard, Large Gaming Mouse Pad, PC Computer Gaming Headset with Microphone Combo, S101-BA Redragon RGB LED Backlit 104 Key Gaming Keyboard with Wrist Rest (No issues at all, good feel and responsiveness and mouse drivers are available on the website. The headset sounds good).

Awesome quick ram for a great price!

**Motherboard:** MS-C767 MSI MAG B365M MORTAR I've found multitasking increasingly challenging since I purchased this gaming PC a couple of years ago. After investigating the source of the bottleneck, I suspected that the RAM was the issue due to various symptoms my PC was exhibiting. Applications responded slowly, and web browsers dragged my system to a crawl. After researching the best RAM options for my motherboard, I decided to upgrade to Corsair Vengeance RAM, known for its excellent performance at a reasonable price. The MS-C767 motherboard supports a maximum speed of 2666 MHz, so I chose this speed instead of the 3200 MHz RAM that initially came with the PC. Although it's possible to use higher clock speed RAM with the MS-C767, I was still determining whether it would surpass the 2666 MHz limit. I also encountered compatibility issues when trying to install overclocked RAM, so I opted for the Corsair Vengeance modules, which are guaranteed to be compatible with my system. Removing the old RAM and installing the new modules was incredibly straightforward. Upgrading from 16GB to 32GB significantly boosted performance, noticeable not only during gaming but also in everyday tasks. As soon as you boot up your system, you'll quickly realize that you made the right choice.

From an enthusiast standpoint these are... Well, they actually do much better than expected, being a value set. But these things are full of ifs. You are probably saying, "why buy a corsair value pack if you want to overclock?" Well, sure. I convinced myself the money was more valuable than that last 0.5% of system performance. But these actually do reasonably well. Details: They come with two XMP profiles, one set up for 2666 at 1.20V and one set up for 2800 at 1.37V. ROG suggests that "most" DDR4 ICs can handle timings of 15-15-15-34-T2 at 1.40V or less. So here are my results. The 2666 profile handled 15-15-15-34-T1 at 1.30V and passed two iterations of memtest86. I was surprised they could handle T1, but then again I only have 16GB right now. The 2800 profile, though, is a bit tricky. I was able to make 15-15-15-34-T2 stable, but only at 1.47V. Long term effects of such a high voltage are not known this early in the DDR4 lifeline. Basically, running this you could potentially degrade the memory and wind up unstable again, then have to downclock or replace your RAM. The other wacky thing about their XMP profile for 2800 is the PCI clock. 126.96 Hz. This will do some maddening things to you unless you have a good CPU sample. The gist is this: at a 100 MHz Bclk you can reach 4.5 GHz and probably get stable at around 1.25 Vcore (I am running a hex, your mileage may vary with 5960x). If your Bclk is 126.96, though, you can't reach 4.5 - you get to choose between 4.44 and 4.57. You probably have a 1 in 3 chance of your CPU being stable at 4.57 GHz, and if you're like me you get stuck at 4.44 instead. So now you have to choose between 4.44 GHz @ 2800 15-15-15-34-T2, or 4.50 @ 2677 15-15-15-34-T1. There is something magic about that 126.96 Bclk. It seems like you could pick something else and reach 2800 with different settings - bus every other config I've tried (so far) to reach 2800 at a different PCI clock has failed pretty horribly. Like, reset BIOS, your system won't even post. Overall, this set does well, handles tight timings fine, even runs at 2800. But the 2800 profile is pretty awkward to work the rest of your system around. Again, not an enthusiast set, but I've put it through the whole course and these are my results. All 4 sticks work fine. For the competitive price and corsair dependability I gave it 4 stars.

As always, Corsair RAM is reliable and works like a charm. Some complain that they are overpriced vs other RAM. Well, to date, I have owned 3 Vengeance kits and one Dominator GT kit, and Ive never gotten a dead stick or had any problems with performance. Other kits that were "competitively" priced did not have the same quality control. the next closest manufacturer in quality I have seen is G. Skillz RipJaws. Ive owned 3 of those kits and 1 kit had a bad stick. Whenever I purchase RAM I run the latest MemTest86 (the bootable usb it auto-creates). The test takes upwards of 8hrs but its the only way to know for sure if your RAM is perfect or not. Corsair RAM always passes. I went the safe route getting 2133 because I was switching from AMD to Intel and the x99 chipset with the 5930k is spec'ed so taht 2133 is the max speed allowed. Now, we all know you can go higher than that (and I probably will) but to get the system up and running I wanted to stay within the Intel factory specs. Once I was able to confirm that both the new motherboard and the cpu were in perfect order (running at stock 2133) I was able to let the XMP profile run at 2400mhz. Ran MemTest86 at 2400mhz and it all passed. Now its time to manually tighten up the timings and see how fast I can get this. Honestly though, I mostly use my system for gaming. 2133 or 2400mhz is just fine for what I do. Others that encode 4k video or render 3d projects, etc might want something a little faster. But we also have tests showing that DDR4 and DDR3 are nearly identical in performance. I really think hardware vendors created DDR4 intentionally to boost sales. It needs less power to run (so thats nice) but performance of this 2133 RAM vs my DDR3 1866mhz Corsair Dominators is almost identical. Please dont comment about the minutiae in the performance tests. Ive read the white papers from RAM manufacturers, Ive seen all the tests that people have put them through, I know where the differences are. My point is that 90% of the people going from DDR3 to DDR4 are going to be gaming. And they wont notice a difference in real-world use.

I am editing my initial review (at bottom) thanks to Ray from Corsair: Ray, you are quite correct...I neglected to refer to the ASUS Z390-E QVL list before I put my system together. The reason for this oversight was that, after decades of successfully assembling PC systems without problems, I saw no reason to consult with a QVL list of any sort. Perhaps times have changed and I have failed to change with them. I see now that I should have have done what you said. The Corsair LPX 4133MHz DDR4 RAM that I bought is nowhere to be seen on the ASUS QVL list...nothing even close. I will update my review on Amazon and will take full responsibility for my error, giving you full credit, of course. However, that still leaves me with a $300.00 set of RAM in my system that will never be as fast as a generic set of $79.00 RAM bought at the local market. Can you offer me some relief, such as a trade-in, or deal on a QVL-approved set of Corsair DDR4 RAM? This would certainly be prominently mentioned when I update my Amazon review. Or is my error simply a very, very expensive lesson to always, when I assemble any future system, consult with a manufacturer's QVL list? Thanks for your prompt and correct reply, Ray (Ray offered me a discount on future purchase of memory. Thank you!) INITIAL REVIEW: I've tried just about everything to get this uber-expensive Corsair DDR4-4133 to hit anything remotely close to it's advertised speed. Having my ASUS Z390-E try to get the XMP settings working was a lesson in frustration. Manually putting in the values in the UEFI did not work. Maybe it's my motherboard...I don't know. I paid $254.00 USD for this high-end Corsair RAM, only to have it run as slow as regular old cheap discount DDR4-2133 RAM that I could have gotten for about seventy bucks...AND ones with RGB lighting, too. All I can do is relate my experience. The RAM runs cool to the touch at 2133 MHz, but it includes a cooling fan that is pretty cool.* EDIT and response to Art from Corsair: Win10 Home x64 (Auto Update), [email protected], ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-E (BIOS Version 1401 x64 Build Date: 11/26/2019 ME Firmware Version: 12.0.39.1431 PCH Stepping BO EC Version: MBEC-Z390-0123 Version: 2.20.1271), ASUS STRIX GTX 1660 Super, 16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 (2x8GB) 4133MHz (which will only run @2133MHz...which is my problem here...the memory refuses to run @XMP speeds...it will only run @2133MHz), Plextor PX-256M6eA-BK SATA-III M.2 SSD, Plextor PX-G256M6eA SATA-III M.2 SSD, Diamond Xtreme Sound PCIe Audio card *I saw the included fan for sale solo for $79.00 USD...it's included with this DDR4 RAM kit.