LABS TEST / RGB MEMORY KITS
M
emory pricing got so ridiculous
not so long ago that Corsair and
other manufacturers such as
Aorus, who is sadly absent this month
thanks to it changing memory dies, went as
far as offering dummy modules to allow you
to fill all the DIMM slots on your motherboard
even when only using a small number of real
memory sticks. This allowed you to provide a
full, unbroken stretch of RGB lighting atop your
memory, without breaking the bank.
It sounded bonkers at first, but Corsair’s
Vengeance RGB Pro modules really do look
best stacked side by side without the gaps
between them that are caused by correctly
spacing the memory modules for proper
dual or quad-channel configurations. If, in
particular, you’re running a quad-channel
motherboard with eight DIMM slots then
the cost savings of filling half the slots with
£20-a-piece dummy modules is significant.
While memory is cheaper now, you’re still
looking at over £120 for a dual-channel kit
of 3466MHz modules such as those we’re
testing here. Having the option of adding
in cheaper dummy modules means theCORSAIR VENGEANCE
RGB PRO /£124 inc VAT
SUPPLIER scan.co.ukVengeance RGB Pro has a distinct advantage
over other kits, if you particularly care about
the internal aesthetics of your PC.
What’s more, the lighting on this kit is among
the best we’ve seen in terms of brightness and
boldness of colour, and Corsair has done an
excellent job of diffusing the LEDs using a strip
of opaque plastic. There’s no hint of individual
LEDs beneath, so you get a nice ethereal
organic glow, and the lighting effects configured
using Corsair’s iCUE software look fantastic.
It’s personal preference – and a stylistic choice- as to whether you prefer the pixelated style
of the Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB or
the smoother style her. It’s certainly easier to
create a mesmerising and fun effect with this
kit, though. However, the heatsinks are rather
plain by comparison, with just two thin sheets
of metal either side, although they do at least
come in black or white.
While Corsair’s preferred method
of controlling the LEDs is its own iCUE
software, they work with most motherboard
manufacturer’s software, albeit with fewer
effects. However, Corsair is working on
getting this to act the other way around,
allowing iCUE to control your motherboard’s
LEDs instead, which will allow it to also hook
up Corsair’s fans and coolers.
The modules are quite tall, at a little over
50mm, so this may cause issues with large
CPU heatsinks, and there are several shorter
kits in this month’s Labs test if you run into
that problem. Under the hood are Samsung
B-die memory chips, which should offer
great compatibility with AMD Ryzen and
Threadripper CPUs. The range of dual and
quad-channel kit frequencies is impressive
too, stretching from 2666MHz up to
4600MHz. Heading into our EFI saw the kit
reach the same 4000MHz as the Dominator
Pro RGB and G.Skill Trident Z Royal, with
more than 500MHz added to the stock
frequency in a very easy overclock.Conclusion
Corsair’s Vengeance RGB Pro is a great
example of RGB memory and the future looks
bright in terms of lighting control thanks to
Corsair working to integrate motherboard
lighting control into its own iCUE software.
Despite it being one of the older kits to offer
high frequencies, it still looks great, although
there are some cheaper alternatives this
month, such as the ADATA Spectrix D60G, as
well as some shorter ones too. With cheap
dummy modules available to fill vacant DIMM
slots and a good range of speeds in both dual
and quad-channel versions, though, it remains
very high on our shortlist.VERDICT
The Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro still has
what it takes and is one of the best-looking
kits out there.NUCLEAR FUSION
+ Fantastic lighting
+ Great software
+ Good overclocking
headroomCOAL- Tall
- More expensive than
the competition - Aging design
SPEC
Memory chip Samsung B-die
Timings 16-18-18-36
Voltage 1.35V
Height (from base) 51mm
Stated software compatibility Corsair iCUEPERFORMANCE
28 / 30DESIGN
32 / 35OVERALL SCORE
86 %
VALUE
26 / 35c
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LABS TEST / RGB MEMORY KITS
M
emorypricinggotsoridiculous
notsolongagothatCorsairand
othermanufacturerssuchas
Aorus,whois sadlyabsentthismonth
thankstoit changingmemorydies,wentas
farasofferingdummymodulestoallowyou
tofillalltheDIMMslots onyourmotherboard
evenwhenonlyusinga smallnumberofreal
memorysticks.Thisallowedyoutoprovidea
full,unbrokenstretchofRGBlightingatopyour
memory,withoutbreakingthebank.
It soundedbonkersatfirst,butCorsair’s
VengeanceRGBPromodulesreallydolook
beststackedsidebysidewithoutthegaps
betweenthemthatarecausedbycorrectly
spacingthememorymodulesforproper
dualorquad-channelconfigurations.If,in
particular,you’rerunninga quad-channel
motherboardwitheightDIMMslotsthen
thecostsavingsoffillinghalftheslotswith
£20-a-piecedummymodulesis significant.
Whilememoryis cheapernow,you’restill
lookingatover£120fora dual-channelkit
of3466MHzmodulessuchasthosewe’re
testinghere.Havingtheoptionofadding
incheaperdummymodulesmeansthe
CORSAIR VENGEANCE
RGB PRO/£124inc VAT
SUPPLIER scan.co.ukVengeance RGB Pro has a distinct advantage
over other kits, if you particularly care about
the internal aesthetics of your PC.
What’s more, the lighting on this kit is among
the best we’ve seen in terms of brightness and
boldness of colour, and Corsair has done an
excellent job of diffusing the LEDs using a strip
of opaque plastic. There’s no hint of individual
LEDs beneath, so you get a nice ethereal
organic glow, and the lighting effects configured
using Corsair’s iCUE software look fantastic.
It’s personal preference – and a stylistic choice- as to whether you prefer the pixelated style
of the Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB or
the smoother style her. It’s certainly easier to
create a mesmerising and fun effect with this
kit, though. However, the heatsinks are rather
plain by comparison, with just two thin sheets
of metal either side, although they do at least
come in black or white.
While Corsair’s preferred method
of controlling the LEDs is its own iCUE
software, they work with most motherboard
manufacturer’s software, albeit with fewer
effects. However, Corsair is working on
getting this to act the other way around,
allowing iCUE to control your motherboard’s
LEDs instead, which will allow it to also hook
up Corsair’s fans and coolers.
The modules are quite tall, at a little over
50mm, so this may cause issues with large
CPU heatsinks, and there are several shorter
kits in this month’s Labs test if you run into
that problem. Under the hood are Samsung
B-die memory chips, which should offer
great compatibility with AMD Ryzen and
Threadripper CPUs. The range of dual and
quad-channel kit frequencies is impressive
too, stretching from 2666MHz up to
4600MHz. Heading into our EFI saw the kit
reach the same 4000MHz as the Dominator
Pro RGB and G.Skill Trident Z Royal, with
more than 500MHz added to the stock
frequency in a very easy overclock.Conclusion
Corsair’s Vengeance RGB Pro is a great
example of RGB memory and the future looks
bright in terms of lighting control thanks to
Corsair working to integrate motherboard
lighting control into its own iCUE software.
Despite it being one of the older kits to offer
high frequencies, it still looks great, although
there are some cheaper alternatives this
month, such as the ADATA Spectrix D60G, as
well as some shorter ones too. With cheap
dummy modules available to fill vacant DIMM
slots and a good range of speeds in both dual
and quad-channel versions, though, it remains
very high on our shortlist.VERDICT
The Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro still has
what it takes and is one of the best-looking
kitsoutthere.NUCLEAR FUSION
Fantastic lighting
Great software
Good overclocking
headroom
COAL- Tall
- More expensive than
the competition - Aging design
SPEC
Memory chip Samsung B-die
Timings 16-18-18-36
Voltage 1.35V
Height (from base) 51mm
Stated software compatibility Corsair iCUEPERFORMANCE
28 / 30DESIGN
32 / 35OVERALLSCORE
86 %
VALUE
26 / 35cc
uu
sstommPP
CCA
P
PR
OVE
D