The biggest problem with introducing good RGB lighting into RAM is that as a general rule you are forced to use larger heatsinks, and more height in the RAM heatsink can cause contention and incompatibility with direct heatsinks for the processor, so the lower the RAM heatsink, the better.
Index
Technical specifications and characteristics
| Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO SL | |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Up to 3600 MHz |
| Type of memory | DDR4 |
| Voltage | 1.35 V |
| CAS latency | CL 16-20-20-38 |
| Form factor | 288-pin DIMM |
| Compatibility | Intel and AMD |
| XMP / AMP | XMP 2.0 |
| Rgb | Yes |
| Price | $ 104.99 (2×8 GB 3200 MHz kit) |
Today we are analyzing a kit of 2 × 16 GB (32 GB total) at 3200 MHz, with latencies CL16-20-20-38 at 1.35V. As we’ll see in a moment, the chips are made by Micron Technology, and we’re really a little surprised at these latencies Corsair sets at the factory as they’re quite high compared to other high performance RAMs from the competition, which tend to be around CL14 latencies.
In principle, these RAMs are identical to the Vengeance RGB Pro which we have already analyzed in the past but with the lower heatsink, which only lifts 44 millimeters from the base and makes these RAMs compatible with a greater number of heat sinks. live. the market.
These are the Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL
As usual with Corsair, these RAM memories come in a simple black flexible cardboard packaging on the main face of which we can see an image of the memories as well as their exceptional characteristics, leaving a description in several languages and a “window” which allow you to see the labels of the RAM modules themselves where their speed, capacity and latencies are specified. On the side, however, the model and capacity of this kit is also shown.
In addition to the memory modules themselves, we have a brief manual with information about RAM and what is related to the warranty, which in this case is like any RAM, for life. Also another brochure that talks about safety precautions.
Inside the soft cardboard packaging we have a transparent plastic blister pack that keeps the two modules locked so that they do not move or suffer bumps during the transport of the packaging.
Here we have the Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL out of the box. In this case, Corsair sent us a kit with the black radiator, but it is also available in white so that users can adapt the aesthetic to that of their PC.
On one side we only have a label with the name of the family (Vengeance), while on the other side we have the identification label which shows us the information relating to the capacity, the latencies and speed. Remember that we are dealing with a kit of two modules of 16 GB each at 3200 MHz with CL16 latencies.
At the top, this is where we find the biggest difference compared to the previous version, is that the height has been considerably reduced; However, a translucent bar still predominates under which we find the LED lighting of the RAM memories.
The radiator is not too thick, and in fact it will not give us any compatibility problem. Keep in mind that some heatsinks are quite thick like in G.Skill RAM and the heatsinks touch each other when installed … this is not the case.
Corsair has placed watermarks on the heat sink, which has an asymmetric shape to make the light stand out more.
Corsair says the height of these modules is 44mm, but in reality it’s a bit more (although that could also have to do with the accuracy of the gauge used, but hey, it’s more or less the 44 mm they indicate).
After seeing the memories, now is the time to put them into our test system to see how they perform, but not without first showing you what their lighting looks like (the images were taken in low light conditions and with different exposure levels configured in the camera to make the color stand out more, but we have to tell you that they look great in the “real world”).
Software and configuration
As we said at the beginning, one of the advantages of these RAMs is that their configuration is fully integrated with the brand’s own iCUE software, although its lighting can also be changed with the RGB software of motherboards such as as ASUS Aura Sync for example. . In iCUE, the general configuration only allows us to change the brightness and update its firmware (which has already been updated at the factory).
Regarding the particular configuration, the first section asks us to indicate how the memories are connected to the motherboard, since the lighting effects will have one effect or another depending on their position, regardless of the redundancy. A card with RAM sockets on both sides is not the same as the four on the right, for example.
Once this is configured, in the next section we can, as always, configure the colors and effects in memories. We have a total of 10 individually configurable LEDs.
The next section, you probably already know, is to configure how we want the lighting to behave when iCUE is not active. This is for example when starting the computer, or if we just don’t want the software to be always active.
In the synchronizations tab, we will simply see the parameters on which the memories are configured.
In the graph section, we can see the temperature data, with its graphs and everything.
Finally, in the notifications tab, we can configure, as with any other Corsair device, what we want it to do when certain temperature thresholds are reached. For example, we can configure that when the processor reaches 70 ° C, all the fans run at 100% and the lighting flashes red.
For the initial configuration of these memories, we didn’t have to do anything at all, since previously we already had 3200 MHz of RAM, the BIOS detected the XMP profile of them automatically and directly started at this speed. However, in the case of a new PC, you will need to enter BIOS to enable the XMP profile as the factory would run at 2133 MHz otherwise.
Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL’s Performances
Performance tests were performed with an AMD platform consisting of the following hardware:
- AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
- Gigabyte X570 AORUS Master
- Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 5500 XT
- TeamGroup Cardea Ceramic C440
- Corsair CV550
Of course, we used the Windows 10 Pro x64 operating system with all the updates installed.
We start with the in-depth CPU-Z capture, where you can see the CPU, card, and memories in detail.
Based on the hardware used in this analysis, we are performing performance testing.
Aida64
With this benchmark we will check the performance of the read, write and copy memories, in addition to latencies.
The performances shown by these RAMs in Aida 64 are as expected for a speed of 3200 MHz, and they are really average; We cannot say that they stand out from the rest, although it is true that this is the first kit of RAM that we analyzed on the AMD platform and therefore we have no comparison for the instant.
SuperPi
With SuperPi, the processor will calculate up to 32 million decimal places of the pi number, and for that it has to rely heavily on RAM, so its performance has a lot to do with the result.
The Corsair memories here have lagged behind other memories of the same speed, and this is most likely due to the “problem” we discussed at the start of how high its latencies are. This is the price to pay for having a density of 16 GB per module.
WPrime
With this benchmark, we are doing something similar to SuperPi but using a different, more efficient and faster algorithm, which allows us to calculate up to 1024 million decimal places in a similar time.
Interestingly, in WPrime, the performance achieved is even higher than that obtained with 4000 MHz memories on Intel platforms. Very surprising.
WinRAR
We move on to a real scenario where we will see the performance of the processor, relying on RAM, in compressing and decompressing files.
Performance here is directly related to speed, and at 3200 MHz the result is as expected, no more and no less.
7Zip
We end with the performance of 7Zip, a tool similar to WinRAR but which measures our performance in MIPS.
The performance achieved is simply amazing, far superior to that obtained with other faster RAMs, and this is thanks to the fact that it can store a lot of data without having to recalculate it. To put this in context, a Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 3600Mhz achieved around 41,000 MIP in compression and 37,000 in decompression.
Overclock
Finally, it must be said that we have suffered enough to reach an acceptable and above all stable level of overclocking; We don’t know if it’s because of the Micron chips or because we don’t want to increase the voltage but the maximum speed that we achieved with full stability was 3600 MHz which is not bad since they are 400 MHz above the base speed and also with slightly lower latencies than the base.
conclusion
From our perspective, Corsair got it right with the launch of these RAMs, as they deliver the high performance of the “normal” Vengeance Pro family they have had so far, but with a lower profile that makes them more versatile and generally compatible with any type of system. Great lighting and great configurability are maintained, but without sacrificing the performance we’re used to.
In terms of performance, we have to stress that it surprised us both for the better and for the worse. Average performance is more or less in line with expectations, but these high latencies penalize it in some cases. However, it showed more than surprising performance in other tests, which is a really good thing because more performance is always better, of course.
In short, it is highly recommended RAM memory for any user looking for the usual Corsair performance and quality and wanting to add a touch of color to their PC.
For all these reasons, these Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL memories deserve our Gold Award, as well as our recommendation for their design.
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