Kingston HyperX Predator DDR4-3000 64 GiB Memory Kit Review

[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
If you are building a high-end computer, you will want a high-end memory kit. One of this kits is the Kingston HyperX Predator DDR4-3000 64 GiB, model number HX430C15PB3K4/64, which comes with four 16 GiB DDR4-3000 modules for use with dual- or quad-core systems. Let’s test this kit, check it out!
The HX430C15PB3K4/64 kit comes with four 16 GiB DDR4 modules, for a total of 64 GiB. This is a big amount of memory, and can satisfy the most demanding domestic users. As the high-end socket LGA2011-v3 motherboards come with eight DDR4 slots, really hardcore users can buy two of those kits to achieve 128 GiB of RAM, but for LGA1151 motherboards, 64 GiB is the limit on high-end motherboards. On X99 systems, you can use this kit in quad-core configuration, but it will work well in dual-channel mode if your system is limited to it.
This family also include kits with other configurations and capacities, like 32 GiB (2x 16 GiB and 4x 8 GiB), 16 GiB (2x 8 GiB and 4x 4 GiB), which can suit more modest configurations. There are also HyperX Predator DDR4 kits with speeds of 3,200 MHz and 3,333 MHz.
While current high-end CPUs that use CPUs like the Core i7-6950X, officially support DDR4 memory up to 2400 GHz, it may be good to use faster memories, mostly if you are into overclocking. And, as the DDR4 standard is relatively new on the market, if is possible that future CPUs will support higher speed memory.
The HyperX Predator DDR4-3000 kit supports up to 3,000 MHz speed, but you can also use it at lower speeds. Actually, it has three main modes at the SPD: JEDEC DDR4-2400 (CL17-17-17, at 1.2 V), XMP (Extreme Memory Profiles) DDR4-2666 (CL15-17-17, at 1.35 V), and XMP DDR4-3000 (CL15-17-17, at 1.35 V). You need to set which configuration will be used at your motherboard setup.
At next page, we will take a closer look at this memory kit.
[nextpage title=”HyperX Predator DDR4-3000 Memory Kit”]
In Figure 1, you see the package of the HyperX Predator DDR4-3000 64 GiB memory kit.

Figure 1: Kingston HyperX HX430C15PB3K4/64 package

Figure 2 presents the contents of the package: two plastic packages with two memory modules each, one sticker for the case, and one small guide.

Figure 2: box contents

In Figure 3, you see the four 16 GiB modules, two of them showing each side.

Figure 3: the four memory modules

Figure 4 presents the detail of the label of one memory module.

Figure 4: memory label

[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]
Kingston HyperX HX430C15PB3K4/64 memory kit main features are:

• Total capacity: 64 GiB (4 x 16 GiB modules)
• Speed: DDR4-3000
• Programmed Timings: 15-17-17
• Recommended Voltage: 1.35 V
• Memory chips used: not informed
• Warranty: Lifetime
• More information: https://www.hyperxgaming.com
• Average Price in the US*: USD 469

* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.
[nextpage title=”Our Tests”]
We tested the HyperX Predator DDR4-3000 64 GiB memory kit in our Core i7-6950X running at 3.75 GHz, using an ASRock X99 Extreme6/3.1 motherboard.
In order to check the performance impact of the high-speed memory, we ran tests using four configurations, using quad-channel and dual-channel (installing two modules at the first and second channels, and leaving the third and fourth ones unused) modes, at 3,000 MHz and 2,150 MHz.
But why did we tested at this speed? The point is that, when you select the XMP setting for 3,000 MHz, the motherboard sets the base clock to 125 MHz, and not 100 MHz as usual for X99 systems. The memory clock multiplier is set to 12x, which brings a 1,500 Mhz clock, that gives the 3,000 MHz effetive memory speed.
In X99 systems, all the other clocks can be left on their default clocks, even when you raise the base clock. But you have to adjust your CPU multiplier to keep your CPU running at the desired clock. So, we set the CPU clock at 3.75 GHz for the test with the memory at 3,000 MHz. If we just used the 2,133 MHz or 2,400 MHz standard memory settings, the CPU parameters would change, which could bias the benchmark. That’s why we kept the base clock at 125 MHz and lower the memory multiplier, so it was working at 2,125 MHz, leaving all other configurations untouched.
Figure 5 shows the SPD data, read by CPU-Z.

Figure 5: memory settings

We ran the memory benchmarks using AIDA64, an excellent tool for system information and benchmark. We ran Memory Read, Memory Write, and Memory Copy benchmarks. The results are shown in the graphs below. The values are in MiB/s.



Here, we see that, in quad-channel mode, the higher (3,000 MHz) speed brings no performance increase; this is due to the limitations of the CPU memory controller.
However, in the dual channel benchmarks, we measured an increase of the bandwidth, up to 31%, using DDR4-3000 memory instead of DDR4-2150.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
The Kingston HyperX Predator DDR4-3000 64 GiB memory kit (HX430C15PB3K4/64) is one of the most high-end memory kits you will find.
Our benchmarks show that, when you are using quad-channel module, the teorethical bandwidth is so high that the CPU memory controller is actually a bottleneck for the RAM. However, when you are using a dual-channel configuration, high-end CPUs can take advantage of faster memories, and the 3,000 MHz configuration increases the bandwidth over common 2,133 MHz or 2,400 MHz memory.
So, if you are looking for a high-performance memory kit to use with a X99 or Z170 platform, the HyperX Predator DDR4-3000 is a great product.