In the recent past we have shown excellent examples of the two sides of an argument that are raging in enthusiast and custom builder circles. This argument all boils down to which is better: capacity or speed. In this generation this means choosing between relatively fast 32GB kits of DDR4, or extremely fast 16GB kits of DDR4 memory. On the one hand you can simply do more with more, but on the other there are times when low latency, and shear horsepower are more important. Today’s review is slightly different in that the Kingston Fury Black 32GB does not take either side of this argument, rather it provides a third option: performance and capacity.
For many knowledgeable consumers the sweet spot for DDR4 RAM kits is DDR4-2666 in that it offers noticeably better performance than ‘stock’ DDR4-2133 kits, yet only costs slightly more than those slower options. In the case of the HyperX Fury (4x8GB) 32GB kit this means an online average asking price of $160 (or $40 per stick or $5 per GB) , which is only $50 more than say G. Skill’s DDR4-3400 16GB kit…. and yet offers twice the capacity. Put another way one hundred and sixty dollars is well within most consumer’s budgets and yet is also a lot easier to justify than 16GB of DDR4-3400 RAM at $110.
Equally impressive is Kingston’s HyperX team has done this and also provided a compromise solution to the other age old argument on ease of use vs overclocking. As most RAM overclocking enthusiasts know, ultra-high performance RAM kits use higher than normal voltages and can be a bit more finicky to setup. In return for this though they usually offer much greater RAM speeds. For example, the recently reviewed G. Skill Trident Z kit offered DDR4-3400 speeds that could be pushed to DDR4-3600 with very little effort, but required by 1.35 – 1.40v to do it. On the other end is DDR4-2133 and the such kits which uses only 1.2v and while it certainly easier to use… usually will not hit DDR4-3400 levels regardless of the voltage applied.
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The Kingston HyperX Fury Black series on the other hand uses highly binned RAM ICs that only require 1.2volts to hit their target speed – in this instance DDR-2666 – but also offers enormous overclocking potential. All that is needed is additional voltage and some patience. To be precise the Hynix RAM ICs have a reputation for easily hitting DDR4-3000 speeds at 1.35 volts, and considering this is what factory overclocked DDR4-3000+ kits use, this duality should make the Kingston HyperX Fury Black perfect for a wide range of consumers. Specifically stock settings for average consumers who prize ease of use, and enthusiasts who love overclocking… everything.
Mix in a lifetime warranty backstopped by a company known for their customer service, and on paper the value of this kit is simply off the charts. This does however beg the question: is this combination of ease of use, capacity, performance, and price make the Kingston HyperX Fury series as good in the real world as it appears on paper? That is what we intend to find out.
