Performance: 30 out of 40.
When dealing with loose factory timings and a rather low factory rated clock speeds a certain amount of lowered expectations does have to be accounted for. In this instance being able to both tighten and increase the clock speed from 1200MHz (aka ‘DDR4-2400’) to 1400Mhz (aka ‘DDR4-2800’) is pretty darn decent. It certainly is better than expected that is for certain!
Ease of Use: 20 out of 20
As this is a 1.2v set of RAM with basically only JEDEC rated specifications it should come as no surprise that it is truly plug and play. Plunk them into any DDR4 capable motherboard and you will get everything Silicon Power promises you will get.
Build Quality & Warranty: 17 out of 20
While the heatsinks are a touch flimsy they do actually work – and are not just heat spreaders thanks to their top ‘wings’ that catch waste air nicely. Beyond this Silicon Power has also actually used good RAM ICs to create the DDR4 Gaming series so we doubt anyone will complain about this either. Mix in a lifetime warranty and beyond concerns over RMA processing time we doubt many will have any complaints here either.
Value: 15 out of 20
The value of this series really will be in the eye of the beholder. For those looking for a set of RAM that rewards manual overclocking they are a very good deal. Conversely for those who simply want a set of RAM that is fast as soon as they implement an XMP profile… the value is a lot less. On the plus side their color scheme will work with numerous builds and as such should not be disregarded out of hand.
Final Score: 82 out 100
The Silicon Power DDR4 Gaming series may not be an optimal choice for all custom builds or users but for a first foray into heat spreader clad DDR4 memory Silicon Power really did get more right than they got wrong. Now if they would only release higher clocked set of RAM with actual XMP profiles and we are sure a large portion of the buying public would be happy with seeing a new contestant in the DDR4 marketplace.
