Package and its Contents
The Viper 4 Blackout 16GB DDR4-4400 arrived in retail packaging, a small, flat box. The box is well described, so we clearly know what is inside. There were two of the mentioned boxes, so each one contains two 8GB memory modules.
Even though on the package, we can find info that the memory is “Ready for Ryzen,” then it’s more recommended to use the latest Intel platforms. On the other hand, 16GB kits should be supported by every motherboard based on B550 or X570 chipset. As I mentioned earlier, problems may start if we wish to use two memory kits as most motherboards won’t handle it. It’s a simple platform restriction, not a memory fault.
The Viper 4 Blackout has a unique design. Not many memory kits are wholly black, perfectly fitting the latest motherboard series like an MSI Unify. I already told you that this is my recommended motherboard series for four memory module setup, and also it looks great with the Viper 4 Blackout memory. We can, of course, pick more expensive options from ASUS like the latest Hero Dark.
Here is a shortlist of motherboards that were more or less tested with the Viper 4 Blackout 16GB DDR4-4400, and I can confirm that work at XMP of DDR4-4400:
- ASRock B550 PG Velocita
- ASRock B550 Extreme4
- ASUS Strix B550-I Gaming
- ASUS Strix B550-F Gaming
- ASUS Crosshair VIII Impact (X570)
- Colorful CVN B550M Gaming Frozen V14
- MSI X570 Unify
- MSI Z490 Unify
Not all users like RGB lighting, and the Blackout memory series won’t give it to us. It’s a solid memory designed to deliver high performance and has its specific style. For me, it looks better than, for example, the Viper Steel, but of course, this is a personal preference.
The memory doesn’t have its own LEDs but looks great in light of white lighting from other sources. It matches more popular lately black and white builds, which are not so flashy. Below are some photos of our test rig. Even though we used a liquid cooler for the CPU, it’s not hard to guess that the Blackout memory works without issues with even the largest CPU cooling solutions like Noctua NH-D15. Again, Noctua is my pick if we wish to add more blackness to the PC. Their chromax.black coolers look great with the Viper 4 Blackout.
We will show you some of our test results in various benchmarks and popular games on the next page.
