Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB Kit (2x4GB) – DDR3 2400MHz Review

Overview

 

As Kingston entered the memory market way back in 1987 and today is the largest supplier of memory in the world they should really need no introduction. Today I will be taking a look at the new HyperX Beast memory, the modules are available in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB & 64GB kits with speeds up to 2400MHz. This particular 8MB kit (KHX24C11T3K2/8X) consists of x2 4GB modules with a rated speed of 2400MHz and timings of 11-13-13-30 at 1.65v via its eXtreme Memory Profile (XMP) 1.3 profile.

 

 

The memory came well packaged in a somewhat nondescript plastic wallet, although it’s not that much different to other vendors packaging, it does lack a little sparkle for such a high end kit! But I guess it’s what’s inside that counts…

Always pay particular attention to the part number (especially when purchasing memory) as small variations in part numbers can mean big changes in performance.

 

 

Once a small cut is made in the side of the sticker that holds the wallet together, you get to see the Kingston HyperX Beast memory in the metal (looks nice!).

Also included inside the plastic wallet is a warranty & installation guide. This small leaflet outlines the Kingston Lifetime Warranty and shows a simple guide of how to install memory.

At the time of writing the Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB Kit (2x4GB) – DDR3 2400MHz kit is retailing for approximately £45 and comes with a Lifetime Warranty.

 

Specifications/Features

courtesy of Kingston Technology

* Power will vary depending on the SDRAM used.

* Additional details available here

 

First Impressions

 

 

Here we have the Kingston HyperX Beast modules and judging by their name we should be looking at something rather special, and we are, 2400MHz RAM is pretty damn fast! The Beast modules look real good and purposeful in their satin black casing and they’re not too tall either at 46mm. They’re not as tall as the Kingston Predator modules (54mm) recently tested but not as low profile as the Corsair Vengenace LP modules (26mm) tested in September 2011. Although I will say that as far as I’m concerned the Beast modules look better than both. The all black colouring also ensures that the Kingston Beast modules are likely to go well with any Rig build.

 

 

The front of the modules feature a HyperX Beast logo in the top left corner that adds a splash of Red to the mix by way of the Hyper logo. In the bottom right corner we find a white Kingston logo. Simple yet elegant I would say…

The back of the modules are identical to the front apart from a small sticker that shows the technical specifications of the RAM modules. NOTE: WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED

 

 

So the Kingston Beast modules sound good on paper, look good in the metal and are of an average height (actually I think they’re a little tall!), although installation with an Air CPU Cooler should still be feasible. Let’s see if they perform as good as they look, at 2400MHz they certainly should…

 

Hardware Installation

 

 

Installation of the Kingston Beast RAM into My Test Rig was simple enough, but this was helped by the fact that I use a Liquid CPU Cooler (Corsair H100). This type of cooler normally has a very low profile in comparison to a more conventional air cooler.

Although the Kingston Beast memory modules are not particularly tall (46mm), it’s worth doing a little installation compatibility checking first…

 

 

I would like to say that My Test Rig booted first time but it did not. The PC would just not POST, after a few attempts my motherboard (ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional) gave up and eventually booted with basic settings i.e. Memory running at 1333MHz.

Looking at the BIOS/UEFI I could see that the Kingston Beast modules had two eXtreme Memory Profiles (XMP) to choose from:

• XMP 1.3 Profile 1: DDR3-2400 11-13-13-30 1.65V
• XMP 1.3 Profile 2: DDR3-2133 11-12-11-30 1.6V

Using the XMP Profile 2 (2133MHz) the PC booted fine but at 2400MHz the PC would just fail to POST, eventually resetting itself back to basic (1333MHz) settings. Knowing that the memory controller aboard my Intel Core-i7 3770K was good for 2400MHz I went looking for a motherboard BIOS update, and I found one! With the ASRock motherboard BIOS updated to version 1.50, it was time to try again. Everything worked like a dream and My Test Rig now booted first time, exactly what the issue was I’m unsure, but it normally pays to be on the latest BIOS…

So into Windows and time for some Gaming and testing…

IMPORTANT NOTE: Just because you have RAM modules capable of high overclocked frequencies (especially 2400MHz and above), doesn’t mean that they will run at that speed as the memory controller is part of the CPU (Sandy Bridge & Ivy Bridge).

 

Testing Methodology/Setup

 

The Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB Kit (2x4GB) – DDR3 2400MHz was tested as part of My Test Rig, using Windows 7 64Bit (Service Pack 1) with all relevant Drivers installed. Prime95 (Blend) was used to test stability and the following benchmarks were also used.

• AIDA64
• 3DMark 11
• Unigine Heaven
• Metro 2033

 

Hardware Performance

 

 

AIDA64 Benchmark Results

Memory	Read	Write	Copy	Latency
Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer 8GB 1600MHz (8-8-8-24) / inc a 2% OC	19769	21732	21976	40.8
Kingston HyperX Predator 16 GB 2133MHz @ 11-12-11-30	21757	22192	25382	38.7
TeamGroup Xtreem LV Series 8GB 2400MHz (11-11-11-28)	23523	22720	26717	35.0
Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB 2400MHz (11-13-13-30)	23536	22626	26879	35.1

 

The first two images show the performance results from AIDA64 for the Kingston Beast modules running at 1333MHz (default/Auto) and at 2400MHz (XMP Profile 1). As you can see there’s a whole world of difference in performance, you certainly wouldn’t want to leave your BIOS/UEFI on the Auto setting… 😉

You can also see that the Kingston Beast modules outperform the similarly specified TeamGroup Xtreem LV 2400MHz modules even though the timings are tighter! So what we have here then is the fastest memory that we have seen so far here at pcGameware. Nice!

 

 

Overclocking of these high speed memory modules doesn’t normally yield too much (i.e. the crashes tend to come thick and fast), but the Beast modules bucked that trend. I was (for the first time with a 2400MHz kit) able to add a further couple of MHz to my Base Clock upping it to 102MHz (default 100MHz), thus resulting in not only the system running a little quicker but now the Kingston Beast modules were now running at an overclocked 2448MHz. Really Nice!

Now let’s take a look at the effect that this high speed memory has on our Gaming related benchmarks.

 

Gaming Related Benchmarks

To give us some idea of the effect the increase in memory speed has on Gaming the benchmarks have been run at both 1333MHz and 2400MHz using the Kingston Beast modules.

Memory	3DMark 11	Unigine Heaven	Metro 2033
Kingston HyperX Beast 8 GB 1333MHz @ 9-9-9-27	9777	1330	41.33
Kingston HyperX Beast 8 GB 2400MHz@ 11-13-13-30	9978	1333	41.33

 

As you can see from the 2 best gaming related benchmarks (Unigine Heaven & Metro 2033), there is no real discernible difference between running the Kingston Beast RAM at 1333MHz and 2400MHz, although with memory we have seen this before. Only 3DMark 11 shows the improvements that have been made with an increase of approximately 2%.

From a Gaming point of view, there’s no compelling reason to push much beyond a good 1600MHz kit. If on the other hand you want the ultimate in performance (the increase in bandwidth can clearly be seen in the AIDA64 test) or if you have another reason for wanting high memory bandwidth then the Kingston Beast 2400MHz kit may be for you.

 

Final Thoughts

 

As is usual with Kingston HyperX memory the RAM modules may not have had the most eye catching packaging, but when it comes to performance the Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB Kit (2x4GB) – DDR3 2400MHz memory has taken on all comers here at pcGameware, and won!

The modules look good with their satin black coating ensuring that they will go with most Rig builds. While the Beast modules cannot be considered Low Profile they are of a standard (ish) height at around 46mm so should fit with most Rig builds if you’re using an Air CPU Cooler.

It’s the performance of the Kingston HyperX Beast modules that sets them apart from the competition. With a rated speed of 2400MHz this is already fast RAM, but add in the overclocking potential that we found and these modules have become fastest modules that we have yet tested.

But the real clincher here and the reason that the Kingston Beast 8GB kit walks away with a Gold award is the price. At £45 at the time of writing and with the fastest performance that we have yet seen, the Kingston HyperX Beast 8GB Kit (2x4GB) – DDR3 2400MHz is surely a must buy…

 

Verdict