[Hardware] Patriot Preps Budget DDR4-4000 Viper Elite 2 RAM for May

[Angel of Death]

Patriot will release a new DDR4 kit next month to compete with the best RAM in the budget category. During The Tom’s Hardware Show yesterday, Roger Shinmoto, Patriot VP of product, revealed the DDR4-4000 Viper Elite 2.The brand already has DDR4-4000 kits available in its other Viper-branded products, such as the Patriot Viper Steel, but the Viper Elite lineup currently maxes out at DDR4-2400. The Viper Elite 2 will kick things up to DDR4-4000, while keeping with the more wallet-friendly pricing of the Elite series.  4,000 MHz is a sweet spot for AMD platforms, but Shinmoto told us that the kits target both AMD and Intel builders.   But it’s not just about keeping your bank account happy. After 6 years of the Viper Elite being in the market, the new Viper Elite 2 is supposed to bring some new style too.  “Engineering team decided it was time to give it a facelift, so they went out and designed a brand new heat spreader from the ground up,” Shintomo said on The Tom’s Hardware Show. “It’s a really nice red and black design. Very aggressive styling.”  The exec pointed to the DDR4-4000 RAM as being a good fit for overclocking, as well as enthusiasts building a PC for the first time or builders simply seeking an upgrade that doesn’t cost a fortune.   We still don’t know the Viper Elite 2’s pricing, partially due to the memory market's volatility.   “Just like NAND, DRAM pricing is so volatile,” Shinmoto explained. “We can quote a price today and it might change by May. So they'll be competitive, but these aren’t the highest-end solutions we have. They’re geared more for the entry-level and price-minded sector.” But although memory prices have been “going up for a couple months now” and “allocations have been tight,” according to Les Henry, Patriot’s VP of North America and South America sales, Shinmoto assured the Viper Elite 2’s pricing will be “very affordable.”   We currently see Patriot's high-end Viper Steel DDR4-4000 (2x 8GB) going for about $145, so we hope the Viper Elite 2 is cheaper upon release.   The Tom’s Hardware Show livestream is every Thursday at 3 p.m. ET on YouTube, Facebook and Twitch, and is also available as a podcast.