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Predator Talos DDR4-3600 C18 2x8GB Review Sluggish Heavyweight

Source: tom's HARDWARE, 08/11/2021

Clean design without the flashy lights

 

The Talos lineup


OUR VERDICT

 

The Predator Talos DDR4-3600 C18 is an average memory kit that could appease AMD owners, but the Intel crowd might want to give this one a pass.

 

FOR

+ Tolerable AMD performance

+ Reasonable price

+ Robust and RGB-less design

 

AGAINST

- Poor performance on Intel

- Slim overclocking headroom

 

Predator Storage, an Acer sub-brand, is the newest player to join the storage and memory game. Being the new kid on the block, Predator Storage's memory portfolio is currently comprised of the Apollo and Talos lineups. While the Apollo series has proven to be a worthy competitor in the memory market, the Talos' potential remains to be seen. 

Predator Storage sells the Talos memory in both single module and dual-channel presentations. The latter is available up to 64GB (2x32GB), while the frequency ranges start at DDR4-2666 and top out at DDR4-4800.

 

Front part of Talos


Rear part of Talos


Assembled in chassis

 

The Talos kit is the polar opposite of the Apollo. Predator Storage opted for a more simple design that's not adorned with gaudy RGB lighting, so the heat spreader carries a black-and-white theme with only the Predator logo in the middle.

 

The first thing you notice when holding the Talos in your hand is its weight. The memory module is noticeably heavier than other memory that we've tested. The heat spreader is made from a zinc alloy material. The Talos weighs in at 97.91 grams (0.22 pounds). The memory is tall but not excessively so at 45.6mm (1.16 inches).

 

Talos specifications


The Talos is equipped with a black PCB with eight layers, and Predator Storage claims the heavy heat spreader helps keep the operating temperature in check. The 16GB memory kit consists of two 8GB memory modules with a single-rank design. The integrated circuits (ICs) hail from Micron. However, Thaiphoon Burner wasn't able to detect the exact model. If we fill in the blanks, the ICs could be Micron E-die (MT40A1G8SA-075:E).

 

The Talos memory modules check-in at DDR4-2666 with 19-19-19-43 timings. Only one XMP profile is present, which sets the data rate to DDR4-3600, timings to 18-20-20-42, and the DRAM voltage to 1.35V. For more on timings and frequency considerations, see our PC Memory 101 feature, as well as our How to Shop for RAM story.

 

Comparison Hardware

 

Memory Kit

Part Number

Capacity

Data Rate

Primary Timings

Voltage

Warranty

G.Skill Trident Z Neo

F4-3600C14D-16GTZNB

2 x 8GB

DDR4-3600 (XMP)

14-15-15-35 (2T)

1.45 Volts

Lifetime

Adata XPG Spectrix D60G

AX4U360038G14C-DT60

2 x 8GB

DDR4-3600 (XMP)

14-15-15-35 (2T)

1.45 Volts

Lifetime

TeamGroup T-Force Xtreem ARGB

TF10D416G3600HC14CDC01

2 x 8GB

DDR4-3600 (XMP)

14-15-15-35 (2T)

1.45 Volts

Lifetime

Gigabyte Aorus RGB Memory

GP-AR36C18S8K2HU416R

2 x 8GB

DDR4-3600 (XMP)

18-19-19-39 (2T)

1.35 Volts

Lifetime

HP V8

7EH92AA#ABM x 2

2 x 8GB

DDR4-3600 (XMP)

18-20-20-40 (2T)

1.35 Volts

5 Years

Adata XPG Spectrix D50

AX4U360038G18A-DT50

2 x 8GB

DDR4-3600 (XMP)

18-20-20-42 (2T)

1.35 Volts

Lifetime

Predator Talos

BL.9BWWR.215

2 x 8GB

DDR4-3600 (XMP)

18-20-20-42 (2T)

1.35 Volts

Lifetime

Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL

CMH16GX4M2Z3600C18

2 x 8GB

DDR4-3600 (XMP)

18-22-22-42 (2T)

1.35 Volts

Lifetime

GeIL Orion AMD Edition

GAOR416GB3600C18BDC

2 x 8GB

DDR4-3600 (XMP)

18-22-22-42 (2T)

1.35 Volts

Lifetime


 

Intel-based system


AMD-based system

 

Our Intel-based system uses an Intel Core i9-10900K processor and Asus ROG Maximus XII Apex. The motherboard runs on the 0901 firmware. On the opposite side, our AMD testbed is based on the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and the Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero. The latter is on the 3501 firmware. For graphics, we turned to the MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Trio to take care of the gaming RAM benchmarks.

 


Intel System

AMD System

Processor

Intel Core i9-10900K

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

Motherboard

Asus ROG Maximus XII Apex

Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero

Graphics Card

MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming X Trio

MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Gaming X Trio

Storage

Crucial MX500 500GB, 2TB

Crucial MX500 500GB, 2TB

Cooling

Corsair Hydro H115i Pro

Corsair Hydro H115i Pro

Power Supply

Corsair RM650x 650W

Corsair RM650x 650W

Case

Streacom BC1

Streacom BC1

 

Intel Performance

 

Gained a not-so-good result


Scored 140.26 points


Memory latency test


Memory bandwidth test


Tested by PCMark 10


Unsatisfactory result


Disappointing result


Multi-core performance test


Ray tracing test


Displeasing result


Test for multi-core performance


CPU section


Sluggish speed


Used HandBrake


Multi-threaded test


Borderlands 3 benchmark


Wolfenstein: Youngblood  benchmark


Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon  Breakpoint benchmark


Ran it at 126 fps on average

 

Predator Storage's Talos memory didn't have a good showing on the Intel platform. The memory kit came in last in both application and gaming performance and didn't shine in any particular workload.

 

Gained a middle-class result


Got a not-bad result

 

Memory latency benchmark


Memory bandwidth benchmark


Utilized PCMark 10


Top-5 result


Mediocre result


Multi-core performance  benchmark


Ray tracing benchmark


Satisfactory result


Top-3 result


CPU part


Finished at 153 seconds


Tested by HandBrake


Multi-threaded capacity


Borderlands 3 fps test


Wolfenstein: Youngblood  test


Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon  Breakpoint test


Ran it at 131 fps on average

The Talos performed better on the AMD platform. The memory kit found itself in the middle of the pack in both application and gaming performance. Once again, the Talos didn't put in any outstanding performance in a specific benchmark.

 

Overclocking and Latency Tuning

 

Overclocking test


Debug


DDR4-3600 C18

 

Bumping the DRAM voltage from 1.35V to 1.45V allowed us to push the Talos from DDR4-3600 to DDR4-3900. We had to increase the CAS Latency by one cycle, but managed to drop the tRAS by two cycles.

 

Lowest Stable Timings

 

Memory Kit

DDR4-3600 (1.45V)

DDR4-3733 (1.45V)

DDR4-3866 (1.45V)

DDR4-3900 (1.45V)

DDR4-4000 (1.45V)

DDR4-4133 (1.45V)

DDR4-4200 (1.45V)

G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C14

13-16-16-36 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

19-19-19-39 (2T)

Adata XPG Spectrix D60G DDR4-3600 C14

13-15-15-35 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

20-19-19-39 (2T)

TeamGroup T-Force Xtreem ARGB DDR4-3600 C14

13-14-14-35 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

19-19-19-39 (2T)

HP V8 DDR4-3600 C18

14-19-19-39 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

18-22-22-42 (2T)

N/A

Adata XPG Spectrix D50 DDR4-3600 C18

14-19-19-39 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

18-22-22-42 (2T)

N/A

N/A

Predator Talos DDR4-3600 C18

15-18-18-38 (2T)

N/A

N/A

19-20-20-40 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

Gigabyte Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18

16-19-19-39 (2T)

N/A

N/A

20-20-20-40 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL DDR4-3600 C18

16-20-20-40 (2t)

N/A

19-22-22-40

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

GeIL Orion AMD Edition DDR4-3600 C18

16-20-20-40 (2T)

19-22-22-42 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Lowest Stable Timings

 


Memory Kit

DDR4-3600 (1.45V)

DDR4-3733 (1.45V)

DDR4-3866 (1.45V)

DDR4-3900 (1.45V)

DDR4-4000 (1.45V)

DDR4-4133 (1.45V)

DDR4-4200 (1.45V)

G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4-3600 C14

13-16-16-36 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

19-19-19-39 (2T)

Adata XPG Spectrix D60G DDR4-3600 C14

13-15-15-35 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

20-19-19-39 (2T)

TeamGroup T-Force Xtreem ARGB DDR4-3600 C14

13-14-14-35 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

19-19-19-39 (2T)

HP V8 DDR4-3600 C18

14-19-19-39 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

18-22-22-42 (2T)

N/A

Adata XPG Spectrix D50 DDR4-3600 C18

14-19-19-39 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

18-22-22-42 (2T)

N/A

N/A

Predator Talos DDR4-3600 C18

15-18-18-38 (2T)

N/A

N/A

19-20-20-40 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

Gigabyte Aorus RGB Memory DDR4-3600 C18

16-19-19-39 (2T)

N/A

N/A

20-20-20-40 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL DDR4-3600 C18

16-20-20-40 (2t)

N/A

19-22-22-40

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

GeIL Orion AMD Edition DDR4-3600 C18

16-20-20-40 (2T)

19-22-22-42 (2T)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A



With the same increase in voltage, we tightened the Talos' memory timings from 18-20-20-42 down to 15-18-18-38. It's an acceptable margin considering that the memory uses Micron ICs.

 

Bottom Line

 

The Predator Talos DDR4-3600 C18 won't attract everyone's attention. The aesthetics are fine, but the memory kit's uneven performance is one of its weakest points. The Talos performed better on our AMD system than the Intel testbench. This will inevitably reduce the number of potential buyers for this particular Talos memory kit.

 

The MSRP for the Predator Talos DDR4-3600 C18  is $119.99, but you can find the memory kit for just $92.99 on Newegg. It's a fair asking price, however, if you're looking for something that's faster or with more flair, Adata's XPG Spectrix D50 DDR4-3600 C18 retails for only $109.99.

 

Source: tom’s HARDWARE


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