In the realm of gaming, there’s a pervasive myth that adding RGB to anything somehow translates to more frames per second (not really). Nevertheless, I was genuinely thrilled to integrate some RGB flair into my rather discreet Aftershock Vault Mesh gaming rig. When Kingston Australia reached out, offering a kit of their new Fury Renegade DDR4 RGB 4600MT/s RAM, I eagerly accepted the opportunity.
This fresh memory lineup comes in various configurations, ranging from 8GB to 256GB (who needs that much memory in their gaming rig, right?). Moreover, you can choose from a spectrum of speeds: 3200, 3600, 4000, 4266, and the zippy 4600 MT/s. I got my hands on the 16GB 4600MT/s kit, comprising 2x8GB sticks which will set you back about $130 or so depending on where you buy.
Each 8GB stick boasts a robust, two-tone heat sink that allows it to operate seamlessly even at temperatures up to 70°C. The modules are 8.29mm thick and 45.67mm tall, just short enough to snugly fit into my small form factor Aftershock Vault Mesh system. If you are building a really low profile build, you might wanna consider something else.
Crowning each memory stick is an RGB light bar with 11 LEDs, orchestrating dazzling light shows. The RGB magic is powered by Kingston’s Infrared Sync tech, ensuring harmonious lighting across modules and with your system.
The Fury Renegade is engineered for peak performance, running at a maximum voltage of 1.5V with Intel XMP Profile timings of 19-26-26, boasting low latency for swift data read and write operations. For those who crave even lower latency (CL of L17-17-17 @1.2V), though, be ready to sacrifice speed, dropping down to 2400 MT/s.
It’s nice that the Fury Renegade comes with two factory preset XMP profiles to get you going without a fuss but with the right motherboard, you can create your own profile; ideal for overclockers. At the full throttle of 4600MT/s, the RAM can generate some heat, but the aluminum heat spreaders provide ample headroom, handling temperatures up to 70°C. This offers enthusiasts a bit of room for overclocking, though I opted not to delve into that realm.
Now, what kind of performance boost can you expect? To find out, I swapped out my existing 16GB Kingston Fury Beast 3600MT/s for the Fury Renegade in my gaming PC, maintaining the rest of the specs: i5-13600K, 2TB Samsung 990 Pro NVMe M.2 SSD, and an Nvidia RTX 4070.
In everyday use, there wasn’t a noticeable change in responsiveness and performance, prompting me to turn to scientific benchmarks for a more objective assessment. Running a suite of Cinebench, Geekbench, 3DMark, and a couple of games, the results, as anticipated, weren’t earth-shattering—an average difference of 5 – 10% depending on the application.
Yet, there was a discernible improvement in overall performance, even if not palpable. In games, the variance ranged from 5 frames per second up to 30fps, contingent on the game. System stability, a crucial factor, remained rock solid, making this a boon for overclocking enthusiasts.
Regardless, for those upgrading from older RAM, the speed improvements will be perceptible—provided your CPU and GPU don’t become bottlenecks. The new Kingston Fury Renegade DDR4 RAM isn’t just a visual upgrade with its robust heat sinks and RGB strips; it delivers commendable performance while maintaining stability. It’s a worthwhile addition to any DDR4 system.
Kingston Australia kindly provided the Fury Renegade to PowerUp! Gaming for the purpose of this review.
