TeamGroup Xtreem ARGB DDR4 Gaming Memory Review

Introduction About a decade ago our only concern with our PCs was how they performed. Fast forward to today, PCs have evolved into not only computing powerhouses but also works of art. To complete the look of your build even memory modules have moved from being just plain PCB’s to having stylish heat spreaders and RGB LEDs. TeamGroup’s latest edition Xtreem ARGB hopes to bring stunning aesthetics with great performance. The Xtreem ARGB features the latest ARGB technology and includes aluminum-alloy heatsink with a stunning mirror finish. With speeds of 3200MHz – 4000MHz and a starting MSRP of $124.99 it’s easy to find the right kit for your build at an affordable price. We would like to thank TeamGroup for sending us the Xtreem ARGB kit to review. About TeamGroup Team Group Inc. was founded in 1997 in Taiwan and is one of the leading memory storage manufacturers in the world. They provide a variety of products such as Memory, Solid State Drives, SD Cards, USB drives, and mobile accessories. With their professional research and development teams, it allows them to produce high-quality and innovative products. TeamGroup also well praised by the industry and customers by adhering to the corporate philosophy of “Integrity, Innovation, Professionalism, Efficiency, Discipline, and Simplicity.” Features and Specifications Notable Features: Full mirror light penetration Latest ARGB technology Aluminum alloy heat sink with high performance Supports Intel & AMD motherboards Selected high-quality IC OC profile support Energy-saving with ultra-low working voltage Technical Specifications: Module Type 288 Pin Unbuffered DIMM Non-ECC Capacity 8GBx2 Frequency 3200 3600 4000 Data Transfer Bandwidth 25,600 MB/s 28,800 MB/s 28,800 MB/s 32,000 MB/s (PC4 25600) (PC4 28800) (PC4 28800) (PC4 32000) Latency CL16-18-18-38 CL14-15-15-35 CL18-22-22-42 CL18-22-22-42 CL14-14-14-34 CL18-20-20-44 Voltage 1.35V 1.45V 1.35V 1.35V Dimensions 48.7(H) x 133.7(L) x 8.1(W)mm Warranty Lifetime warranty Packaging and Unboxing TeamGroup’s Xtreem ARGB memory kit arrives in stylish black packaging with a matte finish. On the front of the box, we have an Xtreem memory module front and center showcasing its stunning RGB with a mirror finish. In the upper-right corner, we find that our memory kit contains 2 x 8GB 3600MHz modules but doesn’t specify the timings. Since the 3600MHz does come in two different configurations we will have until we unbox the memory to find the configuration of this kit. If you already have RGB components in your build you will be pleased to know that the Xtreem ARGB kit is compatible with a variety of RGB software that includes: ASRock Polychrome Sync, ASUS Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion 2.0, and MSI Mystic Light Sync. Flipping the box over, there is a short description of what “T-Force” represents as well as a bulleted list of the features of the Xtreem ARGB memory kit. Sliding the outer sleeve off we find a black box with a metallic T-Force logo with the text “The Power From Team Group“. Removing the contents of the inner box reveal 2 plastic blister packs with one storing the 2 x 8GB Xtreem ARGB memory modules and the other the user guide and T-Force badge. Also included in the box was a small black microfiber cloth. After taking the memory out of there blister pack all that’s left is peeling off the protective plastic from its mirror finish. A Closer Look Taking our first look at the Xtreem ARGB we were taken back just how beautiful they were. The mirror finish on them is quite striking and very unique from all the memory we have benched. When looking at the modules under the light the mirror looks almost jet black with just the slight hint of blue. To complete the look of the module there is a metallic band in the center with a backlit “Xtreem ARGB” etched into it. We also find some more backlit branding with the “T-Force” logo in the upper center. After looking at the memory for some time, it was apparent why TeamGroup included a black microfiber cloth. Like most hardware that has a mirror finish, it attracts fingerprints. The Xtreem ARGB are no different and are easily marked up even with the slightest touch. Not a big deal since a quick wipe with the microfiber cloth removes them quite effortlessly. Moving to the back of the Xtreem ARGB we see the mirror finish carries over with only the top of the module covered. The bottom of the half is covered with a matte black aluminum heatsink which has a sticker with the memory timing and serial number. Looking at the memory configuration we see that our kit has the looser timings of the 3600MHz kits with CL 18-22-22-42 at a voltage of 1.35v. At the top of the Xtreem ARGB’s is the same mirror surface and much like the front has some “T-Force” branding etched out. One thing we did notice is the tops of the modules are angled which makes it a little harder to apply even pressure when installing them into the motherboard. I must say that the Xtreem ARGB lights out beautifully on our test bench. We love how the mirror lets a little light pass through which makes etched out areas just pop. Out of all the RGB memory kits, this one is by far the most unique and we like that the RGB is subtle but stunning at the same time. Even the front and back of the Xtreem look amazing with the light barely penetrating the mirror adding a cool glowing effect. System Installation & Performance Testing The test system we are using to benchmark our 2 x 8GB Xtreem ARGB memory kit is: Open Test Bench Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Motherboard Intel 9900K Processor at Stock Corsair H115i Platinum MSI RTX 2060 Super Gaming Z GPU Corsair HX750 PSU Microsoft Windows 10 Professional For testing, we benchmarked with the following pieces of software: CPU-Z AIDA64 Extreme Edition Passmark Performance Test SiSoft Sandra 7-Zip Super Pi Modded 1.5 7-Zip "This form allows you to measure the performance of your computer. The benchmark shows a rating of MIPS (million instructions per second). The rating value is calculated from the measured speed, and it is normalized with the results of the Intel Core 2 CPU with a multi-threading option switched off. So if you have modern CPU from Intel or AMD, rating values in single-thread mode must be close to real CPU frequency. There are two tests: compression with the LZMA method and decompression with the LZMA method. Once the total passes reach 100, the score is taken.” In 7-Zip we find the Xtreem ARGB sitting with its brother the Vulcan Z with a score of 63548. AIDA64 Engineer Edition “AIDA64 Engineer has a hardware detection engine unrivaled in its class. It provides detailed information about installed software and offers diagnostic functions and support for overclocking. As it is monitoring sensors in real-time, it can gather accurate voltage, temperature, and fan speed readings, while its diagnostic functions help detect and prevent hardware issues. It also offers a couple of benchmarks for measuring the performance of individual hardware components or the whole system. It is compatible with all 32-bit and 64-bit Windows editions, including Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.” In AIDA64’s bandwidth test, we see the Xtreem ARGB’s neck and neck with our other 3600MHz kit. In the AIDA latency benchmark, we sit in the middle of the pack with a latency of 49.5ns. Passmark Performance Test - Memory Mark - Threaded “Fast, easy to use, PC speed testing, and benchmarking. PassMark PerformanceTest ™ allows you to objectively benchmark a PC using a variety of different speed tests and compare the results to other computers.” In the Passmark benchmark, the Xtreem ARGB took the bottom spot with a sizeable difference from other kits we have benchmarked. We ran this more test more than usual and even benchmarked other memory kits to validate our results and the Xtreem ARGB scored around 28000. We are not sure why it scored so low and is an oddity of all the benchmark we ran on this kit. SiSoft Sandra “SiSoftware Sandra provides a robust package of diagnostic tools for testing your system and teasing out its problems--or potential headaches.” We find the Xtreem ARGB sitting in the middle of the pack with scores in SiSoft of 29.75/29.48/29.66 in aggregate/integer/float. Super Pi Modded 1.5 “On August 1995, the calculation of pi up to 4,294,960,000 decimal digits was succeeded by using a supercomputer at the University of Tokyo. The program was written by D.Takahashi in collaboration with Dr.Y.Kanada at the computer center. This record should be the current world record. (Details are shown in the windows help.) This record-breaking program was ported to personal computer environments such as Windows NT and Windows 95. In order to calculate 33.55 million digits, it takes 3 days with a Pentium 90 MHz, 40 MB main memory, and 340 MB available storage.” SuperPi loved the Xtreem ARGB memory kit finishing with an extremely fast time of 7 minutes and 1 second. Overclocking Now that the stock benchmarks have been completed, let's see how much farther we can push the TeamGroups Xtreem ARGB memory kit. At stock, this kit runs at a speed of 3600MHz at a voltage of 1.35v with CL18-22-22-42 timings. In trying to overclock the Xtreem ARGB kit we were unable to achieve a speed greater in 3600MHz even when increasing the voltage to 1.50v. Even though we were not able to increase the speed we were able to tighten up the timings considerably with no change to the voltage. After about an hour of tweaking and running a few benchmarks to verify stability, the Xtreem ARGB managed to hold timings of 16-20-20-39. These changes to the timings didn’t affect the Read/Write/Copy performance but it didn’t lower the latency by about 3ns with a score of 46.6ns. Re-running the SuperPi benchmark with the new timings we were able to shave off 3.5 seconds with a final score of 6 minutes and 7.5 seconds. Final Thoughts and Conclusion The moment I took the Xtreem ARGB from its packaging I was taken in by its beauty. From its smooth mirror finish out of the box to the fantastic RGB aesthetic when powered, they are truly the best looking RGB memory kit I have seen. Unlike most kits of the market, the Xtreem ARGB takes a more subtle approach that produces more of a diffused glow then the disco party RGB we are all too familiar with which I was really a fan of. From a performance perspective, I found the Xtreem ARGB did great in some benchmarks but underperformed in others. Now our kit did have the slower timings of the two 3600MHz kits available from TeamGroup with timings of 18-22-22-42. If you were looking for a little more performance the 3600MHz kit with 14-15-15-35 timings may do better in some of the benchmarks where our kit didn’t perform as expected. Though we were unable to get any more speed out of the Xtreem ARGB we did tighten the timings to 16-20-20-39. These new timings didn’t affect the read/write/copy speeds but did lower its latency by 3ns to a snappy 46.5ns. TeamGroup hit the aesthetics out of the park with the Xtreem ARGB and is easily the best-looking kit I have seen. With that said I do wish it had a little more performance under the hood to match its stunning looks. It performed slightly lower to what I would expect from a 3600MHz kit but not enough to have any noticeable impact in most workloads. Overall, I think the Xtreem ARGB is a great memory kit and would look amazing in any build. Great Job, TeamGroup!