Kingston HyperX Genesis 4GB 2133MHz DDR3 Memory Kit Review

HyperX Genesis Special Edition: A New Suit for HyperX

So you’ve seen the performance of Intel Sandy Bridge and are looking to buy a new P67 motherboard, memory kit, and Sandy Bridge Core i7 or Core i5 processor. Picking the CPU is the easy part as there are a dizzying array of memory kits all at different speeds. Today we’re going to take a look at one of the fastest 4GB kits of memory you can get your hands on and see if it improves performance. That memory kit is the HyperX Genesis 2133MHz from Kingston Technology. It was recently certified by Intel for X.M.P. (Extreme Memory Profile) use on all Sandy Bridge CPU’s! Remember that Sandy Bridge on P67 chipsets supports a number of memory multipliers by default, the highest of which is 2133MHz. H67 on the other hand only supports up to the official spec of 1333MHz.

Right off the bat we can see that Kingston has switched things up on our modules with a color change to grey instead of the all too familiar blue in the HyperX line. It’s not the first time that HyperX has been another color but it’s pretty rare! The grey is part of a Special Edition of the Genesis and as of now the 2133MHz modules are the only sticks to get this new heat spreader. The Genesis addition to the HyperX line is to help differentiate these HyperX memory modules as certified for Intel Sandy Bridge Processors. They will also work just fine in existing P55 motherboards. As you can see in the photo above, the part number for our kit is KHX2133C9AD3X2K2/4GX. They carry an MSRP of $149.99 but can be found right now on Newegg for $99.99

With the top of the package open we can finally get an idea of what these new Genesis heat spreaders look like. The kit we have today are the Special Edition Grey 2133MHz. They are XMP certified for 9-11-9-27 1t operation.

Completely out of the package now, it’s easy to see that these new heat spreaders have more than just a color change. There is a new reflective surface at the bottom and on the X logo on the right side. The color combination is a great looking in my opinion, with the light reflection offering a great contrast. Both of the modules in the photo are the same, but this picture shows just how much their look can change with the right lighting. Kingston also offers the HyperX Genesis in 1600MHz 9-9-9-27 kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX), but it does not come with the Special Edition Grey heat spreaders.

• Capacity: 2 x 2048MB
• 240-pin Unbuffered DDR3 SDRAM
• Speed: 2133MHz (PC-17000) Unbuffered non-ECC DDR3 Modules
• Latency: 9-11-9-27
• Power: 1.65V +/- 0.1V
• Lifetime Warranty

As you can see from the label and feature list the Kingston HyperX Genesis Special Editon 2133MHz kit is rated for 1.65v. This is still a completely safe voltage for Sandy Bridge processors.

So you probably didn’t come here to read about heat spreaders and how they look when the light reflects off of them, you came to see performance! Let’s see how they stack up!