Kingston HyperX LoVo 1866MHz DDR3 4GB Memory Kit Review

The Kingston LoVo Memory Kit

Last month Kingston announced that they released the world’s first ultra-low voltage memory kit series in a brand new series of HyperX memory modules called ‘LoVo’ (low voltage). Having a low voltage offering as part of a HyperX branded line might shock many of our readers, but it actually makes perfect sense. These days enthusiasts are often looking for a mix between speed and energy efficiency. The Kingston HyperX LoVo memory kit perfectly blends both of these buying factors together into a DDR3 memory kit that that has the ability to run up to 1600MHz with CL 9 timings at just 1.25 vDIMM!

The kit that we will be doing a performance review on today carries part number KHX1866C9D3LK2/4GX, which is a 4GB dual-channel memory kit that runs at 1866MHz with CL9 timings at just 1.35V. This kit of memory has two Intel XMP memory profiles saved in it, which is a little different. The two profiles on this specific kit are DDR3-1866 CL9-9-9-27-2T at 1.35V (Profile #1) and DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-27-2T at 1.25V (Profile #2). The Kingston HyperX LoVo memory kits are also SPD programmed to JEDEC standard latency DDR3-1333Mhz timing of 9-9-9 at 1.5V, so you know when you plug the modules into your system for the very first time that it will boot for you. More information on the various Kingston LoVo memory kit timings and XMP profiles can be found here on their product landing page.

Part Number	Frequency	Timings	Voltage	Price
KHX1333C9D3UK2/4GX	1333MHz	9-9-9-27	1.25V	$133.99
KHX1600C9D3LK2/4GX	1600MHz	9-9-9-27	1.35V	$135.99
KHX1800C9D3LK2/4GX	1800MHz	9-9-9-27	1.35V	$142.99
KHX1866C9D3LK2/4GX	1866MHz	9-9-9-27	1.35V	$203.00

Kingston currently has four LoVo HyperX memory kits available and they
differ by the clock frequency, voltage and of course the price. The KHX1866C9D3LK2/4GX kit that we have is the flagship model and doesn’t appear to be available on the market, which is why the price is so high as we are using the MSRP for this kit. The other three kits are readily available on the market and the prices above are linked to Newegg. As you can see only a $2 price difference is present between some of the kits, which is more than reasonable. The Kingston KHX1600C9D3LK2/4GX 1600Mhz memory kit also has two memory profiles, so it can do both 1333MHz CL9 at 1.25V and 1600MHz CL9 at 1.35V. The extra two dollars gets you the additional pre-programmed Intel XMP profile and the guarantee that the kit works perfectly at 160MHz. The 1800MHz kit has two XMP profiles as well for 1600MHz and 1800MHz with CL9 timings and 1.35V.

This LoVo kit has 9-9-9-27 timings which are not overly aggressive for
this clock frequency, but they need just 1.35V to run at these specified
timings. Competing dual channel memory kits that also operate at
1866MHz use upwards of 1.9V (Patriot Enhanced 2GB w/ part number
PVS32G1866LLK) to run at this clock speed, so you can see that this kit
can lower the voltage used by the memory modules by nearly 30%. Most
DDR3 memory kits run at 1.65V these days though as that is the maximum
voltage suggested by Intel for use with their Intel Core i3, i5 and i7
series of processors. Using less voltage means that the system will
consume less energy, the memory kit won’t get as hot and the memory kit
could possibly last longer. Not a bad trade off if you ask us! Notice that that Kingston has changed the color of the heat spreaders to green to go along with the low voltage theme!

The Kingston HyperX LoVo memory label shows the part number as well as the voltages for the memory kit. The other information on the module isn’t important to consumers, but it to Kingston as they can keep tabs on what batch the module came from and what components it is using if it ever needs to be swapped out under the lifetime warranty.

Key Features

• 2GB density per module
• DDR3 240-pin DIMM
• PC3-14900 (1866 MHz)
• 9-9-9-27 1T Timings
• 1.35 Volts
• Optimized for the Intel P55 platform
• Green Heat Spreaders
• Lifetime Warranty

Let’s take a look at our test system and move onto testing these modules!