Review | ADATA Premier DDR4 2666MHZ 2X8GB Memory Kit

Looking for a memory kit that wont break the bank? Well, ADATA has an answer in the form of the Premier DDR4 2666MHZ. A no-frills, zero BS plug and play module straight outta ADATA.

The ADATA Premier DDR4 we got is the 2666MHz variant in a 2x8GB kit package. It is bare naked with only the essentials, including a bone stock JEDEC specifications. Priced at just 1899 Pesos for a single module, the Premier DDR4 is slated to appeal for the majority of system builders looking for a value oriented product.

Technical Specifications

Memory
Compatibility	Intel, AMD, XMP 2.0
Type	DDR4
Capacity	4GB, 8GB, 16GB
Frequency	2666MHz
Timings	19-19-19-36
Voltage	1.20v
Format	NON-ECC, Unbuffered
Heatsink Material	NA
Dimensions
Length	135.7mm
Width	6mm
Height	31.2mm
Weight	70g

Packaging and Accessories

The ADATA Premier DDR4 comes inside a blister pack. No stickers, no extra paperworks. It is just that simple.

Design, Layout and Build Quality

The ADATA Premier DDR4 is a basic looking memory kit. It comes with a Green PCB, zero-bs design we used to see from older kits. This comes with a 1.20v power requirement and with an operating temperature range of 0°C to 85°C. Suffice to say, there’s no need to add a heat-sink.

With a standard height of around 31.2mm, the ADATA Premier is fully compatible with all tower coolers and down draft coolers available in the market right now. If you are looking forward to build a SFF system, then consider this memory kit.

Each ADATA Premier stick features a single rank module with ADATA’s own chips embedded on a decently layered PCB. This single rank approach keeps the cost down low, while ensuring that multiple installed modules wont affect heat dissipation.

According to ADATA, all their Premier series DDR4 kits features lifetime warranty. That’s how proud they are about the memory’s quality. All memory kits on our review has been tested with MemTest86 and I must say it passed with flying colors.

Test Setup and Methodology

The performance of the system shall be evaluated by various benchmarking tools and applications. We are testing this system with the high-performance settings enabled at the OS, with the default UEFI configuration. Background processes such as anti-virus and third-party applications are disabled as well. Outlined below are the applications and benchmark tools for reference:

TEST SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS
PROCESSOR	Intel Core-i5 6600K
MOTHERBOARD	ASUS Z170-A
COOLER	Cryorig C1 Top Flow
MEMORY	ADATA Premier DDR4 2666MHZ 2X8GB
GRAPHICS	ASUS ROG Strix GTX 1060 OC 6GB
STORAGE	Crucial BX200 480GB
CASE	Thermaltake  Core P3
POWER	CORSAIR RM850X 850W
DISPLAY	DELL U2715H
OS	Microsoft Windows 10 Pro

SYNTHETIC PERFORMANCE:

• Super PI – 32M Calculations
• wPrime – 32M and 1024M Calculations
• AIDA64 Extreme Edition – Memory Benchmark

PRODUCTIVITY PERFORMANCE:

• GIMP – 7 MB worth of image processing
• HandBrake – 150 MB MP4 to H.264 video encoding
• WinRAR – Internal benchmark tool

GAMING PERFORMANCE:

• Battlefield 4 – Ultra Settings | V-SYNC off
• DIRT: Rally – Ultra Settings | V-SYNC off
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Ultra Settings | HairWorks off | V-SYNC off

The ADATA Premier DDR4 memory kit we got has a JEDEC standard of 2666MHz with default timings at 19-19-19-36 under 1.20v.

Zero stability issues here with our Z170 based test system, as expected from the JEDEC standard DIMMs.

Synthetic Performance

Super PI is a single-threaded program that calculates pi to a specified number of digits after the decimal point. It is a widely used benchmark within the industry.

WPrime is a multi-threaded program that calculates a set number of square roots. It verifies the results by squaring them, then compares it with the original numbers.

The AIDA64 Memory Benchmark measure the data transfer bandwidth and latency of the system memory.

As expected, the ADATA Premier DDR4 with 2666MHz of frequency is the slowest memory kit on our test. That said, it still performed decently, like any 2666MHz kits would.

Productivity Performance

GIMP or GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a free and open-source image editing tool. A 7 MB worth of images is be processed and converted to gauge the system performance.

HandBrake is a free video encoding tool that supports a wide variety of media codecs. A 150MB worth MP4 video is converted using the H.264 codec to gauge the system performance.

WinRAR is a file archive utility that can create, view and unpack numerous archive file formats. The software’s built in benchmark tool is utilized to gauge the system performance.

Real world benchmarks reflects the RAM’s capabilities on the synthetic benchmarks. It is again, not the fastest but you can’t fault the JEDEC standard.

Gaming Performance

Battlefield 4 is Electronic Art’s popular First Person Shooter, running on the Frostbite 3 game engine developed by DICE. It utilizes the DirectX 11 and the Mantle API.

DIRT: Rally is CODEMASTER’s take on the rally racing game genre. It utilizes the EGO game engine with support for the DirectX 11 API.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is CDProjekt RED’s award-winning Action Adventure RPG. The Witcher 3 utilizes the REDengine 3 with DirectX 11 support.

Gaming performance again reflects what we have seen before but the gains from 3200MHz kits are hardly noticeable at all. That’s unless 1-2 frames per second matters to you.

Software, Lighting and Special Features

Practically nothing to write here about the ADATA Premier.

Final Thoughts

The ADATA Premier DDR4 with 2666MHz frequency is no trail blazer, nor a beautiful kit to look at. It is a basic memory kit and ADATA intended it to work that way.

Performance wise, you couldn’t ask for more when it comes to its JEDEC specifications. What you see is what you get. That means it is a decent performing kit across all ranges. It excels at gaming though, where most memory kits regardless of their speed meets a certain limitation. Not all games and systems shares the same scaling performance so this is where the ADATA Premier really shines the most.

Price wise, you are looking at a memory kit with a price point of 1899 Pesos for a single 8GB stick stick. Simple math will tell that’s about 3798 Pesos which is 500 Pesos cheaper than the competition.

Overall, ADATA did a fine job with the Premier DDR4. A true basic memory kit, with everything we expected from it.