Conclusion

Conclusion

We cannot conclude a review about RAM without mentioning that all-important metric, ‘Price vs. Performance.’  Sadly, without actually knowing the price of either RAM kit, it is difficult to draw an objective conclusion, here. So, I will, instead, discuss money spent on RAM generally and then draw a conclusion from there. It is generally true to say that – in a PC build – money is usually better spent elsewhere on literally anything else. A better CPU, a nicer motherboard, a higher tier GPU, a better PSU, etc. However, if you have budgeted ‘X’ amount of money and a higher-tier RAM kit is within said budget, then there are worse things you could do with the cash. We have demonstrated that decent performance gains can be had when manually tuning your memory beyond what the default XMP profiles can give you in terms of performance, though unless the application you use is specifically memory sensitive, these gains tend to be limited to games only. It must also be noted that when testing CPUs and RAM, we are intentionally trying to force a scenario where the performance of the processor and memory matters more than it may otherwise. For instance, testing at 1080p using any graphics preset other than ‘Ultra’ will (when using a powerful card like a 3060Ti) almost certainly forces a CPU/memory limited scenario. Bannerlord proved this well, with my 6-core 3600XT hovering at between 80-90% usage almost all the time the test was being run. Battlefield 1 also proves taxing on CPUs at 1080p.

Ultimately, higher-tier memory will add additional costs to an already pricey endeavor and – if on a budget – your money is likely better spent elsewhere. With that said, if quality memory is within your reach, then I would encourage you to buy it, absolutely.

At this point, a disclaimer is needed. My results when manually tuning the Talos kit genuinely surprised me. The performance gains seen in Bannerlord, Battlefield 1, 7Zip, and 3d Mark (CPU score) were… pretty outstanding. The tests were, of course, re-run to verify and not accounting for some very small day to day variation, the results of the manually tuned Talos kit remained valid (at least to my eye). In my view, the performance gains were a little too good to be true, but I lack the expertise to explain them adequately. Whilst, therefore, manually tuning your RAM can yield excellent results, I would urge you to remember that – if the Talos’ results were accurate – not all application and/or games will show the same level of uplift.

To address the potential ‘dirty’ in this review done to the more expensive Apollo RAM kit, my inability to tune it further certainly was not for lack of trying. Multiple attempts were made at even getting the kit to boot at 3,600Mhz with altered sub-timings, but the memory was having none of it. I have absolutely no doubt that those on Zen 3 or any Intel system (from Coffee Lake onwards) will be able to get more out of it. It is a high-tier product that was likely just paired with a CPU/motherboard that simply wasn’t able to run it any faster. So… what do I think of the kits? Well, without being facetious, RAM is RAM. High-quality 3,600Mhz kits are not especially difficult to find nowadays and to ask each manufacturer to do something ‘special’ to make their RAM stand out feels like a major ask for perhaps the most forgettable component of your PC.

That said, Acer has done their best, here, to make products that are built well (with that attractive lifetime warranty). Both kits look excellent, in my view, and whilst people may dearly love the RGB craze, I happen to prefer the cleaner and more understated looks of the Talos kit. I am, I will admit, a sucker for high contrast PC builds and white/black RAM is a personal favorite of mine. The RGB on the Apollo, however, is tastefully implemented and due to the ‘frosted glass’ appearance of the RGB strip, the light emitted from them is ever so slightly washed out, which I like.  

In short, their build quality is good, and – visually speaking – both products would feel at home in any modern PC build. If you’re of a mind, of course, ensure to take the time to manually tune them, as well. It’s extra performance and that may well be worth it for a relatively minimal amount of time spent in the BIOS. Would I recommend these products? Without knowing the price, of course, it is difficult to say. If, however, we assume the Talos kit is priced at between $100-120, then it is a solid ‘Yes’ from me. That price point has the Talos competing with the likes of GSkill Ripjaws, Team T-Force Dark, and RGB offerings from Corsair (Vengeance RGB Pro) and GSkill’s Trident RGB. These are all products that I would describe as being ‘the upper end of the mid-tier, and I see no reason why the Talos cannot hang out with them whatsoever. If Acer saw fit to sell this kit for slightly more, let’s assume, between $120-130, then I would say fair enough', as CL18 3,600Mhz RAM kits occupy up to the $160 price point for the highest-end offerings, e.g., Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB. Ultimately, if this product were available for between $100-130, I would probably bite.

Would I recommend the Apollo, though? 3,600Mhz CL14 RAM kits are, unsurprisingly, fairly rare. Whilst PCPartPicker is by no means an exhaustive list, I counted just five kits for sale between $185-240, making my original $200-220 guess really not far off! The Apollo modules have a lot going for them. They are well built, have excellent RGB implementation, and performed imperiously, never putting a foot wrong. It must be remembered that this kit managed to make XMP work, 3,600Mhz CL14 on a Zen 2 CPU with a cheap-ish B450 motherboard. That, to my mind, is legitimately quite impressive. Whilst I could not tune the kit further, I have no doubts that additional performance could be gained when pairing the product with a higher-tier Zen 2 chip, a Zen 3 CPU, or any Intel-based system. If you are in the market for an RGB RAM kit that is fast with highly binned dies at low latency, I see no problem in recommending this product, either.

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