Word of Warning - Corsair XMS6404 2.1

[phobix]

I just paid $400CAD for a set of 2gb DDR2 for my new conroe Rig, and I am thouroughly disappointed that they do not overclock well. Sure, they run the manufacturers rated timings and speed, but don't expect to run 500 with this memory even at 5/5/5/12. After some investigation it appears as if these modules use PROMOS ICs and not the Micron D9GMH. So, for anyone looking to score Micron, you are taking a gamble if you buy Corsair. They are most likely reserving the Microns for their CAS 3 line of memory since there is such a short supply right now.

[varzmaster]

Twin2X2048-6400 were never ment to be Micron only. Official Micron D9 parts from Corsair are the 6400C4, 6400C3, 8500C5 and the Dominator.

Still, I know some ValueSelect modules with rebranded ProMOS ICs (dunno if they're the same as the ones used in your modules), overclock ~1000 MHz 4-4-4-12 on a modded Asus P5B (non-Deluxe).

[phobix]

My modules are C4...I just didn't provide the full p/n in my thread title...Here is the rest of the p/n

CM2X1024-6400C4 XMS6404V2.1 0635221-22 = PROMOS 667MHZ, CL5, 0.09u 64Mx8 ETT

But still they are PROMOS

If you are interested in knowing which modules have D9 you can look here:

http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=44365

[phobix]

Anyway...If anyone wants my 2 cents here it is:

Elpida is better than PROMOS. I just dumped the Corsairs and bought 2 sets of XP-2 5300 Mushkin for cheap and they run without fuss 4x1gb on a DS3 @ 400mhz, 4/4/4/12 (2v).

I haven't even pushed these modules but I was able to run 366mhz @ CAS 3 so far, so I am quite pleased.

Moral of the story: If you can't find Micron, go with Elpida if you are on the cheap, they are quite good and a half decent alternative to Micron.

Strangely, my 1mb scores went down ever so slightly with 4gb vs 2gb RAM. The other problem being XP32 is only seeing 3.5gb, but with Vista around the corner I couldn't resist the temptation of 4gb

[zerogravity]

sorry for such a noob question: how do i find out complete info about some modules? is it printed only on chips and i have to put off the heatspreaders or is it anywhere else? (i mean before i buy them i'd like to know what i'm going to buy...)

so is it some kind of lottery?

[phobix]

In the case of corsair, you can check the link I provided above. For other branded modules you need to check around and in many cases, yes, it is the luck of thr draw!

Good luck on your quest for the venerable D9

[TheDro]

lol I ran into the same situation, bought 2x1GB 6400c4 sticks, and looked at Ramguy's site and I find out it has the Promos in there instead of the D9s. I wish manufacturers would quit cutting corners and just stick to one component instead of switching a part just to save a buck or two.

[zerogravity]

what can i expect from these modules with Promos chips? it seems i'll buy them... at first i thought i'll go with TeamGroup but it's a bit problem in my country so i decided for these Corsairs...

phobix wrote that we can't expect 500MHz, and what about TheDro? 450 would be also good for me...

[phobix]

what can i expect from these modules with Promos chips? it seems i'll buy them... at first i thought i'll go with TeamGroup but it's a bit problem in my country so i decided for these Corsairs...

phobix wrote that we can't expect 500MHz, and what about TheDro? 450 would be also good for me...

Actually, they probably will run 500mhz with 5/5/5/15, the highest stable at 4/4/4/12 should be around 440mhz. I just was ticked off because of the price I paid for them, I thought I was getting D9s, but overall they are not bad modules they are just really overpriced IMO.

[eyes.only]

I agree,

I've got the p5b-dlx(e6400@3200) with twin2x-2048-6400c5(5/5/5/16) and the're perfectly running at 1:1 400mhz with 4/4/4/12 at 2.0 voltage.

Cpu running at 1,425 (bios). Reached it very simple. Higher speeds not stable and don't want to play with it to much.

[Redbeard]

lol I ran into the same situation, bought 2x1GB 6400c4 sticks, and looked at Ramguy's site and I find out it has the Promos in there instead of the D9s. I wish manufacturers would quit cutting corners and just stick to one component instead of switching a part just to save a buck or two.

I don't think it's cutting corners. We switch ICs because we want to have a variety of parts and Microns become prohibitively expensive to sell 6400C4 sticks with. We still make all the 6400C3, 8500C5, and 8888C4D modules with Micron D9, but the demand for those parts is very high so we use the majority of our Micron parts for those right now, and we needed to find other ICs to make the 6400C4 and 6400 with.

We're not cutting corners, we're making the world's fastest memory. I'm sorry you were upset, but the part still performs well and overclocks past its rated speeds.

[TheDro]

Redbeard, I appreciate your honesty, and I can understand the reason why Corsair decided to switch ICs due to the demand of the Micron parts. I'm not upset, was just a little disappointed that the model I purchased didn't have the D9's. Also I agree that it wasn't cutting corners when it came to keeping the product reasonably affordable.

Zerogravity, I haven't pushed the corsairs any further than 420MHz 2.1v yet.

[kemist]

no offense to corsair guy, ive bought their ram before, but i just stay away from corsair now. They have way too many versions of each ram and switch IC's way too often for me to be comfortable buying; huge gamble. Also from most of what i have seen they are more expensive than other brands, for the same rated ram, maybe they clock better sometimes, but like i said before its a gamble so whatever.

[erwinz]

yup.. I think in buying iteams for our 133t rig.. we must do a little research because of the different revisions.. if you have acces in proven rams like team group and g.skill and corsairs highend.. better save money.. they aren't cheap but you will know what your getting..

I thought the memories will be a little cheaper because of the higher demand.. i hope there are other ddr2 chip makers.. I want to see samsung and winbond DDR2 chips.. I miss my bh5..

[thehellrazor]

Huge gamble ? I think Corsair still is the safest bet if you want d9 chips, exept for Team Group and some of the more expencive gskill sticks...
Corsair cant use micron chips in all their modules, then the prices would have gone skyhigh on the value and the mainstream marked especely when the price for d9 chips are so high as now... You allways get what you pay for, if you want the worlds best ddr2 chips just buy one of the topline set's...

[kemist]

uh, safest as far as i can tell is probably ballistix, but thats just my guess?'

right now you can get the crucial 10th anniversary stuff for $230 (2 gigs 667) and thats d9gmh

and ballistix 6400 for $250 (2gigs) which im guessing is d9gmh

[Redbeard]

no offense to corsair guy, ive bought their ram before, but i just stay away from corsair now. They have way too many versions of each ram and switch IC's way too often for me to be comfortable buying; huge gamble. Also from most of what i have seen they are more expensive than other brands, for the same rated ram, maybe they clock better sometimes, but like i said before its a gamble so whatever.

I don't think it's a huge gamble. We're one of the only manufacturers that I know of that will post exactly what IC is used on what revision of memory in our public forum.

You want Micron D9 chips? We have all the modules that use them listed in the forum.

But just so everyone's clear, just getting Micron D9s is not a guarantee you're going to hit awesome speeds. I've personally seen some crappy Micron D9s, ones that don't respond well to voltage, that sort of thing. This is why we screen them. I think our prices are competitive for the performance segment, as well. Not only that, our parts are available at almost any online retailer and a lot of local stores like Fry's and Best Buy. So I know I'm coming off like an evangelist, and I'm not asking you guys to worship us or anything, but just be fair with your criticisms.

You want to complain that the 8888C4D modules are too expensive and hard to find? That's great, I don't mind that complaint. $600+ is a lot for a set of memory, even if it's the fastest in the world, and they're hard to make so when we sell them to retailers it's not in boxes of 1,000 kits or anything. Regardless, a lot of people are buying them, because they're sold out everywhere.

Anyway, I read this forum to get what you guys like and don't like about our products, and then we work accordingly. The feedback is valuable and it does change our products, the Dominator series is a direct response to the desire to increase voltage and cooling, and a number of our other product lines are moving towards "what the community wants" as well.

So by all means, when you don't like something about us, I encourage you to post it so we can change it. I'm just asking that it be a fair criticism.

[kemist]

Just to clarify a bit, what i mean is when you are ordering from a web site a lot of times you may not be sure what revision you are going to get, and this is why i was saying its a gamble. I understand you guys post your IC for each type and that is definitely cool, the part thats harder to control is what the web site is posting about the module that you are ordering. Its not so much a dig against corsair that you guys change IC's, thats understandable, but if you have recently changed IC's / revisions the website's may or may not post that information and thats where the gamble comes from.

[Jaco]

Corsair uses a different revision number when they change IC's.
I don't understand how this could be bad ? It's brilliant if you ask me and i wish other RAM manufacturers would do the same.
Do some research and you will know exactly what IC's you'll get.

No offense Kemist ,but i just can't stand this corsair 'bashing' .

[kemist]

Sorry didnt mean to be trollish. I dont really think i was 'bashing' though i did make a hasty comment that was somewhat unclear. However, I also stated in the mean time that it was cool that they post ICs in their forums. Its very commendable.

And i never said they made crappy ram, just that its a gamble what you are getting, which if it is a good web site that lists revision and you do your research it isnt, so i apologize about that. It was a quick statement that wasnt qualified and as you guys have shown, if you put in the time its not a gamble.

However, I still feel that they are often more expensive than the competition at the same nominal grade, at least from the prices I have seen. Now whether that extra price comes with more headroom, i dont know, but it seems like phobix paid a lot ($350 US) and didnt get much headroom at all.

Was he somewhat at fault for not researching the IC, sure. But $350 for non-D9 is expensive when you can get D9 for under $250 and D9 binned at 800mhz 4-4-4 for $250. Even if D9 isnt magical it generally clocks really well, hence why everyone is using it in their high end sticks. So, I still feel high price is a fair criticism.

[Nano2k]

Thread is a little old but since I have set of this memory, I feel like I want to give my opinion.

I live in Switzerland, most shops here only have generic products in stock, everything else you have to get ordered specially for you. Customers are generally not so technical, so they usually do not request particular info when buying a product. The guy in the shop won't know the answer to my questions 99.99% of the time anyway.

This means that:
1. I canno't ask to see the RAM before I buy it (because it's not in stock)
2. the shop will not supply any special info before ordering the part, because even the supplier would not know or want to find it.
3. If I say I don't want the product if it's not of a certain revision, the shop will not order it in the first place, thinking I'm a freak.

Therefore all I can do is search forums and read reviews (which probably used 6400C4 with D9 chips). I bought a set of 6400C4 because I read reports of great overclocking potential. Yes the product sold meets the specs, but why are some sticks made with chips that will give different results? Enthusiasts buy products expecting certain results, the same results that most are getting with the same product. By using different chips for the same products, you totally mix up the cards.

I hesitated to order G.Skill HZ before buying this Ram, next time I won't.

[Lestat]

I don't think it's cutting corners. We switch ICs because we want to have a variety of parts and Microns become prohibitively expensive to sell 6400C4 sticks with. We still make all the 6400C3, 8500C5, and 8888C4D modules with Micron D9, but the demand for those parts is very high so we use the majority of our Micron parts for those right now, and we needed to find other ICs to make the 6400C4 and 6400 with.

We're not cutting corners, we're making the world's fastest memory. I'm sorry you were upset, but the part still performs well and overclocks past its rated speeds.

im sorry Red, but those Promos IC's are poop and yet your STILL charging a premium price for ram that is nothing more than value ram.

how can you sit here and say your not cutting corners, when its clear you are.
pulling micron IC's and replacing them with generic IC's ? not cutting corners ?

thats a premium ram and the buyer expects to get that, not a Porsche with a Pinto motor which is exactly what he got.


354 USD for DDR800 ? and its PROMOS ic's ?

you need to return them my friend,, just return them..

[nixnik]

Hi, this is my corsair pc6400c4 v.2.1 epp, 2,2 volt bios, i'think that this chips are micron d9gmh

[Jaco]

according to the info available HERE you have PROMOS IC's

CM2X1024-6400C4 6404V2.1 0635221-22 = PROMOS 667MHZ, CL5, .09u 64Mx8
CMX1024-6400C4 6404V2.1 0636063-3 = PROMOS 667MHZ, CL5, 0.09u 64Mx8

very nice result by the way

[nixnik]

my memory are cm2x1024-6400c4 xms6404 v2.1 226108 /9 0636063-5
these memorys have the -5 end instead of the -3, these new revision are even with chip d9xxx