Fast & Flashy 2GB from Corsair ---> TWINX2048-4400PRO OCing report!!!

**bachus_anonym** · 12-27-2005, 02:04 PM

It has been a while since I have seen anyone on XS sharing their OCing results with Corsair memory. Corsair has quite a few 2GB dual packs available, but our Xtreme forums have been so far "dominated" by Crucial, G.Skill, Mushkin and OCZ. Now, it seems that there is a perfect opportunity for Corsair to join the "2GB OCing race"...

After my three previous OCing reports from G.Skill and OCZ 2GB kits, I would like to share with you my latest test.
A preview of Corsair TWINX2048-4400PRO.

As often, I was a bit clumsy with my fingers and smudged a bit of the "easy-to-smudge" printing on the label

If you really need to know, it says there "XMS4401 v1.1"...

Corsair TWINX2048-4400PRO is based on Infineon CE-5 and is speed rated at very high DDR550 8-4-4-3.0. As all modules from PRO-series, these are also equipped with 18 Activity LEDs. This makes them about 15mm higher than normal sized modules but it adds a bit of a "cool factor" to them. It might introduce some clearing problems with certain heatsinks which may or may not be easly solved. I'm not a huge fan of those LEDs (I just need pure speed and performance, without any extras) but I believe there would be many enthusiasts that will find it pretty neat, hehe.

Anyway, let's cut to the chase and bring some OCing results, shall we?

First test was to see how far these modules will go at tightest latencies possible. So, 5-2-3-2.0 it is.

SPi32M @ 291x11=3203MHz DDR458 5-2-3-2.0-1T

Sandra Memory Bandwidth @ 291x11=3203MHz DDR458 5-2-3-2.0-1T

2 hours SP2004 LargeFFT 1780MB used @ 291x11=3203MHz DDR458 5-2-3-2.0-1T

3DMark2001 and 3DMark03 @ 291x11=3203MHz DDR458 5-2-3-2.0-1T

So, as you can those modules top out at some very impressive 229MHz 5-2-3-2.0-1T.

Anything above 229MHz resulted in absolute lack of stability, so it was time to loosen up a bit. That's when 5-2-3-2.5-1T is set to see some action.

SPi32M @ 260x11=2860MHz DDR520 5-2-3-2.5-1T

Sandra Memory Bandwidth @ 260x11=2860MHz DDR520 5-2-3-2.5-1T

3 hours SP2004 LargeFFT 1780MB used @ 260x11=2860MHz DDR520 5-2-3-2.5-1T

3DMark2001 and 3DMark03 @ 260x11=2860MHz DDR520 5-2-3-2.5-1T

At this point I had to shake my head and admit that those modules were pulling some really nice numbers. Fully stable DDR520 at CAS 2.5 is very impressive and above average on Infineon Rev.C based modules. Really sweet stuff so far.

Not surprisingly, past DDR520 @ CAS2.5 was just too difficult to get this RAM stable, so another step up in latencies needed to be made. Say "Hello" to 5-2-3-3.0-1T.

SPi32M @ 278x11=3059MHz DDR556 5-2-3-3.0-1T

Sandra Memory Bandwidth @ 278x11=3059MHz DDR556 5-2-3-3.0-1T

3 hours SP2004 LargeFFT 1780MB used @ 278x11=3059MHz DDR556 5-2-3-3.0-1T

The outcome impressed me again! But those of you that (like myself) have kept track of results shown by others using Infineon Rev.C based RAM would be very interested to see If DDR556 was stable in 3D enviroment and games... Well, you guessed. I had to drop some MHz to find setting that would not cause freezing or serious stuttering and make this RAM playable in games.

3DMark2001 and 3DMark03 @ 271x11=2981MHz DDR542 5-2-3-3.0-1T

SPi32M @ 271x11=2981MHz DDR542 5-2-3-3.0-1T

Sandra Memory Bandwidth @ 271x11=2981MHz DDR542 5-2-3-3.0-1T

Nevertheless, DDR542 5-2-3-3.0-1T is still very good result and above average, from what we have seen from Rev.C based 2GB memory kits. This setting was also stable while playing some NFS-MW and Doom3.

I had a feeling that DDR542 was going to be MAX 3D and all-around stable memory speed that could be achieved, but I still decided to see how well TWINX2048-4400PRO would clock at it's rated latencies. Therefore I tried 8-4-4-3.0-1T

SPi32M @ 285x11=3135MHz DDR570 8-4-4-3.0-1T

Sandra Memory Bandwidth @ 285x11=3135MHz DDR570 8-4-4-3.0-1T

2 hours SP2004 LargeFFT 1780MB used @ 285x11=3135MHz DDR570 8-4-4-3.0-1T

As you can see, this is 10MHz over 275MHz that TWINX2048-4400PRO is rated at, which makes it for a nice and comfortable headroom. Unfortunately, as I suspected, DDR570 was way too much for this RAM as far as 3D stability. I had really hard time even start any 3D bench, not mentioning playing any game. 3DMark2001 would freeze upon splash screen to finally load after almost 45 seconds. But running benchmark alone was just impossible. I spend sizeable amount of time to find a way to get it stable in 3D, but literally nothing helps. No voltage, latencies, drive strenghts... Nothing. Simply, past 271MHz this RAM was not 3D stable, no matter what settings and tricks I tried. At some point I was told that DDR550 is rated at 2T, but even that did not help at all. Still, I had to see where these modules would absolutely top out, even in desktop benches only.

SPi32M @ 287x11=3157MHz DDR574 8-3-4-3.0-1T

Sandra Memory Bandwidth @ 287x11=3157MHz DDR574 8-3-4-3.0-1T

Just to finish off my OCing report, I wanted to compare 3DMark01, 3DMark03 and SuperPi32M results at 260x11=2860MHz but different latencies. I thought that many would like to know that, so here we go.

3DMark2001, 3DMark03 and SPi32M @ 260x11=2860MHz DDR520 5-2-3-2.5-1T

3DMark2001, 3DMark03 and SPi32M @ 260x11=2860MHz DDR520 5-2-3-3.0-1T

3DMark2001, 3DMark03 and SPi32M @ 260x11=2860MHz DDR520 8-4-4-3.0-1T

Results above confirm, that difference between first two sets (when only CAS was loosened) is almost cosmetic. Only 8-4-4-3.0-1T causes performance in those benchmarks to drop low enough to notice it easly. Results in gaming will be most likely less dramatic as many games are more GPU intensive.

CONCLUSION

So, there we are... I was very pleased with this 2GB dual pack from Corsair. DDR542 5-2-3-3.0-1T fully stable is absolutely nothing to sneeze at despite it's rating of PC4400. This result places TWINX2048-4400PRO near the very top among it's direct competitors from Mushkin (Redline XP4000), OCZ (EB PC4000 Platinum), G.Skill (PC3200ZX). The only aspect I'm not sure about is this kit's rating. Although, there's no doubt in my mind that fully stable DDR550 will be achieved in 2D (desktop apps), there is quite a serious possiblilty that very few of TWINX2048-4400PRO kits will be stable in games and 3D enviroment in general at it's rated speed. This claim is based on my own experience with overclocking 2GB kits built with Infineon Rev.C ICs as well as numerous reports from many other users. Among enthusiasts, 2GB kits have been seen as a must-have in the light of latest, resources-hungry game releases like Battlefield 2 or F.E.A.R, therefore 3D stability is critical. Nevertheless, this kit proved to be an excellent performer and deserves very high marks. Hopefully, when it hits the shelves average results will be somewhat close or maybe equal to what this kit achieves

I was told that these modules should be available for purchase sometime in Q1 2006 (January?). The price is not known to me but I suspect it would be a bit north of $300.

I hope everyone enjoyed my quite lengthy report

Michal

**dave_graham** · 12-27-2005, 02:08 PM

i've been eyeing these modules for a while....been wanting to put together a system 'round all these darn opterons i sell.

dave

**gundamit** · 12-27-2005, 02:33 PM

Great report. I like the consistent format you use and the inclusion of Prime. Please re-check the picture links though. Some seem to go to the same pics.

Interesting stuff on Infineon and 3-D stability. I'll be checking my Patriots on FEAR when I get my game rig together next weekend.

**rodman** · 12-27-2005, 02:52 PM

I'll be checking my Patriots on FEAR when I get my game rig together next weekend.

My Patriot CE-5s are fully 3D stable@208 2-3-2-5

However, not nearly as nice as these Corsairs

**bachus_anonym** · 12-27-2005, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by gundamit

Great report. I like the consistent format you use and the inclusion of Prime. Please re-check the picture links though. Some seem to go to the same pics.

Interesting stuff on Infineon and 3-D stability. I'll be checking my Patriots on FEAR when I get my game rig together next weekend.

Thanks! All links should be fixed now.
As far as Infineon... At first, when OCZ was showing their EB PC4000 Platinum and Tony was asking to bench those in 3D, I thought that it is a glitch that can be "tweaked" and gap between 2d and 3D reduced. But so far, after playing with 3 kits based on Rev.C (all from different manufacturers) I was not able to make it work. All behave in the same way and just nothing helps. I'm really curious what makes it behave that way as I'm 99% sure it's neither mobo nor CPU that can be "blamed" for such behaviour. But despite that, those are some really nice sticks, I have to admit. I really like them.

Originally Posted by rodman

My Patriot CE-5s are fully 3D stable@208 2-3-2-5

However, not nearly as nice as these Corsairs

This "2D vs 3D" phenomenon does not appear to show at low memory clocks.

**bachus_anonym** · 12-27-2005, 08:45 PM

I appologise, but there has been a little problem with my hosting. They are doing some maintenance work and screens might be on and offline for the next 12 hours. Thanks!

**[cTx]Philosophy** · 12-27-2005, 09:03 PM

nice mine will do 215 2-3-2-5 but will top out at 248 2.5-3-2-5 havent went any higher than that because I love low lat and cas 3 and above no good for me...

**~~Onepagebook~~** · 12-27-2005, 09:40 PM

Nice work Michael, looks like really nice INF ce6 to me

**bachus_anonym** · 12-28-2005, 01:10 AM

Originally Posted by Philosophy

nice mine will do 215 2-3-2-5 but will top out at 248 2.5-3-2-5 havent went any higher than that because I love low lat and cas 3 and above no good for me...

For a second I thought you had and were talking about 4400PRO. This memory is not yet available for purchase as far as I know.

Originally Posted by Onepagebook

Nice work Michael, looks like really nice INF ce6 to me

Thanks a lot, Kevin

BTW... From what I'm told and have read elsewhere, this kit is built with Infineon CE-5 components. No idea about week code, though.

**high5** · 12-28-2005, 01:32 AM

it is CE-5, just like Corsair 3500LL 2GB kit.

btw, nice report bachus.

just one more thing, iirc these were listed at Corsairs website over a month ago (and there were some reviews at the time) and then suddenly they dissapeared from their products list. were they delayed or what?

**bachus_anonym** · 12-28-2005, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by high5

just one more thing, iirc these were listed at Corsairs website over a month ago (and there were some reviews at the time) and then suddenly they dissapeared from their products list. were they delayed or what?

Well, that's what I'm trying to find out myself

Altogether, I have found 4 previews of those sticks, starting from one by John @ Insanetek (early October) and ending on one at a Czech hardware website (few days ago). I have no other details.

**Jaco** · 12-28-2005, 04:51 AM

if it's not 3D/gaming stable , it's not stable imo.
So, the ram does not meet it's rated specs of pc4400 or 275Mhz
You could RMA those sticks...

**high5** · 12-28-2005, 05:12 AM

yeah, i agree.

that might as well be the reason why Corsair pulled them off their website.

**perry_78** · 12-28-2005, 05:58 AM

Some of the 3500LL's were BE-5, some early reviews were up, these ended at DDR520 as a rule though.

**biohead** · 12-28-2005, 07:40 AM

I agree with Jaco. Why the hell is it rated at 550mhz if it's not stable that way?

**bachus_anonym** · 12-28-2005, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by Jaco

if it's not 3D/gaming stable , it's not stable imo.
So, the ram does not meet it's rated specs of pc4400 or 275Mhz
You could RMA those sticks...

IF other kits of TWINX2048-4400PRO are behaving in the exact same way as the one I received (no 3D @ 275MHz at any latencies, voltages, Command Rate, etc.) then in my opinion for it's own good Corsair should drop the rating to PC4000 5-2-3-3.0 and they would still have a killer RAM.

I suspect, that having the highest speed rating for 2GB is what Corsair is shooting at, but testing only on equipment like RSTPro (what probably every RAM module manufacturer uses) does not seem to catch this "2D vs 3D phenomenon" of Infineon-based modules. Then again, If they bin them this high on the clocks (275MHz, despite 8-4-4-3.0) there is quite a chance that many of those 4400PROs will be doing very nicely @ 5-2-3-3.0. So, it will be still a keeper and all are happy.

If I bought this RAM, I would have kept it as it does really, really well - 271MHz 5-2-3-3.0-1T fully stable (P95/3D) - despite not being stable in 3D @ 275MHz. I'm curious myself when exactly it gets released as I think it might be a great success after all.

Originally Posted by biohead

Why the hell is it rated at 550mhz if it's not stable that way?

Take it easy there, man! This attitude is not gonna get you anywhere here... Read what I wrote above and analyze it, please

**Jaco** · 12-28-2005, 11:18 AM

a little *overrated* maybe , but still excellent ram

**kakaroto** · 12-29-2005, 06:33 AM

Another v ery nice Testreport dude.

I see you have Sp2004 stable but not in games. Have you tried higher voltage. You are using 2.63v, seems little low for Gaming. Games offen need some more juice.

**bachus_anonym** · 12-29-2005, 12:01 PM

Originally Posted by kakaroto

Another very nice Testreport dude.

Thanks! Trying my best

Originally Posted by kakaroto

I see you have Sp2004 stable but not in games. Have you tried higher voltage. You are using 2.63v, seems little low for Gaming. Games offen need some more juice.

If it only was that easy

Being there, done that... and a ton more

But I'm not complaining at all, though... This kit is still an awesome performer, even considering lower 3D-stabke clock

**Tibu** · 12-29-2005, 12:14 PM

Wow if these modules consistently achieve these speeds and are widely available... Mushkin, G.skill and OCZ better watch out

**shuRe** · 12-29-2005, 04:34 PM

thanks for the report, informative and helpful as usual.

lets hope we have another competitor in the 2gb market, i want prices down

**bachus_anonym** · 12-30-2005, 01:05 AM

Originally Posted by Tibu

Wow if these modules consistently achieve these speeds and are widely available... Mushkin, G.skill and OCZ better watch out

It's never enough of good competition as it brings prices down and we all win, right?

Anyway, I'm also wondering how those modules are going to be performing on average when they become available.

Originally Posted by shuRe

thanks for the report, informative and helpful as usual.

No problem

Just trying my best and I will be bringing new OCing reports as often as I can

**Son1990** · 12-30-2005, 01:41 AM

Originally Posted by shuRe

lets hope we have another competitor in the 2gb market, i want prices down

Exactly what Im hoping for.

Nice work with the sticks! Thanks for the info

**bachus_anonym** · 12-31-2005, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by Son1990

Nice work with the sticks! Thanks for the info

Thanks! At the moment I'm testing those sticks with Opteron 150 from njkid32 (thanks for letting me play with it, man!). I want to make sure that my SD 3700+ is not limiting those modules in any way... So far, all results look EXACTLY the same