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Corsair Dominator PC3-14400 (TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN)


Date
: 01/14/08 – 12:35:37 AM

Author
:

Category
: Memory

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Corsair Memory

Price:
$614.44 CDN (TDDirect.ca)

Things are really starting to heat up in the DDR3 battle for supremacy. The comparison to the DDR2 race for arms almost two years ago now is un-canny. The main supplier for all memory manufacturers is again Micron Technology with another D9 IC variant that is head and shoulders above the rest. The voltages seen on specification sheets are also well above JEDEC standards and climbing. With the added voltage comes added performance, but also added heat. All of these elements are reminiscent of what we saw with DDR2 and like DDR2 the same leaders are starting to emerge from the pack of pretenders.

One of the leaders in DDR2 modules was Corsair and one of the early leaders in DDR3 memory is again, none other than Corsair. Headquartered in Fremont California, Corsair has always pushed the envelope when it came to innovation in the DRAM memory game. In conjunction with an entire line of "ultra-reliable" server and mission critical memory, Value Select memory that offers cost-effective solutions for everyday computing, Corsair has one of the largest performance driven memory closets. Hanging in the Corsair wardrobe include XMS, XMS2, XMS Pro, XMS Expert, XMS2 DHX, and their little black dress that was designed for the red carpet, the Dominator line of performance memory.

Today we will bypass the rest and start right at the top with a thorough look at Corsair's DDR3 Dominator darling, the TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN. Rated for 900MHz (DDR3-1800) with timings of 7-7-7-20 @ 2.00v, this kit is the belle of any ball and the technology behind them is second to none. The Dominator DHX heat sinks have made quite a name for themselves strapped on the back of DDR2 modules, today we will see what they are capable of on some of the highest rated DDR3 memory…get your popcorn ready!

Page 2 : Package & Contents

The package that Corsair sends out is mighty impressive. The sample we received comes in a rather large white box with an information pamphlet shrink-wrapped to the top. The presentation of the pamphlet and information it provides immediately presents a top quality feel to the product. Whether this is how retail samples of this memory are shipped is not something that can be commented on but it certainly makes you feel special when this package shows up on your door step.

Once inside the package, the elegant presentation continues with the modules encrusted neatly in inches of protective styrofoam on all sides. There is another layer of the pink foam that sits on top of the modules and it is evident that it would take complete destruction of the package for any damage to come to these modules. The smaller box tucked into the right side is home to the Dominator AirFlow fan unit.

Like everything else, the packaging is overkill protecting the fan unit from anything but a natural disaster. Included with the AirFlow fan is a small installation instruction sheet but that information is already available in the pamphlet. Overall, Corsair has outdone anything I have ever seen before in this memory packaging. When buying a high-end kit of memory, one might want it to arrive in a high-end package. Corsair does this through presentation but at the same time, isn't inflating costs of the kits as the materials used are basic and relatively in-expensive. Personally, I never thought I would say this about a memory package but…I am impressed.

There is no question that the Corsair Dominator modules are unique. The elegant look of the ribbed black heatspreaders and dark PCBs trimmed with gold make the Dominators one of the best if not the best looking module available right now. The heat sink isn't just for looks however, they play an integral role in making the Dominators dominate.

Stickers on both sides of the modules provide plenty of information about the memory including the part number and full specifications. The sticker on the opposite side of the module simply displays the new support of Intel's XMP profile for automatic overclocking to run the modules at spec. I will speak more about this in the Specifications & Features page coming up.

Aside from the outer black heat sink, the above photo gives us a small look at the interior heat sink. This second set of silver heat sinks are actually directly connected to the PCB of the module. This is what makes up the Dual-Path Heat Exchange (DHX) system that makes these modules unique. Again, we will discuss this in full in an upcoming section.

Obviously the heat sinks that accompany this memory are taller than standard modules. In fact, the PCBs are even much taller than a standard memory PCB. This will no doubt come in to play when it comes time to install the memory in the motherboard with the Thermalright Ultra-120 and its large wingspan and low clearance.

As we saw in the package, this kit of Dominator memory comes with not only an advanced cooling system directly connected to the modules in the form of the DHX heat sinks, but also in a more low-tech but extremely efficient fan system. The Corsair Dominator AirFlow fan setup is designed to clip onto the DIMM retaining clips and sit directly above the Dominator modules. The retention system and design is very well thought out and the AirFlow fan is a very nice addition to provide active cooling to the modules.

Unfortunately the sample of the AirFlow fan I received had a small imperfection. At the three-pin connector, the heat shrink that secures the cable sleeving was not shrunk enough and had already let go of the sleeve before I could even get the fan assembly installed. This is the tiniest of tiny set-backs and is about the only complaint I have up until this point. That definitely means we are off to a good start. Let's now take a quick look at the specifications and an in-depth look at the technology behind the Corsair Dominator memory and their DHX heat sinks.

Page 3 : Specifications & Features

This section has a little more than usual to discuss because of the special heat sink technology that Corsair uses on the Dominator modules. We've already seen the operating specifications from the sticker on the modules so there is nothing really new here as far as information goes.

Of course, these modules are rated for 900MHz or DDR3-1800 at timings of 7-7-7-20 with 2.00v. Some people get confused with memory specifications, especially with high-end modules like these Dominators. For all users, in order to run the specified frequency and timings, the system will need to be overclocked. This is sometimes over-looked by new users thinking that the memory should automatically run the specified frequency and timings. It was this confusion and need to overclock the system that Intel has developed their Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP). XMP profiles when matched up to a compatible motherboard allow for the user to simply select the XMP profile and the system will automatically adjust the system settings that will allow the memory to run the specified frequency and timings. This new technology is very similar to NVIDIAs EPP technology. Here is the CPU-Z tab showing the different SPD and XMP profiles programmed on these modules:

We see the three JEDEC specifications for low frequency and loose timings to allow the memory to boot in non-XMP capable motherboards at default settings when they are only providing the JEDEC specified 1.5v. This will prevent the issue we saw with a number of DDR2 performance modules that needed at least 1.8v~2.0v just to POST and default motherboard settings were only providing 1.8v not allowing the system to POST. The last profile is the XMP profile and as we can see, not only specifies the higher 900MHz frequency and tight 7-7-7-20 timings, but also the required 2.00v.

Much to our surprise, and a great one at that, with the BIOS was reset to defaults in the Asus Maximus Extreme; the system booted up to the XMP profile specified by the Dominator memory. The above CPU-Z screens are what the system boots up at with system defaults selected. The FSB is increased to 450MHz and with the 1:2 ratio, the memory is running at 900MHz frequency with the specified 7-7-7-20 timings. The CPU ratio is set to 7X to keep the CPU frequency as close to the rated 3.00GHz frequency and the voltage was set to just slightly above the default VID. The tRD (Performance Level) is even set to an aggressive level providing outstanding performance of this setup.

All of this occurred without us touching a single setting in the BIOS. This is our first experience with XMP profiles and to say we are impressed is an understatement. We went ahead and stress tested the system for a number of hours and it passed with flying colors. This outstanding result is as much a product of the motherboard used as the memory but so far, we are sold on XMP profiles. One drawback is that the XMP profile sets the vDIMM to 2.00v as specified by Corsair for operation at this frequency and timings. Unfortunately, the Asus Maximus Extreme over-volts memory and this particular sample provides 0.10v more than selected in the BIOS. As a result, the memory is actually receiving 2.10v which may not be too healthy for long term stability. This is a problem with the motherboard and not the memory but something that Corsair may want to discuss with Asus motherboard engineers.

Page 4 : Dominator DHX Heat Sink 101

Moving forward we will now discuss the revolutionary Dual-path Heat Xchange (DHX) heat sink that the Corsair Dominator modules sport. This section is dedicated to breaking down and explaining the Corsair DHX heat sink and why it is superior to every other memory cooling solution out there.

The idea behind the heat sink is based on the fact that the ICs produce the heat on a memory module and not only can be cooled from the backside like traditional heat spreaders, but also through the PCB. According to a Micron Semiconductor study, ICs transfer 50% of their generated heat to the PCB through the same ball grid array that transfers the data to the ICs. The DHX heat sink is designed in conjunction with a special PCB to provide a method for removing the heat being transferred to the PCB from the ICs.

Borrowing an image from the Corsair web site, we can see what exactly is underneath the heat sinks. The gold colored strip along the top of the PCB is where the 'inner' cooling fins interface with the PCB drawing the heat out of the specially designed circuit board. The 'outer' black heat sink is then left with the traditional job of conducting heat directly off of the back of the IC.

This close up photo of the cooling fins shows us the location that the sliver heat sink contacts the plated strip along the top of the PCB with the outer heat sink going down to the ICs surface.

Another macro photo gives us a clear view of the contact that the outer heat sink makes with the IC. If we look close we can actually see the adhesive used slightly oozing out from the surface of the IC. This material is extremely efficient at transferring heat and is actually cured to the IC at high temperature. The only complaint I have is that we can clearly see the contact between the heat sink and IC missing at the very bottom of the IC. It looks like the adhesive wasn't lined up exactly with the IC and a small portion of the IC is not making contact with the heat sink as a result. Despite this minor flaw, the Dominator DHX heat sink and PCB are clearly revolutionary and one of a kind in an industry full of gimmicks.

Page 5 : Installation

It was mentioned earlier that this section would lead to some potentially problematic situations because of the height of the DHX heat sinks. We will see how this combination of Thermalright Ultra-120 and Dominator memory on two motherboards, the Asus P5K3-Dlx and the test motherboard, the Asus Maximus Extreme.

First up is the Asus P5K3-Dlx and even in the first slots, the Thermalright Ultra-120 appears to be causing no issues with these modules. Clearly the heat sinks are a fair bit taller than the Ultra-120 provides but the DIMM slots on the P5K3-Dlx are far enough away from the CPU socket to allow the memory to fit without issue. Keep in mind that the #2 and #4 slots are optimized for memory on Asus P35 and X38 motherboards so unless we were to run four modules, the memory wouldn't even be in the orange slots leaving even more room for the memory.

Not only did we check the CPU heat sink clearance but also the added northbridge cooling that I use on this motherboard. The Noctua NC-U6 is mounted in an orientation that it actually touches the memory when in the orange slots but does allow the memory to fit without problem. So far, the Dominators height has not been an issue. We will now see if that holds true on the Asus Maximus Extreme.

The orientation of the Ultra-120 is the key to this setup as we will see shortly. naturally, the height of the modules doesn't change on this motherboard and the memory extends up higher than the Ultra-120 allows. What happens on this motherboard, un-like the P5K3-Dlx, the Ultra-120 extends out over the first DIMM slot and the Corsair Dominator modules will not fit in the first slot with the CPU in this orientation.

It is really close, but there is no way to get the first slot populated with this combination of parts. As mentioned, the #2 & #4 slot are optimized for memory on this motherboard so that won't be an issue today, but if we were going to be running 4 modules, we would have to rotate the Ultra-120 to face the other way. This is going to be the type of situation we see a lot with the large CPU coolers and these tall modules. Today there has been a working alternative on both boards but in some setups, the height of these modules will force changes to CPU and/or NB cooling.

The final step before getting the system up and running is the installation of the Dominator AirFlow fan. With the modules in the outside (white) slots, the AirFlow fan has no problem clipping on and sitting directly above the modules. The way the AirFlow fan secures to the DIMM clips is nice and secure and quite easy to accomplish. Corsair has done a wonderful job with this active memory cooler that operates almost silently and really provides ample air movement to keep the Dominator DHX heat sinks nice and cool.

Page 6 : Test Setup & Overclocking

In the past few DDR3 reviews here at Overclockers Online.net we have focused on comparing various DDR3 results with high clocked DDR2 numbers. I think we have seen that the DDR3 clocks out-perform the DDR2 1200 results in the benchmarks enough time so we will now turn to simply focusing on DDR3 frequency and timing sets for comparison in the benchmark section. This means that a single setup will again be used for all of the benchmarks, and here is the hardware used in that setup:

• CPU: Intel C2D E6850 (L724A479)

• CPU Cooling: Thermalright Ultra-120
• MB: Asus Maximus Extreme (Bios 0803)
• PWM Cooling: Stock
• NB Cooling: Stock Air
• SB Cooling: Stock
• GPU: Biostar 8600GTS 512MB DDR3 ForceWare 169.21
• PSU: Silverstone Zeus 560W
• HD: Seagate SATAII 80GB 8MB NCQ
• OS: Windows XP SP2 (with all updates)

  Memory:

• Corsair Dominator 2x1GB PC3-14400 7-7-7-20 (TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN)

• Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB PC3-12800 8-8-8-20 (BL2KIT12864BA1608)
• SuperTalent Projext X 2x1GB PC3-14400 7-7-7-21(W1800UX2GP)

Stability testing for memory overclocks is always a hotly debated topic but the method I have put together has served me extremely well in providing extensive stability within a reasonable time frame. This is a quote from my recent DDR3 reviews with a brief explanation of what stable is to me:

As mentioned, time restraints make it an impossibility to test the various frequencies and timings that we test for with a memory kit but the ingredients outlined below have proved to be an excellent recipe for total 24/7 stability:

• Multiple loops of 3DMark 01 / 06 (30 minutes of looping the full tests each)

• Dual 32M runs of SuperPi Mod 1.5 (ran at the same time)
• 2 hours of dual Prime95 using Prime95 v2.54 on blend mode
• 2 hours of dual MemTest Pro in Windows using 850MB/instance

With any and all overclocking from GPUs to CPUs and of course, memory, results are going to vary. The sample we are reviewing today will overclock differently from the very next kit out of the Corsair facility. There are many variables including other hardware used and of course user experience. Basing judgment on one set of results is cavalier and may lead to disappointment. Combining multiple sets of results should be done when considering overclocking in any purchase decision. In the end though, it all comes down to luck of the draw…as every overclocker should know. Now, let's see what our kit is capable of on the above setup.

Looking at the center column, the 2.00v or stock voltage results, we get a sense that this kit is very strong. At 8-7-6 timings we are already getting close to 1000MHz completely stable and at the tight timings of 6-6-5 we are equally close to 800MHz. The results we see here are slightly better than what we saw from the Crucial Ballistix and the P5K3-Dlx but not as much as I would have thought. With slight bumps in voltage all the results climb admirably except the 8-7-6 results which might indicate that we are actually maximizing what the X38 chipset can do. This kit of Corsair Dominator memory definitely impresses in the overclocking department and really, overclocking is all that separates high-end memory these days putting this Dominator kit near the top. Here now is just a sample of the overclock screenshots from the testing.

DDR3-1616 6-6-5-18 1T @ 2.06v(BIOS)

DDR3-1820 7-6-5-18 1T @ 2.00v(BIOS)

DDR3-1992 8-7-6-21 1T @ 2.10v(BIOS)

Page 7 : Memory Benchmarks

Today I decided to switch up the benchmarking section because showing the same old results of DDR3 beating high-clocked DDR2 memory was getting boring. If you want to see how DDR3 stacks up against DDR2, check out the Crucial Ballistix DDR3 review from a couple months ago. Today, since we have a fully XMP capable motherboard, I figured it was time to have a bit of an XMP profile showdown. This is basically for those readers that aren't into overclocking and the idea of setting memory timings in the BIOS is daunting. If you were to buy one of these three kits of memory and match them up with an E6850 and an Asus Maximus Extreme, this is how they would stack up with the system set to BIOS defaults and the XMP profiles taking over.

The top three results are that of the three XMP profiles (from top to bottom) of the Corsair Dominator, Super Talent Project X, and Crucial Ballistix memory. The Dominators and Project X modules have virtually the same ratings but we can see the Dominator XMP profile is slightly more aggressive running 1T instead of 2T that the Super Talent modules run. The Ballistix memory isn't rated for as high a frequency or as tight timings so it will likely be behind in all benchmarks despite running at a slightly higher CPU frequency. Again, this is without any adjustments on my part. I simply clear the CMOS and boot up to run the benchmarks with each kit. The last two results are with the Corsair Dominators at the higher 6-6-5 and 8-7-6 clocks with the CPU at a lofty 4GHz…these results are just to show off the power of DDR3 and compare high frequency with loose timings to lower frequency with tight timings. Enjoy…

SiSoft Sandra Lite XII – Memory Bandwidth

Lavalys Everest Ultimate 07 v4.00 – Memory Bandwidth

ScienceMark v2.00 – Memory Bandwidth

As was to be expected, the Crucial Ballistix bandwidth numbers just don't stack up, this is because of course the decreased frequency and increased latency of the loose timings. The battle between the Corsair Dominator and Super Talent Project X is neck and neck though. These two kits are almost identical in timings with their XMP profiles so this heated battle should continue right through the benchmarking results. The DDR3-2000 results achieved with the Corsair Dominator memory are simply incredible. Over 10,000 MB/s read bandwidth and over 12,500 MB/s read bandwidth in Everest are no small feats and very impressive milestones for sure.

SiSoft Sandra & Lavalys Everest – Memory Latency

Having a look at the latency results brings a little bit of intrigue. I was fully prepared to find the DDR3-1600 6-6-5-18 latency to be equal or less than the DDR3-2000 latency but that is clearly not the case. Apparently DDR3-2000 at 8-7-6 timings not only provides greater bandwidth, but also better latency. The Dominator XMP profile also trumps the Project X profile in latency results which is likely a direct result at running 1T.

Futuremark PCMark 05 – Memory Bench

A new addition to my results in the memory benchmarks is the PCMark 05 Memory suite of benchmarks. The memory suite tests bandwidth by copying various sized files and generating a score based on the results. This is the first time I have included the score in my memory reviews here at O2 but it seems to be a fairly good judge of character. The results are pretty much what one would expect to see and further confirms the findings of Everest and SiSoft Sandra. After the memory benchmarks, the Corsair Dominator memory is leading the battle of the XMP profiles and the overclocked results are nothing short of impressive.

Page 8 : System Benchmarks

It is the same deal as in the Memory Benchmarks section, the XMP profiles populate the top three spots followed by the over-clocked results in the graphs. The benchmarks we are about to look at are orientated at showing the performance of the whole memory sub-system and not just the bandwidth/latency like the previous page. PCMark isn't really heavily dependent on memory performance but WinRAR is and so is SuperPi. Let's see what we have.

Futuremark PCMark 05

WinRAR 500MB Benchmark

As stated, the PCMark 05 default test shows little gains by adjusting memory frequency and timings. In contrast, the WinRAR benchmark results show drastic performance differences with changes to memory frequency and timings. The Ballistix XMP profile falls a full minute behind the Dominator XMP profile despite the extra 50MHz in CPU speed. Clearly the much slower and looser memory plays a much larger role in WinRAR than does CPU speed. This is again evident going from 3.15GHz to the 4GHz results where the gap is a mere 24 and 34 seconds. One more time though, we see the DDR3-1600 result fall short to the DDR3-2000 result chalking up another advantage to outright frequency when it comes to memory performance.

SuperPi Mod v/1.5 – 1M

SuperPi Mod v/1.5 – 32M

The SPi 1M results are like splitting hairs so I will let them speak for themselves and concentrate my typing on the 32M results. Even in the 32M calculation, the Dominator XMP profile and Project X XMP profile are nearly identical. With the 1T vs. 2T difference between the profiles I was certain there would be more of a gap, clearly there isn't. The 4GHz DDR3-2000 result impressively enough breaks into the 11 minute territory and the DDR3-1600 6-6-5 result follows close behind at only 12minutes and 5 seconds. So it appears that the bandwidth results all but predict what we saw here, let's see if the trend continues in the 3D testing.

Page 9 : 3D & Gaming Benchmarks

We will finish up the testing portion of this review with a quick look at how the different memory settings perform in the Futuremark 3DMark suite and Half-Life 2. Normally 3D gaming and 3DMark don't show a huge difference and I don't expect any different here but it's still worth a look.

Futuremark 3DMark 01/03/05/06

As expected, the gains and losses to the different memory settings are negligible with this setup and quite frankly, never are in my experience. When memory manufacturers market their memory as better for gaming, it is just that, marketing. The 3DMark series isn't exactly a representation of every game performance out there but does a decent job of ball-parking how a system will perform in 3D gaming.

Gaming Benchmarks – Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2 is one of the more responsive games to system performance and not just the GPU, for this reason I always include it in the benchmark section. With that said, it doesn't even show much effect from memory. The only noticeable gains are had by going from 3.15 GHz to 4.00GHz but at the same frequency the difference in memory frequency and/or timings is only marginal at best. Other games like Bioshock, Company of Heroes, and BF 2142 show absolutely no difference with this setup and are limited by the GPU; even at 800×600 with low settings.

Page 10 : Conclusion

"And you may ask yourself-well…how did I get here?" David Byrne, Talking Heads. How we got here is through an exhilarating overclocking ride that lasted the better part of two weeks, an informative look at the most technologically advance memory cooling solution on the market, and a fairly thorough benchmarking session to test the blistering performance. The summation of that descriptive run-on sentence is that the Corsair Dominator DDR3 memory really does dominate.

The overclocking results we saw are nothing short of jaw dropping. Achieving a stable overclock only four MHz shy of DDR3-2000 at 8-7-6 1T timings would be more than enough to praise this kit of RAM. But the Corsair Dominator sticks didn't stop there. They continued to impress at 7-6-5 and thoroughly excel at 6-6-5 timings as well. This versatility means that whether you are running a FSB limited QX9x50 series quad core or a high FSB loving E6850, maximizing your performance with the choice of timings from these Dominator modules is easily accomplished.

Performance and overclocking aside, the Corsair Dominator DHX heat sinks are without a doubt, the most advanced cooling solution for memory there is. Integrating with a specially designed PCB to provide two avenues of cooling is the first and only of its kind in an industry worn thin for new ideas to solve old problems. Corsair has certainly earned their stripes with this design and we now see it on a large portion of their performance memory. It gives me and Overclockers Online great pleasure in presenting the Editors Choice award to the Corsair Dominator TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFIN for performance, overclockability, design, and technical achievement.

Advantages

• Overclocking headroom that will be limited by your motherboard, not memory

• Complete package with silent active cooling maximizing performance
• Incredible Corsair support backing up an amazing product
• Dead sexy looking memory…tuxedo black is as good as it gets
• Priced almost equally to that of the DDR2 Dominator memory already

Disadvantages

• The price of high-end DDR3 isn't too bad compared to DDR2, but the motherboards are

• P35 motherboards will not be able to maximize this memory at 8-7-6 timings
• X38 motherboards can't even keep up to this über high-end RAM

Overclockers Online would like to thank everyone at Corsair Memory involved in making this review possible.
Please join us in our forums to discuss this review or the Corsair Dominators here.