Page 2: Stability, Testing, Conclusion
Stability:
Let me reiterate again how ASE Labs determines stability. Yes, I do this on every RAM review. At ASE Labs, RAM is only stable if it passes Memtest86+ and a plethora of memory intensive applications for a few hours like mprime and doing continuous compiling of specific programs. Just because the memory POSTs and runs doesn't mean that it is stable. Linux users may find memory errors by having errors in compiling (very common) to errors in tar as well as segfaults. Windows users can expect program faults and BSODs. Memory stability is very important. When we say that a specific specification of RAM is stable, we mean it!
The XMS2 DHX handles itself very well. At the rated speed of 800MHz with timings of 5-5-5-18 with the given JEDEC voltage of 1.8V, the modules were perfectly stable and performed as expected. The SPD contains the values for running the modules at the rated speed, but I always manually set my timings.
Overclocking:
These modules provided very interesting results in regards to overclocking. I expected some results to the tune of the »Crucial Tracer Red being a 4GB kit with similar timings and such. I started with lower the timings to 4-4-4-12 to see if it was stable. It wasn't, not until the voltage was upped to 1.9V. At that point, the RAM was running perfectly stable with enhanced timings. I decided to see how far the RAM could go in terms of speed. Starting at the default 1.8V and timings of 5-5-5-18, anything higher than 890MHz would cause some errors. What is really interesting is that past 1.95V, these modules started erroring at speeds that were stable at lower voltages.
It turns out that these modules hate high voltages. I know of some people that volt-mod their motherboards so you need to make sure that you can deliver 1.95V or less to make these modules stable. Very interesting to say the least.
Testing:
I want to preface this section by saying how ASE Labs will be doing benchmarks from now on. There will be no synthetic benchmarks at ASE Labs. This means that for fair comparisons, an apples to apples system will need to be made. We will be using tools that anyone will be able to get so anybody can reproduce our results. Current memory tests include compilation of LAME and FFMPEG, encoding in each of those programs, and a round of mprime to round everything out. We will be adding testing as we see fit during future reviews. If you would like to see specific (real world stuff) programs, please send me an email.
By using real world testing, a deduction can be made about memory at the same specs; Unless a major problem occurs in a set of modules, there is no statistical difference between one set and another set of modules. It is more important to look at the stability and overclockability of the modules as well as the price.
The results of this section are actually the same as the previous »Crucial Tracer Red review so you can refer to that for the results. Needless to say that modules running at the same timings perform the same. Corsair's rated timings are slower, but the resulting speed decrease is less than the statistical error so it isn't something to generally get excited about.
Conclusion:
These modules run for about $125 at the time of this review. This is a very good price for a 4GB of DDR2 that has some overclockability in it. Corsair is well known for their RAM and their business is built on it. It may not be as fancy as »other kits, but it gets the job done at a great price.
Let me reiterate again how ASE Labs determines stability. Yes, I do this on every RAM review. At ASE Labs, RAM is only stable if it passes Memtest86+ and a plethora of memory intensive applications for a few hours like mprime and doing continuous compiling of specific programs. Just because the memory POSTs and runs doesn't mean that it is stable. Linux users may find memory errors by having errors in compiling (very common) to errors in tar as well as segfaults. Windows users can expect program faults and BSODs. Memory stability is very important. When we say that a specific specification of RAM is stable, we mean it!
The XMS2 DHX handles itself very well. At the rated speed of 800MHz with timings of 5-5-5-18 with the given JEDEC voltage of 1.8V, the modules were perfectly stable and performed as expected. The SPD contains the values for running the modules at the rated speed, but I always manually set my timings.
Overclocking:
These modules provided very interesting results in regards to overclocking. I expected some results to the tune of the »Crucial Tracer Red being a 4GB kit with similar timings and such. I started with lower the timings to 4-4-4-12 to see if it was stable. It wasn't, not until the voltage was upped to 1.9V. At that point, the RAM was running perfectly stable with enhanced timings. I decided to see how far the RAM could go in terms of speed. Starting at the default 1.8V and timings of 5-5-5-18, anything higher than 890MHz would cause some errors. What is really interesting is that past 1.95V, these modules started erroring at speeds that were stable at lower voltages.
It turns out that these modules hate high voltages. I know of some people that volt-mod their motherboards so you need to make sure that you can deliver 1.95V or less to make these modules stable. Very interesting to say the least.
Testing:
I want to preface this section by saying how ASE Labs will be doing benchmarks from now on. There will be no synthetic benchmarks at ASE Labs. This means that for fair comparisons, an apples to apples system will need to be made. We will be using tools that anyone will be able to get so anybody can reproduce our results. Current memory tests include compilation of LAME and FFMPEG, encoding in each of those programs, and a round of mprime to round everything out. We will be adding testing as we see fit during future reviews. If you would like to see specific (real world stuff) programs, please send me an email.
By using real world testing, a deduction can be made about memory at the same specs; Unless a major problem occurs in a set of modules, there is no statistical difference between one set and another set of modules. It is more important to look at the stability and overclockability of the modules as well as the price.
The results of this section are actually the same as the previous »Crucial Tracer Red review so you can refer to that for the results. Needless to say that modules running at the same timings perform the same. Corsair's rated timings are slower, but the resulting speed decrease is less than the statistical error so it isn't something to generally get excited about.
Conclusion:
These modules run for about $125 at the time of this review. This is a very good price for a 4GB of DDR2 that has some overclockability in it. Corsair is well known for their RAM and their business is built on it. It may not be as fancy as »other kits, but it gets the job done at a great price.