Finally some better 2GB sticks?

[maverik-sg1]

Corsair are about to release DDR550 (PC4400) 1GB stick of DDR RAM - timings at that speed are 3-4-4-8.

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Clock Speed[/font]​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Timings[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]R.S.T. Pass[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]400[/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2-2-2-5[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Yes[/font]​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]460[/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2-3-2-5[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Yes[/font]​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]558[/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2.5-3-3-7 [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Yes[/font]​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]546* (1T) [/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3-4-4-8[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Yes[/font]​

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]612** (2T) [/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3-4-4-8[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]No[/font]​

The intersting part here for me is the ability to run CAS2.5 @ 279Mhz using Ram Stress Test on an A8N-SLI Premiumn MOBO. Go to http://www.uxd.com/ for the stress test software.

The testing configurations will be as follows: Stock (550 @ 3-4-4-8) , and TW = Tweaked (546 1T @ 3-4-4-8).

The comparison memory will be Corsair's own TWINX1024-4400 (two 512MB sticks) at stock speeds. We've ommitted various OC results since it's pretty much a no brainer that we'll see more performance since the CPU and subsystem will also be overclocked. The point of the excercise today is to compare 1GB vs 2GB.

SiSoft Sandra 2005 Memory

No surprises as the tweaked settings net more performance. At equal clock speeds, we see little difference between the 1GB and 2GB kit, though the 1GB kit seems to score better with this synthetic benchmark.​

PiFast

PiFast can always benefit with more memory, and it's reflected here in our benchmarks. The TWINX2048-4400 is about 3 and a half seconds faster which doesn't seem like much but work with larger numbers and you'll see a much wider gap.​

Battlefield 2

 

[maverik-sg1]

Doom 3​

Doom 3 shows little at lower resolution, but at 1600x1200 we can see the extra gig of ram helps a great deal.​

Final Words

When Windows XP first came out, 512MB was the recommendation by Microsoft for an enjoyable computing experience. Most games at that time did fine with 512MB, and this includes the overhead the OS already took on the memory.

From an enthusiast standpoint, 512MB did the job, but we always felt anybody's recommendation would be an enthusiast's minimum. 1GB was much better and especially in Dual Channel mode, it made things run a lot smoother overall.

Does anyone really need 2GB though? Our answer is yes. Even if your system is fine at 1GB, I can tell you that Microsoft will probably say something like "1GB is the recommended amount of ram a user needs for Vista". Using our rule, 1GB will probably be the minimum for Vista, and truth be told, we feel 1GB is the minimum anybody should have in their system now.

Even if you do not use NVIDIA video cards, games do see a slight boost in performance moving from 1GB to 2GB. Perhaps as more games catch up to the technology, we'll see bigger gains across the board, but even current games such as Doom 3 and Battlefield 2 see improvements today.

Applications, especially memory intensive apps will definitely benefit from more ram. Not everyone uses Photoshop and Adobe Premiere, but I'll bet a lot of people use some form of image and video editing software daily. Perhaps the ram rule (Photoshop's rule is 5x more ram than the largest file you're working on) is not as demanding as Adobe's, but I'm certain something similar is in effect.

That being said, 2GB in a system is approaching enthusiast and workstation country. It isn't for everyone. Not that nobody will benefit from it, but if your needs are less intense, you can stick with 1GB for now, and add another one (or two) down the road provided you have the free ram slots.

Pros: Great performer, LEDs are always seXay, quality parts, lifetime warranty and 2GB of goodness.

Cons: Not cheap. 2GB may not be needed for everyone.

Bottom Line: Corsair's TWINX2048-4400 Pro offers a whole lot of ram for your needs. Along with the 2GB, it provides excellent performance, good overclocking and is backed by Corsair's rep and warranty. Given the install base of Athlon 64s for gamers (likely with SLI setups), Corsair is wise to move forward in providing the right kit for enthusiasts

Price will be $400 or around £250.

Looks like higher performance 2GB sticks are just around the corner guys.

Thanks to viperlair for the information.

Mav

 

[Master_G]

Pics dont work for me Mav.

2GB is often limited by the motherboard, if you look over at XS, Tony (bigtoe) has got the new DFI Crossfire board and that seems to run really well with lots of ram, looks like a really well put together board, loads of tweaking options and plenty of 1T stability.

I think those LEDs look really naff but there you go, cant afford that much atm anyway.

Nice post.

G

 

[nick25]

Cheers Mav - think I might get some of this.

 

[chris_ah1]

Wow. This stuff is awesome. I was quite happy with their XMS1GB sticks that run at ok latencies, but this is even better! Its just a shame that this progress never stops to give my wallet a breather.......but then again who wants PC133

Plus gaming now really munches through 1GB so 2GB has to be the defacto amount :S

 

[maverik-sg1]

Wow. This stuff is awesome. I was quite happy with their XMS1GB sticks that run at ok latencies, but this is even better! Its just a shame that this progress never stops to give my wallet a breather.......but then again who wants PC133

Plus gaming now really munches through 1GB so 2GB has to be the defacto amount :S

Well I have been testing Dave Barkers Ballistix versus my BH5 for benchies (my GTX's are in surgeory right now so my tests are using 1x 6600 256MB).

3dmark scores were within a hundred points (01 and 05) in favour of BH5

CPC BTO Photo really benefits scored 0.10 more than BH5 1GB

CPC Video suffers by around 0.07 than BH5

Multitasking was the same.

Overall in the CPC BTO the 2GB Ballistix system scored less than the 1GB BH5 - but the 3dmark scores being so close was a pleasant surprise (I honestly thought I'd lose 1000 points in each test using 2GB)

I am thinking as this was at 3-3-3-7 261Mhz if I get the corsair and it could run at 2.5-3-3-6 then the chances are it will be able to close the gap in other tests and show significant improvements overall.

I have to be honest, with 7800GTX in SLI or X1800 in XFIRE cards I am not really convinced that the extra RAM benefits that type of rig right now, the exception being hardcore photo editing - but over the next few months I am sure 2GB will be more and more mainstream for the performance user.

Thanks for Dave Barker for lending me his ram to be able to run this test.

I might just wait for the prices to drop or for the relevance be better

 

[Vrykyl]

my ballistix go up to 280fsb 100% stable at stock volts 3-3-3-8....how are the corsair any better? being corsair im guessing theyl cost an arm and a leg too?

 

[maverik-sg1]

my ballistix go up to 280fsb 100% stable at stock volts 3-3-3-8....how are the corsair any better? being corsair im guessing theyl cost an arm and a leg too?

I'll think you find they are better because they do DDR558 or 279Mhz @ 2.5-3-3-7, which in most phase systems is as high as the mem controller will allow you to go.

 

[nick25]

also they are the same price as the ballistix.

 

[chris_ah1]

yes, cas 2.5 to 3 really does make a few % of difference so it really might close the gap and nullify the problems of using 2GB. But then again - not everyone spends their time benching - I know I've never personally ran a benchmark myself even with a 2.6Ghz mobile athlon (although in summer 2.4) on air.