DDR2 Shoot-Out: Corsair vs. Kingston
To get this next batch of results, we manually lowered the latencies of each memory kit to 3-3-3-10, raised the memory voltage to 2.0v, and slowly raised their clock speeds until our test system was no longer stable. Although these kits were rated for 4-4-4-12 operation, they were both able to run with 3-3-3-10 timings at DDR533 speeds without a problem. But they each peaked at a slightly different clock speed with these lower latencies...
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;) Corsair TWIN2X1024-5400C4PRO 207MHz FSB / 276MHz (DDR552) |
;) Kingston KHX5400D2K2/1G 208MHz FSB / 277MHz (DDR554) |
The Corsair TWIN2X1024-5400C PRO modules were able to run with 3-3-3-10 timings at a front side bus speed of 207MHz. With the memory running at a 3:4 FSB to Memory clock ratio, a 207MHz FSB equates to a 276MHz memory clock. The Kingston modules were able to hit a slightly higher clock speed though. The KHX5400D2K/1G modules hit 208MHz (DDR554) with the tighter 3-3-3-10 timings. The slight clock speed advantage didn't equate to much extra performance, however, as only a few MB/s separated each kit in this test.
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We also re-ran the PCMark04 memory performance module with these memory kits clocked at their respective peaks, with 3-3-3-10 timings. This time around the Kingston modules were able to pull ahead of the Corsair modules by 5 points. As expected, when compared to their "stock" scores, both memory kits performed much better with lower latencies. They each gained about 250-300 points in this test when running at 3-3-3-10 at slightly higher frequencies.
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When we re-ran the Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory test, performance once again increased by a few percentage points. In this test, the Kingston KHX5400D2K/1G kit pulled every so slightly ahead of the Corsair kit, but the .7 frames per second difference falls well within the margin of error in this test. When compared to the stock results, both kits managed to increase their performance by 6-9 FPS.
