=<em>F-A-S-T</em>= DDR Memory: 2-2-2 Roars on the Scene
by Wesley Fink on August 5, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Corsair 3200XL PRO
Corsair introduced 3200 Xtreme Low Latency modules in both their regular Black or Platinum heatspreaders and as the PRO version with activity LEDs on top of the module. All 3200XL modules are double-sided 512MB DIMMs sold as a matched pair and rated at DDR3200 2-2-2-5. Corsair claims a very wide range of available overclocks to about DDR500 with typical DDR500 timings of 2.5-3-3-7. We first looked at Corsair 3200XL in the launch review.Test DIMMs were a matched pair of 3200XL PRO with the activity LEDs.
We first saw the LEDs in our review of Corsair XMS4000 PRO. Corsair uses the PRO designation to indicate LED activity lights on the memory, but otherwise, the 3 3200XL memories appear to be the same capacity and they all appear to be using the same Samsung memory chips.
While the Samsung chips used in the new 3200XL are actually rated at DDR500, Corsair has chosen to highlight their outstanding 2-2-2 performance capabilities at DDR400. The SPD is also optimized for fast DDR400 performance.
Corsair 3200XL Specifications
Corsair 3200XL Memory Specifications | |
Number of DIMMs & Banks | 2 DS |
DIMM Size Total Memory |
512 MB 1 GB |
Rated Timings | 2-2-2 at DDR400 |
SPD (Auto) Timings | 2.5-2-2-5 |
Rated Voltage | 2.75V |
The only specification that might prevent using 2-2-2 in all systems is the specified 2.75V rated voltage at DDR400. Most high-end motherboards can provide this voltage, but some mainstream motherboards do not have adjustable voltage, and default memory voltage is 2.5V on many boards. You should check your specifications to make sure that you can support the voltage needs of the new 3200XL modules.
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Wesley Fink - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
#26 - DDR460 2-2-2 at 2.75V according to my review notesbabyelf - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
HiIt's said that the crucial did 2-2-2 up till DDR460. At what voltage is that?
DreamInBlue - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
crucial has always been highly overclockable. my regular cas3 ddr400 crucial does cas 2.5 at 250fsb.bigtoe33 - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
vie2233hilYou quoting performance series and not Platinum rev2
Platinum rev2 uses TCCD and was used for this roundup.
vie2233hil - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
OCZ would like to to announce a revision change in our PC-3200 Performance Series line of memory. PC-3200 Revision 2 has been discontinued and replaced by OCZ PC-3200 Revision 3 DDR.OCZ PC-3200 Revision 3 DDR is specified for CL2-3-3-6 timings on Intel-based systems and CL2.5-3-3-6 timings on AMD based systems. The lifetime warranty of existing PC-3200 Revision 2 modules will not be invalidated by this change.
Pumpkinierre - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Nice article, nice charts and nice memory. With all the extra work from the new components let's hope you're still having fun, Wesley. Keep the i875 going. I'm not sure about the nf3 if the tRAS has to be set to >10. Any chance OCZ might be releasing a CAS2 DDR500 in the near future with that new batch of Samsung chips?Potem - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
#19 - From page 9: "We have seen reports of some variability in the performance of the Ballistix memory, and overclocking results are never guaranteed. However, our results with another pair of Ballistix DIMMs were very similar."JustAnAverageGuy - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
#18As long as it is a reputable vender, quantity is often better than quality. :)
i.e. 256MB of 3500 level 2 mushkin extreme blah blah is probably going to perform worse than 1GB of corsair value ram.
Lazzydog - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Wesley you have still yet to comment on the question of whether or not the crucial sticks were cherry picked or not. I know in a lot of reviews you try and get your products as anonymously as possible is this true with the crucial ram or not? If not these could hardly be indicative of ram that the rest of us could get and should be known for people who plan on purchasing ballistix ram.GabeyD - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Is there a comparison anywhare of "Value" memory against this high end, high $ stuff. For example, I cag get 1G of Coorsair Value for $180 and the lest expensive high end memory is about $280, a $100 difference. How much real performance is this $100 getting me?