Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600 CL9 Memory Kit Review

Test System & Installation

Before we look closer at this memory, here is the test system that we will be using for all memory reviews. All testing was done on a fresh install of Windows 7 Professional 64-bit running with the fewest existing processes as possible. Our memory test system contains an Intel Sandy Bridge i7 2600K CPU on the ASUS P8P67 Pro motherboard using the Intel P67 chipset. We used the latest beta BIOS version 1850 from ASUS because this version introduced some stability enhancements compared to the previous BIOS version. BIOS version 1850 has performed properly and has remained stable in all of our daily use and testing.

Our 2600K CPU is overclocked to 4.4GHz for all of our tests by raising the CPU multiplier to 44x from within the P8P67 Pros UEFI BIOS. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) is enabled, but Turbo Mode is disabled. All other CPU and chipset options are left at their default values unless indicated otherwise in the tests that follow.

Our reference memory kit is a very standard DDR3-1600 kit made by Kingston: the Kingston HyperX Genesis KHX1600C9AD3K2/4G, which runs at 1600MHz at 9-9-9-24 timings. Memory is run in dual channel mode throughout our testing.

Memory Test System
Processor	Intel Core i7 2600K (4.4GHz)	Live pricing
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro	Live pricing
Memory	Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9AD3K2/4G	Live pricing
Video Card	2x Nvidia GTX 470 in SLI	Live pricing
Hard Drive	96GB OCZ Vertex SSD	Live pricing
Cooling	Corsair H50	Live pricing
Power Supply	1000W Kingwin MK-1000W	Live pricing
Chassis	LanCool Dragonlord PC-K60	Live pricing

Upon installing this kit we were quite surprised to discover the default timings for this memory are 9-9-9-24 but only at 2T. This isn’t a fact that was obvious before we installed the memory. Corsair’s own product page for this memory kit does not reveal the command rate information, nor does Newegg’s product page. Most performance-oriented memory kits being sold today ship with a 1T command rate because it has been shown that a lower command rate can have a substantial impact on PC performance. In our experience, most memory can run fairly easily at 1T, so a simple BIOS adjustment can gain this performance back. However, the “out of the box” experience for a user who sets the X.M.P. detected settings and moves along will be leaving untapped performance on the table that Corsair could have unlocked. At the very least, this information should be displayed on the packaging so a buyer isn’t surprised when their memory only runs at 2T by default.

Join us on the next page as we begin testing this kit.