Corsair TWINX1024-4400 Memory Review - Keep in Mind... (Page 5 of 6 ) Let's face it: this is premium hardware. Unfortunately, it also carries a premium price. Here are a couple of things you should keep in mind when choosing whether or not to purchase this RAM. If you’re running an AMD system, it would be highly unlikely you could push the memory bus to 275MHz (550MHz DDR), especially in dual channel. A low latency PC3500 would be your best bet.
If you have a Pentium 4 2.8 GHz processor or higher, this memory is probably not for you. Not because it wouldn't run, but even a 2.8GHz would need to overclock to 3.85GHz in order to take advantage of the 550MHz rated speed. Not very likely, even in a well cooled system. For 2.8GHz and above I'd recommend PC4000 memory. Running with a 1:1 ratio, the processor would be at 3.5GHz. Even the Pentium IV 2.6 'C' I began testing with couldn't run higher that 260MHz (3.38GHz).
Here's the tricky part: it seems several motherboards may have difficulty reaching 275 MHz memory bus. My IC7-G Max2, which Corsair thought would be able to reach 275 MHz, could only reach 270 MHz, even though my processor can reach 284+ MHz running with a 5:4 ratio. Corsair does state on their website that they have verified the rated speed on an Asus P4C800-E, known for being very good boards for overclocking.
Additionally, I have heard of people having success with this RAM on the DFI i875 motherboard, as well as most of the Springdale (i865) boards. The Abit IC7-Max3 may also be OK, but I haven't heard too many stories about its performance with this memory yet. Depending on which motherboard you own, this memory may or may not be for you. In my case, some low latency PC3500 would probably be my best bet.
Your power supply will also be affected when using this RAM. It may be because this is a 1GB kit - although I have, in the past, run with 1GB of memory on this board - but my voltage levels, specifically on the 3.3V and 5V rails, dropped significantly after installing this memory. This was causing all kinds of problems in my system until it was diagnosed. I replaced my Enermax EG465P-VE (rated 431 watts) power supply with an Antec True Control 550 watt power supply, and the system stabilized, all the voltage rails coming back to the specified defaults. This may not be a problem with the other motherboards mentioned, but until I have a chance to test with another platform, I can't be sure.
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