PC3200 DDR Memory Shootout - PC3200 DDR Memory Shootout

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PC3200 DDR Memory Shootout

 

Products:

• Corsair XMS3200v1.1 C2 256MB DDR-RAM

• GeIL PC3200 512MB DDR-RAM

• Xtreme DDR PC3200 256MB DDR-RAM

Written by: Chad (Memphist0)
Reviewed:  October, 2002
Edited by: Mack (SPeeD)

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Conclusion

 

Both the Corsair and GeIL memory performed at the rated specs.  The GeIL even managed to do it at 2.5v which is something of a surprise since they mention on their website that they may need up to 2.9v to get there.  The Xtreme DDR was very disappointing.  After all the hype I had heard about it I real expected it to perform at the same level as the other two or even better.  Unfortunately, I could only get it to run at it's rated speed when I dropped the CAS setting to 2.5.  I didn't even try the Corsair or GeIL at those CAS settings because they were already running at the fastest speed I can get my system to run.  So which one was better between the GeIL and Corsair?  The GeIL could run 8MHz faster than the Corsair at the most aggressive settings but the Corsair could run faster at the relaxed settings at a lower voltage than the GeIL.  Both have lifetime warranties and have held up well in this test and previous experiences with their products.  I did really like the way the GeIL was wrapped in the air tight anti-static bag inside the acrylic case but honestly what are you going to use the acrylic case for once you install the memory in your system?  This may sound like a cope out but I think you would be happy with either of the sticks of memory.  Until chipsets can handle higher bus speeds I don't see anyone being unhappy with the performance of either of these sticks of memory.  If I were to go out and buy a stick of either right now it would probably be the GeIL.  The packaging as I mentioned before impresses me and the extra voltage doesn't concern me.  I do also like the pure copper heatsinks over the aluminum Thermaltake look alike that Corsair puts on theirs.

So...

First Place goes to the GeIL,

a very close Second Place goes to the Corsair, and

a disappointing Third Place goes to the Xtreme DDR.  I really expected alot more from them.

On thing I also learned during this little shootout is if you are building or upgrading a system you really should go with 512MB of RAM.  The load times for Unreal Tournament 2003 and Battlefield were horrible with just 256MB under Windows XP.  The maps took an additional two to three times to load.  Look at Windows Task Manager the Peak memory usage was 579,244KB.  That is a lot of page swapping if you only have 256MB of RAM.

Thanks for taking time to read the article and also, an additional thanks to Corsair, GeIL USA, and CoolerGuys (supplied the Xtreme DDR) for supplying these samples for the review.

 

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