Corsair 3500LL Pro 2GB TwinX Memory Review :: Overclocking

Overclocking was once a dark art, practiced by only the most hardcore of geeks (and subsequently, Doc). They were the only ones who were willing to modify hardware, customize their cooling and switch jumpers in hopes to squeeze a few extra MHz out of their parts. As time has progressed, Overclocking has become more and more of a mainstream thing, to the point where once conservative Intel has provided a utility, and Dell can't be far behind.. While Overclocking is not as difficult as it once was, it still possesses some elements of risk. Hardware can die from being pushed too far with inadequate cooling. Thus, while we here at Motherboards.org love to overclock, we do not force you to follow in our footsteps, and as such any ill-effects of the experiments are your own doing. Let's get onto the methodology and the results.

We start off with the memory modules at their stock timings (2-3-2-6) and voltages (2.5V), on a system where the processor's multiplier has been backed and voltage increased by a healthy .15V, in order to provide headroom. We begin by moving the HTT bus (also known as FSB) up slowly, taking relatively safe 5MHz hops, and using SuperPi to test for the resulting stability. When the memory becomes unstable, thus crashing SuperPi or causing a BSOD, we take to boosting the Memory voltage - usually by .1V intervals, up to 3V in the end. If no gain is afforded by such a boost, the memory voltage is left as is.

When 3V has been reached, we start loosening the memory's timings by the lowest possible intervals, starting with CAS. When the benefits of this drop dry up, we take to loosening the RAS Precharge - usually producing little change in frequency gains, but facilitating stability at higher frequencies. When the benefits (if any) of this increase are negated, we boost the RAS to CAS and tRAS Precharge simultaneously, and continue to push the modules onward. At the point where these raises no longer prove beneficial, we once again loosen the timings, this time dropping CAS, RAS to CAS and RAS Precharge simultaneously, to a maximum of four. At this point, we find the module's maximum frequency, and with a voltage of 3V, we begin to run a 32M test in SuperPi, to check for stability. In the event of a crash, the memory's frequency is backed off in 5MHz intervals until stability is attained.

Considering that the fun started with these modules coming in at 2-3-2-5, it was no surprise that we were able to slam these modules all the way up to DDR-466 speeds. Holding the voltages at a modest 2.83 volts, the memory found itself perfectly stable at these speeds. Above these speeds though, the modules would find no solace, that is, until we tapped the CAS latencies up to 3.

With the CAS latency loosened, these modules were essentially set free. Hitting sky high speeds of 250, 266, 275, then finally 280MHz, these sticks blew past anything we've ever seen. What's more impressive however, is the capacity of the modules, and the clocks reported within. The best part about this however, is that since Corsair has just signed off a deal with Infineon, meaning that set after set of this flat out amazing memory will hit the market. Above this fully stable 280MHz mark, we found little else possible - 290 was indeed passable for benchmarking, but a few hours of gaming would cause the system to blue screen out on us. Now, 280MHz might not be sky high to some, but the ability to hit just over PC4400 speeds on memory that's rated to just pass DDR400 is pretty damn special. Considering the looks of said modules, we have a no brainer here when it comes to choosing memory.

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