Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 RAM Review
Introduction & Technical Specifications
Corsair is a name that many enthusiasts know for making high quality products, from cases, to PSUs, to cooling products, to RAM and much more. Corsair has been designing high speed performance memory for a very long time and their memory is very popular throughout the industry. Corsair has quite a lot of experience designing enthusiast memory, probably more than any other memory company in the industry.
Today we'll be taking a look at the Corsair Vengeance 8 (2x4GB) memory kit rated to run at DDR3-1600 (PC3 12800) with stock rated timings of 9-9-9-24 @ 1.5v.
The Vengeance series RAM from Corsair is designed with overclockers in mind. The memory modules have a low 1.5V supply voltage for maximum compatibility and energy efficiency. Corsair has also equipped their memory modules with Aluminium heat spreaders that can help dissipate heat effectively while providing an aggressive appearance for your gaming rig. The Vengeance RAM is available with dual, triple, and quad channel kits and comes at different sizes ranging from 4GB all the way up to 16GB.
Corsair has done a great job at incorporating tall thin aluminum heat spreaders to control the heat output of the modules and not only that, but they also look very pleasing to the eyes. The heat spreaders come in at approximately 7/8" (22mm) above the PCB. If you are using a big air CPU cooler such as the Noctua NH-D14 and you need help figuring out the RAM compatibility then head over to Noctua's website NH-D14 RAM Compatibility.
| Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600 CL9 RAM Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Brand: | Corsair | Series: | Vengeance | Size: | 8GB Kit (2 x 4GB) | Performance Profile: | XMP |
| Fan Included: | No |
| Heat Spreader: | Vengeance |
| Memory Configuration: | Dual Channel |
| Memory Type: | DDR3 |
| Package - Memory Pin: | 240 |
| Package - Memory Format: | DIMM |
| Tested Voltage: | 1.5 |
| SPD Voltage: | 1.5 |
| Speed Rating: | PC3-12800 (1600 MHz) |
| SPD Speed: | 1333 MHz |
| Tested Speed: | 1600 MHz |
| Tested Latency: | 9-9-9-24 |
| SPD Latency: | 9-9-9-24 |
The memory comes in an outer box and inside you will find the memory modules held together securely with clam shell containers.
The back of the package lists some of the information that we already mentioned such as
"Heatsink Optimize Performance and Reliability, Lifetime Warranty, Tech Support by visiting asktheramguy.com."
Without further ado, let's move on to the Test Setup & Methodology.
Test Setup & Methodology
| Test Setup | |
|---|---|
| Processor: | Intel i7 3770K @ 3.5Ghz/3.9Ghz |
| CPU Cooler: | Noctua NH-U14S |
| Thermal Compound: | Noctua NT-H1 |
| Motherboard: | Asus Maximus V Gene |
| Fans: | Noctua NF-A15 PWM & NF-S12A PWM |
| Graphics Card: | EVGA GTX 680 |
| Storage: | Samsung 840 Pro 256GB |
| Power Supply: | Antec Earth Watts 650W |
| Case: | Corsair Obsidian 350D |
| OS: | Windows 7 64Bit |
| RAM: | Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) 1600 MHz Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) 1600 MHz G.Skill RipJaws 8GB (2x4GB) 1600 MHz |
The testing was done on a fresh install of Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. We made sure there were as few processes running as possible during the testing. We'll be using an Intel Ivy Bridge i7 3770K CPU that will run on stock frequency of 3.5GHz with turbo boost enabled, which can boost it up to 3.9GHz. We're using the Asus Maximus V Gene motherboard with the latest beta BIOS version 1802 from ASUS.
The Corsair Vengeance 8GB RAM is rated at 1600 MHz with 9-9-9-24-2T timings but we were able to drop the command rate to 1T from the default of 2T. I was surprised to see a command rate of 2T because most performance oriented memory kits being sold today ship with a 1T command rate and not even Corsair’s own product page list the command rate information. Command rate has a substantial impact on the performance of your computer and most memory kits sold today ship with 1T.
Each memory kit will be tested at default speed which is 1600 MHz and at 9-9-9-24-1T timings with 1.5V. As far as benchmarking software goes, we'll be using AIDA64 (Read,Write,Copy), PCMark Vantage (overall results), MaxxPi2 and we'll finish it off with WinRar 4.20 by compressing a 600MB file to Rar.
Results
Here we can see that Corsair's memory managed to pull ahead and perform a little bit better than the rest of the memories. The Kingston HyperX memory fell a little bit short on the write speed.
Again, the Corsair Vengeance memory kit managed to come ahead not by much against the G.Skill RipJaws memory kit while the Kingston HyperX once again fell short.
Surprisingly, the Kingston HyperX kit managed to pull ahead by a couple of points but the results overall are very close with each other.
The Corsair Vengeance kit came on top with a 3 seconds lead against the G.Skill RipJaws while the Kingston HyperX came in third with 49 seconds.
Conclusion
Corsair has been making high quality products for a long time now and when it comes to designing enthusiast memory, they probably have more experience than any other memory company in the industry. The Corsair Vengeance 8GB is an impressive memory kit that performed better than the other 1600 MHz kits in our tests. The tall aluminum heat spreaders make the RAM look very sleek and sturdy and will definitely come in handy if you decide to overclock the RAM to 1866 MHz. Not only that, but it will also help with the temperatures.
Pros:
+ Sturdy & Durable
+ Lifetime Warranty
+ Aluminium Heat Spreaders
+ Fast
+ Attractive Design
Cons:
- Pricey
- May Interfere With Large CPU Coolers
There's a downside to having tall aluminum heat spreaders and that is that it may interfere with large air CPU coolers.
The heat spreaders extend almost an inch over the PCB and you have to take this into consideration if you are going to run a large air CPU cooler.
Many people argue that there's no point in having tall heatsinks since RAM doesn't produce enough heat that it would need to dissipate it.
If you have had bad experiences with memory kits dying in the past then don't worry because Corsair has got you covered. Corsair offers a lifetime warranty on their memory kits so you don't have to worry if your RAM ever stops working. Most manufactures offer a lifetime warranty on the memory kits as well but Corsair has an excellent customer service that makes it for an even better experience.
The Corsair Vengeance 8GB RAM retails for $89.99 on Newegg which might be hard for some people to swallow
but the lifetime warranty and the amount of headroom available for overclocking easily makes up for the price.
The build quality speaks for itself and you know you are getting a good deal when the company designing the memory kit is Corsair.
The tall thin aluminum heat spreaders are great for keeping the RAM running cool but can also be problematic if you have a large CPU cooler like the Noctua NH-D14.
With all that being said, I highly recommend the Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) memory kit to anyone who wants not only attractive looking memory kits but also very fast and durable.
Final Score 9.0
