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| by 3oh6 | February 22, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memory Installation & Test Setup Memory Installation & Test SetupSince these modules are physically no different than the Dominator modules we looked at a short while ago, the installation section will likely produce similar results. We are using a different motherboard, the DFI X58-T3eH8 instead of the EVGA X58 SLI, but the Thermalright Ultra-120 will likely be limited to a single orientation for 6 DIMM support like it is on almost all X58 motherboards.   How do you make the best looking memory sticks on the planet ugly? You mount them in a DFI X58-T3eH8. The colors may not match but the performance of this setup will be lethal. We decided to really push things with the use of a 38mm fan on the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme and much to our surprise, the green slots are 100% compatible with these tall Dominator DHX heat sinks. This is the only orientation we anticipate the ability to use the yellow slots for which would only be needed with six DIMMs, but that won't even be possible with a 38mm thick fan on the heat sink. The fan over hangs that first slot and it is a definite no go. Again, this is really of no concern because a 38mm fan isn't a requirement and the green slots are the primary slots for a three DIMM setup anyway. So for our purposes, we are happy that we can use the 38mm fan instead of a standard 25mm thick 120mm fan.   Speaking of standard 25mm thick fans, the included 120mm fan from Thermalright with the Ultra-120 eXtreme is more than willing to accommodate a memory stick in the first yellow DIMM slot. This means that those looking to run six modules - you crazy memory loving freaks you - will have no problem doing so with the TRUE in this east/west orientation and a standard 25mm thick fan pushing air through the heat sink. As suspected, however, there will be no first slot love with these Dominator-GTs and the TRUE in a north/south orientation. The green slots are completely useable with the taller DHX heat sinks, but not the first yellow slot. Again, this is what we expected to find as it was the same case with the Dominator DHX heat sinks in the EVGA X58 SLI. The next item on the agenda is the use of the Airflow fan.   It appears that the 38mm fan we use on our TRUE just doesn't want that Airflow fan there. It can clip on but if you look at the release tabs of the DIMM slots in the first photo above, we can see that the mounting arms are only attached to the last three tabs. This will still provide plenty of airflow over the modules and with the CPU heat sink fan butting up against that first module, it will get plenty of airflow as well. But it just isn't an ideal configuration. Like the yellow DIMM slot issue, it can easily be rectified with a standard 25mm fan installed on the TRUE but we like our 38mm Ultra Kazes so they will remain and we will simply use another Ultra Kaze to cool the memory like we always do. With the memory finally installed and our fan situation sorted out, let's fire the rig up at the BIOS defaults and see what it gives us.
Without XMP profiles being supported by the DFI X58-T3eH8, the above screenshots are pretty much useless to be honest. They simply mean that we will have to manually adjust the memory and system settings to get the memory running at the specified frequency and timings. This is of no fault to Corsair as they clearly have the proper XMP profile programmed onto the modules, including voltage, but the motherboard refuses to utilize it. This is also the case with the EVGA X58 SLI and one asks themselves, isn't the X58 chipset made by Intel? Isn't the XMP program a child of the Intel brain trust to allow for simple performance memory configuration? So why is it then that all of these X58 based motherboards don't support the XMP profiles of memory? Don't worry, we have been asking the same questions and getting absolutely no answers. We believe it comes down to the motherboard manufacturers programming the support into the BIOS. Perhaps the X58 chipset simply doesn't like using XMP profiles. Maybe it is all a conspiracy so that memory manufacturers end up having to spend more money on support staff to help end users get their memory running up to spec. Test Setup
This setup is about as high end as it gets without going crazy with the GPUs. A single GTX 295 is going to be able to churn through all game testing at 1680x1050 with full detail levels set. This means that the system will likely be the bottle neck which is actually a good thing. In our last Corsair Dominator review we tested the 3x1GB setup against the 3x2GB kit of Dominator modules, but with a single GTX 280. With the GTX 295 used today, it should be interesting to see if we get any noticable differences in the results. It will also be a bit of a challenge getting the 3x1GB modules to match the clocks of these Dominator-GT monsters, even at stock. In reality, memory with this kind of performance is designed more with the benchmarker in mind than it is the daily driver, especially with the Core i7. Memory bandwidth doesn't seem to play a huge role in overall performance from what we have seen thus far, but we also haven't seen memory clocks like this on i7 yet. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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