Corsair Dominator 2x1GB DDR3 PC3-14400 Review

Corsair seldom disappoints with their Dominator line of memory and that tradition has carried over nicely from the DDR2 line up. The Corsair Dominator PC3-14400 kit of memory is some of the best DDR3 memory available right now with no one rivaling the technology behind it and very few matching the ability. There are higher specified CL8 kits of memory available, but we saw today that these Dominators have absolutely no problem playing at high frequency, especially when paired with an NVIDIA 790i based motherboard.

There were of course some hiccups with CL7 and despite this having nothing to do with the memory, it needs to be brought to attention. The NVIDIA 790i platform, as impressive as it is, has some pretty substantial flaws. The flaw of our particular interest regarding this review involves running memory at CL7 and issues with data corruption at high FSB and memory clocks. During the overclocking sections we encountered a lot of corrupt operating systems when pushing the memory too far or timings too tight. Again, this is no fault of the memory, simply the motherboard we used for testing. Just keep this in mind if you are planning a 790i system as you will likely want to be running your memory at CL8 vs. CL7 which takes a way a bit of the luster from kits like this Corsair Dominator PC3-14400.

Data corruption and CL7 memory issues aside, the Corsair Dominator memory and NVIDIA 790i motherboard are a lethal combination. We are still reeling from the overclocking we were able to achieve on this kit. Now the question becomes, is this memory worth the price? Well, is any DDR3 worth the price? At this point in time, it certainly isn't a cost effective solution given the fact that DDR2 memory can be bought for cheaper than a fake Role' in downtown Manhattan. What DDR3 does offer is ridiculous bandwidth and higher performance, which comes at a cost. If you are on a budget, then you might want to stick with some Dominator DDR2 but if you are building a system from the ground up, then DDR3 needs to be considered because prices are down a lot from where they were a short month or two ago, and there is no arguing that DDR3 is the inevitable future. If you have decided on DDR3 then keep the Corsair Dominator amongst the top contenders of your list whether you want looks, performance, support, or warranty.

• Corsair knows how to cool memory, the DHX heat sink is tops in the industry
• Typical top binned Dominator, specified high and overclocked even higher
• Corsair support is amongst the best and certainly the most visible in the community
• Included cooling fan that fits securely to memory

• The package of the Dominator with included fan definitely needs work
• Some issues running CL7 on NVIDIA 790i motherboard, again, not the memories fault
• The DDR3 bug will bite and you will spend more $ than you know you should