G.Skill PI 2x2GB DDR3 PC3-12800 Review

As we have both seen and talked about, the PI heat spreaders on this G.Skill kit are taller than standard heat sinks and will play a role in some setups. We are going to check to see if they play a role in the P5E3-Premium with a Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU cooler. The Ultra-120 is the same size as the newer Ultra-120 Extreme and fits the same motherboards. This heat sink is very popular amongst enthusiasts and is a must test fit for any memory that potentially causes issues.

Right out of the gate we can see that there is no issue at all with the Ultra-120s wingspan. The primary reason for this is the fact that ASUS has done well to design the first memory slot not to interfere with CPU coolers as big as or smaller than the Ultra-120 from Thermalright.

The only other fitment issue would be width and these modules despite their elaborate hardware, are no thicker than standard memory modules. They clearly have no problem working in the first slot of the P5E3-Premium and do not interfere with the stock motherboard cooling. These modules also fit in slots side by side without issue for 4x2GB action.

After installing the memory and getting our system configured to BIOS defaults through a CMOS clear, the XMP profile kicked in like it should and the system immediately booted at 400FSB with a 1:2 ratio so the memory runs at 800MHz or DDR3-1600 with 7-7-7-18 timings. The second SPD tab shown illustrates this XMP profile in action. The P5E3-Premium again recognized that we had XMP memory and without so much as even our input, the system boots at an overclocked setting in order for the memory to run spec. Our overclocking section will determine if the XMP profile is stable or not which is probably more important than whether or not it kicks in.

• Motherboard: ASUS P5E3-Premium (BIOS 0503)
• Processor: Intel C2D E8400
• Processor Cooling: Thermalright Ultra-120
• Memory: G.Skill PI 2x2GB PC3-12800 7-7-7-18
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower 700W
• Video Card: HIS HD3870X2 512MB
• Additional Fans: 120mm AD1212MS-A73GL 2050RPM/80.5CFM
• Hard Drive: 1 x Seagate 7200.9 80GB SATAII 8MB cache
• OS: Windows Vista Ultimate (with all updates)

The most important piece of hardware to note is the ASUS P5E3-Premium. This is an Intel X48 based motherboard and like we have already discovered, provides XMP support and makes running this memory at specifications truly plug and play. Without an XMP compatible motherboard, the system would likely need to be overclocked but in the case of the NVIDIA platform, that wouldn't be the case because of the un-locked memory ratios.

We talk about it in every review and with a 2x2Gb kit of memory, nothing changes. Intel XMP profiles work, and they work really well. The number one issue with memory in computer hardware forums is the in-ability to get memory to run specified frequencies and timings. With the purchase of memory like the G.Skill PI kit and an XMP compatible motherboard and you can forget all about it. It took a while to get to this point so some leg work was required to get where we are but Intel has definitely perfected the XMP memory profile and fulfilled what their vision was when the idea was first conceived.