Overclocking
As presented in our special review of the
memory controller in the modern CPU LGA1155, it is the operating frequency of
the dual-channel memory kits that has the greatest impact on the performance of
the platform. Therefore, increasing it above standard levels is the key feature
of overclocker-friendly memory kits that helps ensure performance boost
increased more.
Corsair’s Dominator Platinum series seems
to be full of promise in this field since they have high quality chips and
efficient cooling. In fact, Corsair is known for offering a large safety
margin. Therefore, we are able to expect the Dominator Platinum series that can
work at higher frequencies compared to their evaluated products.
This is our algorithm of testing the
overclocking capacity of DDR3 SDRAM:
·
Increasing memory voltage to 1.65 volts,
according to Intel, this is the maximum value that does not lead to a reduction
in operating of memory controller. We also increase the VCCSA voltage to 1.0
volts, which in theory will have a positive impact on the stability of the
memory controller
·
Failsafe timings of 11-13-13-31-2N are chosen to
find out the highest frequency that the memory kit gains stability
·
Using the maximum frequency we have found, then,
we seek for the most aggressive timings at which the memory kit remains stable
The stability of
the memory subsystem is ascertained by 10 runs of Linx 0.6.4 AVX Edition using
the entire memory capacity and an extra 1-hour-long test with Memtest86 +
v4.20..
Corsair
Dominator Platinum PC3-12800 C9 2x4 GB (CMD8GX3M2A1600C9)
DDR3-1600, Dominator Platinum products are
rated the simplest in this review, which turns out to have no overclocking
capacity. It cannot be stable even at 1800 MHz. The best thing we were able to
do with CMD8GX3M2A1600C9 was that improved its timings from 9-9-9-24-2T to
9-8-7-24-1T. The clock rate was unable to be increased.
CMD8GX3M2A1600C9
Thus, the DDR3-1600 Dominator Platinum kit
is not really a matter to overclockers. It just might be impressed for modding
and ability to monitor. If you want better performance, you should seek for the
more expensive and faster memory kits.
Corsair Dominator Platinum PC3-15000 C9 2x4 GB (CMD8GX3M2A1866C9)
The DDR3-1866 Dominator Platinum kit is not
as slow as the DDR3 -1600 in the same series. It can be overclocked to
DDR3-2000, but unfortunately, it is not the DDR3-2133 mode.
CMD8GX3M2A1866C9
What’s more, overclocking the
CMD8GX3M2A1866C9 kit to 2000 MHz is known as a significant reduction in the
timings. In its default mode, this memory contains aggressive timings with a
CAS Latency of 9, but in DDR3-2000 DDR3 mode, it remains only stable with
timings of 11-11-10-31-1T and the increased voltage to 1.65 volts. It seems
that the manufacturers choose chips carefully for the Dominator Platinum series
not only to ensure that they are completely stable in the prescribed operation
mode. The chips appear to be filtered out in such a way that the best
components are only used in the most expensive products.
Corsair
Dominator Platinum PC3-17066 C9 2x4 GB (CMD8GX3M2A2133C9)
We had some special hopes on the
CMD8GX3M2A2133C9 kit including two 4GB DDR3-2133 modules. This high-speed
memory is associated with positive timings and a voltage of 1.5 volts. Based on
fully promising Samsung chips, it appeared to require a higher voltage and
relaxed timings to achieve higher clock speeds. However, we were really
disappointed. This kit was unable to work at 2400 MHz, so we had to be satisfied
with DDR3-2200 mode.
CMD8GX3M2A2133C9
Of course, the 66 MHz increase in frequency
is not high, so there is no surprise that this kit is stable in DDR3-2200 mode
with timings of 9-10-10-27-1T which is better than the other prescribed ones.
However, we must admit that the fundamental products of the Dominator Platinum
series products do not overclock well. The high-speed memory is more expensive
and Corsair has no way for overclockers to save money.
Corsair
Dominator Platinum PC-19200 C10 2x8 GB (CMD16GX3M2A2400C10)
If the fundamental models of the Dominator
Platinum series are not very good at overclocking, we are impossible to expect
the leading products to be better than anything. They work best even at their
default settings. The CMD16GX3M2A2400C10 illustrates this fact very well. We
were unable to overclock the DDR3-2400 kit at all.
CMD16GX3M2A2400C10
The prescribed settings are actually the
best ones that this kit has stability at. It is not due to the fact that it
includes the 8GB modules. In our previous reviews, we could recognize that overclocking
of dual-channel 16GB kits was not worse than their 8GB counterparts.
Corsair
Dominator Platinum PC 21300 C11 2x4 GB (CMD8GX3M2A2666C11)
The fastest memory kit of this review,
CMD8GX3M2A2666C11, is the same as the CMD16GX3M2A2400C10, has zero overclocking
capacity. We were unable to overclock this 2x4GB DDR3-2666 kit above its
frequency speed.
CMD8GX3M2A2666C11
Therefore, we reduced one of the basic
timings, RAS # Pre-charge Delay, from 13 to 12, but this is unlikely to have a
significant impact on performance. The lack of any overclocking capability can
be expected because the DDR3-2666 modules and similar modules are best
overclocked. Each high-speed DDR3 module will operate like that.
The results of our overclocking experiments
are summarized as follows:
Corsair Dominator Platinum PC3-12800
C9, 2x4 GB (CMD8Gx3M2A1600C9)
·
Nominal mode: DDR3-1600, 9-9-9-28-2N
·
Maximum overclocking: DDR3-1600, 9-8-7-24-1N
Corsair
Dominator Platinum PC3-15000 C9, 2x4 GB (CMD8Gx3M2A1866C9)
·
Nominal mode: DDR3-1866, 9-10-9-27-2N
·
Maximum overclocking: DDR3-2000, 11-11-10-31-1N
Corsair
Dominator Platinum PC3-17066 C9, 2x4 GB (CMD8Gx3M2A2133C9)
·
Nominal mode: DDR3-2133, 9-11-10-27-2N
·
Maximum overclocking: DDR3-2200, 9-10-10-27-1N
Corsair
Dominator Platinum PC-19200 C10, 2x8 GB (CMD16Gx3M2A2400C10)
·
Nominal mode: DDR3-2400, 10-12-12-31-2N
·
Maximum overclocking: DDR3-2400, 10-12-12-31-1N
Corsair
Dominator Platinum PC-21300 C11, 2x4 GB (CMD8Gx3M2A2666C11)
·
Nominal mode: DDR3-2666, 11-13-13-35-2N
·
Maximum overclocking: DDR3-2666, 11-13-12-35-1N
Therefore, the
Dominator Platinum series do not overclock well. The memory kits are great in
the prescribed modes, but will not work if you increase much more their
frequency or improve their timings than its specs.
