Test System Setup
Processor(s): Intel Core i7 860 @ Varies (See Graphs)
Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P (Supplied by Noctua)
Motherboard(s): ASROCK P55 Deluxe (Supplied by ASROCK)
Video Card: Gigabyte GTX 285 896MB (Supplied by GIGABYTE)
Hard Disk(s): Western Digital 300GB Velicorapter (Supplied by Western Digital)
Operating System: Windows 7
Drivers: ForceWare 191.07
With some serious MHz on offer today, we'll be having a look at the PC3-18000 kit from Corsair in both its stock clock form of 2250MHz DDR and also its overclocked speed of 2354MHz DDR.
We'll be comparing these two setups against the PC3-17600 kits we looked at recently from G.Skill and A-DATA to see what an extra 50MHz DDR offers us, while also seeing what an extra 154MHz DDR does for us.
For exact timings and CPU speeds, refer to the graphs for each individual kit.
Let's get started!
Important Note: When modules are overclocked we adjust the BCLK which not only lets us fine tune the MHz out of a module, but in turn increases the overall CPU clock speed. While we always make the effort to include the BCLK and CPU Speed in our graphs, please just make sure that you make note of these when looking at the results. In some tests that don't purely test the memory speed, the extra MHz on offer from the CPU can increase the result. Of course it's worth noting that having faster memory gives you the ability to run your CPU at a higher speed, too.
Version and / or Patch Used: 1.62
Developer Homepage: http://www.wprime.net/
Product Homepage: http://www.wprime.net/
wPrime uses a recursive call of Newton's method for estimating functions, with f(x)=x2-k, where k is the number we're sqrting, until Sgn(f(x)/f'(x)) does not equal that of the previous iteration, starting with an estimation of k/2. It then uses an iterative calling of the estimation method a set amount of times to increase the accuracy of the results. It then confirms that n(k)2=k to ensure the calculation was correct. It repeats this for all numbers from 1 to the requested maximum.
In wPrime you can see straight away that in the 1024M test the Corsair kit is closer to 200 seconds than the other two. When we look at the same kit at 2354MHz DDR, performance is just mind boggling, smashing that 200 second barrier.