How we test
Specifications| Memory | Crucial Ballistix Tracer LED 6GB (Blue) | Corsair TR3X6G1866C9DF | Crucial CT3KIT12864BA1339 | Crucial CT3KIT25664BA1067 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memory capacity | 6GB (3x 2GB) | 6GB (3x 2GB) | 3GB (3x 1GB) | 6GB (3x 2GB) |
| Memory speed and timings | 1,600MHz, 8-8-8-24 2T | 1,866MHz, 9-9-9-24 2T | 1,33MHz, 9-9-9-24 2T | 1,066MHz, 7-7-7-20 1T |
| Rated voltage | 1.65V | 1.65V | 1.5V | 1.5V |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 965 EE ES (3.20GHz) | |||
| Core speed | 3.20GHz | 3.20GHz | 3.20GHz | 3.20GHz |
| Uncore speed | 3.20GHz | 3.73GHz | 2.66GHz | 2.66GHz |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte EX58-UD5 | |||
| BIOS revision | F5d (08/02/2009) | |||
| Graphics Card | Force3D Radeon HD 4870 512MB | |||
| Disk drive(s) | Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB | |||
| Mainboard software | Intel Inf 9.1.01007 | |||
| Graphics driver | ATI Catalyst 9.1 | |||
| PSU | Corsair HX1000W | |||
| Operating System | Windows Vista Business SP1 64-bit | |||
| Approx. price at time of writing | £297.84 | £344.01 | £52.89 |
£86.24 |
Tests
| 2D benchmarks | Sisoft Sandra 2009 SP2 (15.72) Win64 memory bandwidth
(float) ScienceMark 2.0 memory latency HEXUS.PiFast wPrime (1024M calculation) DivX 6.8.3 encode of 1.22GB file Far Cry 2 benchmarking loading time |
|---|
| 3D Benchmarks | Far Cry 2 v1.01, 1,680x1,050 4x AA, vhq,
ranch long demo. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, OpenGL, 1,024x768 0xAA, 0xAF low Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, OpenGL, 1,680x1,050 4xAA, 16xAF vhq |
|---|
Setup notes - important
Ranging from speed-grades of 1,066MHz to 1,866MHz, we look at four packs that cover the pricing spectrum. The Crucial DDR3-1,333 pack is the only tri-module 3GB set, to see how much of a difference capacity makes to our test results. Otherwise, they're all run on an Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition CPU with varying uncore speeds.The price premium between DDR3-1,066 CL7 and DDR3-1,600 CL8 is absolutely massive - some 250 per cent - so let's crack on to them benchmarks.