Overclocking
2,000MHz on Core i7 is close to pushing the boundaries of what's possible with DDR3, so overclocking results aren't going to be hugely impressive.The Kingston set managed to run the 1T command rate without any difficulty, which gives an ounce of extra performance, but we dialled back the settings to 8-8-8-24-2T and increased voltage to 1.7V, to see just how high they would go.
| Maximum stable frequency 8-8-8-24 2T | ||
|---|---|---|
| Corsair DDR3-2,000 CL7 6GB | Kingston HyperX DDR3-2,000 CL8 | Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1,600 C |
| 2142 | 2114 | 1895 |
End result? Just a little shy of the Corsair pack, but pretty good nonetheless.
Heat considerations
| Memory | Kingston HyperX T1 2,000 | Corsair TR3X6G2000C7GTF | Crucial Ballistix Tracer LED 6GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heatspreader temp (no load) | 36°C | 31°C | 38°C |
| Heatspreader temp (load) | 45°C | 39°C | 51°C |
As a really simple test of how hot the spreaders became during testing, the measurements were taken using an infrared thermometer with the system idling and then running the memory-intensive portion of Prime95 for 10 minutes. Corsair's DOMINATOR was equipped with the AIRFLOW fan, it should be noted.
You can take this kind of measurement two ways, insofar as higher temperatures mean that the heatspreader is doing its work or, looking at it conversely, the PCB is just too hot and provides poor thermal regulation. Kingston's modules fall in the middle of the triumvirate.