Overclocking and performance thoughts
OverclockingOur overclocking test is simple. We manually set the modules to run at 8-8-8-24 2T timings and run Prime95 torture test to determine how high they will go before failure sets in. We keep other parameters as close to default as possible, thereby putting the onus on the modules rather than the system. Voltage is kept at a Lynnfield-safe 1.65V.
The Corsair DOMINATOR 8GB 1,600MHz kit hit 1,740MHz without the Airflow fan and 1,767MHz with. The very fact that the package contains four modules counts against it with respect to overclocking.
Kingston's 4GB (2 x 2GB) 1,600MHz kit fared better, hitting a stable 1,948MHz, whilst the 2,133MHz rated pack scaled to 2,188MHz - representing close to the limit of DDR3 technology.
Performance summary
The inherent problem of testing memory capacity on a Windows 7 machine is that the operating system is rather efficient at managing resources. Add to this the large on-chip cache of the Intel Core i7 870 CPU and the need to run back to main memory is generally mitigated.
Running single instances of benchmarks clearly doesn't show any real difference in the results for the different-capacity DDR3-1,600MHz kits, and only synthetic benchmarks give the nod towards the 2,133MHz offering from Kingston.
Right at this moment, writing this review, I have an image-editing program open with 33 large-sized pictures ready for cropping. On top of that, Firefox has 14 tabs open, Microsoft Office is running, and seven other programs are all active. A peek at task manager shows that 2.39GB of RAM is being used.
We can engineer instances where 8GB of system memory or 4GB of ultra-high-speed RAM will be useful - switching in and out of games to the desktop, running incredibly memory-intensive apps, and so on. Should most users have a setup similar to the one employed here - a large-cache chip and Windows 7 - then it's difficult to see past 4GB, let alone 8GB.
Point is, more memory is almost always better, but it's of limited use for the average user who doesn't engage in a hideous amount of multi-tasking.