Benchmarks II
Corsair market this memory with a definite slant towards the gamers out there. After all, gamers usually require top-end equipment for maximum performance. Let's now investigate whether DDR-400, with a CAS latency rating of 2 clocks, can give us a slight boost.
Starting off with 3DMark 2001SE, the de facto DirectX benchmark, Benchmarked at its native resolution of 1024x768x32
Here is our first indication that having pre-guaranteed modules that run at DDR-400, with a CL of 2 clocks, do make a difference in bandwidth-hungry benchmarks, especially gaming ones. The 100+ mark lead is derived solely by the use of more stringent memory timings. You can see how running at 2550MHz / 150FSB / 150MHz RAM (DDR-300) impairs performance. We gain almost 600 marks by switching to 2550MHz / 150MHz / 200MHz RAM (DDR-400). I'm sure the gaps would have been even larger had I used a GeForce4 Ti 4600 instead of a Ti 4400.
Next up is Serious Sam 2. Benchmarked using the CPU-challenging Valley of the Jaguar Timedemo. 1024x768x32 Normal preferences here.
The extra bandwidth afforded by DDR-400 memory is on show here too. The CPU speed has remained constant, only the memory frequency has changed from 150MHz to 200MHz by use of a 3:4 CPU:DRAM ratio. The results posted by CL2.5 and CL2, at DDR-400, are largely similar
How about some Comanche 4 action. This system-limited benchmark thrives on bandwidth. Benchmarked at 1024x768x32.
Faster memory helps here, so does switching from CAS2.5 to CAS2. Lastly, Q3 fastest, still one of the best indicators of system throughput.
More of the same here. Having pre-guaranteed DDR-400 CAS2 modules certainly keeps games ticking along nicely.