Examination and specs.
It's fair to say that it took a reasonable length of time to surpass PC3500 speeds. We reviewed Corsair's XMS3500 C2 memory back in early November '02, and we found it to be a sterling performer. It's taken Corsair over 6 months to launch a faster range of RAM modules, and now we see both XMS3700 and XMS4000 hit the streets in close date proximity of one another.
The XMS line of memory (eXtended Memory Speed) has been characterised by the distinctive black or platinum heatspreader look. It's become synonymous with Corsair's high-end modules. This TwinX matched memory pair comprises of 2 512MB modules that have been tested in a dual channel environment at DDR500 speeds. 2 x 256MB modules are also available with the same basic specifications.
The trademark holographic sticker contains some of the more useful bits of information. DDR500 speeds with 3-4-4-8 latencies. Extremely high MHz speeds at the cost of low latency performance, perhaps ?. CAS latency is a strange animal in the DDR jungle. CL3, as seen on these modules, means that, on a PCB level, extra buffers have been inserted before data flows out to the pins. We'll have to see whether these modules have programmable CAS latencies, such that CAS2 and 2.5 are usable. On another note, it's still standard 184-pin DDR, so no surprises here. We established that Corsair's own TwinX XMS3700 (DDR467) used hand-picked Samsung DDR400 CL3 chips. A little faster speed may necessitate a change in chips. Carefully prising off the heatspreader revealed the following.
8 32M chips on either side give us the required 512MB. A closer inspection of the chips reveals all.
Hynix's 5.0ns RAM (Thanks, Bhulinder :), with a native speed of DDR400, is a rather low starting point if one is planning to market DDR500-capable RAM. Corsair further covers itself by stating that the required DDR voltage is 2.75v. To summarise, the TwinX XMS4000 matched memory kit appears to comprise of Hynix 5ns chips on a Samsung PCB, all coated with Corsair's aluminium heatspreaders. Take from that what you will.
Official specifications
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512MB and 1024MB kits available
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Implemented using 32M x 8 (per side) DDR SDRAMs with Hynix 5ns chips (1GB kit)
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100% tested at 250MHz (DDR500), as a pair, on an ASUS Canterwood motherboard
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Integrated aluminium heat spreader for improved thermal performance
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Lifetime Corsair warranty
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Six-layer construction
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Plug-n-Frag Auto-Configurtation
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Latency: 3-8-4-4-1T @ 2.75v
DDR500 speeds with high latencies. Time to see if it sets the benchmark trail alight.