Testing methodology
Comparison Memory |
||
|---|---|---|
G.Skill RipjawsX |
Corsair Vengeance Pro |
|
| Model | F3-2133C9Q-16GXL |
CMZ16GX3M2A1600C9 |
| Capacity | 16GB (4x4GB) |
16GB (2x8GB) |
| Speed | 2,133MHz |
1,600MHz |
| Timings | 9-11-11-31-2T |
9-9-9-24-2T |
| Voltage | 1.60V |
1.50V |
| Price* | £140 |
£135 |
| Cost per GB* | £8.75 |
£8.43 |
| *Approximate, correct at time of writing | ||
Test Platform |
||
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4770K | |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H (F7 BIOS) | |
| Storage Device | Samsung 840 Pro Series 250GB SSD | |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti (330.70) | |
| Power Supply | Corsair AX750 | |
| Operating System | Windows 8 64-bit | |
Benchmarks |
||
| HEXUS.PiFast | A number-crunching test run on a single core | |
| CINEBENCH R11.5 | Multi-threaded benchmark that stresses the system | |
| WinRAR 5.0.1 | Built-in benchmark run for five minutes | |
| AIDA64 v3.20.2656 | Memory analysis tool supporting Haswell CPUs | |
| Battlefield 4 | Run at 2,560x1,440 and ultra quality | |
| Far Cry 3 | Run at 2,560x1,440 and ultra quality | |
| GRID 2 | Run at 2,560x1,440 and ultra quality | |
Notes
We're pitting the four-module G.Skill pack against some low-latency memory from Corsair, rated at DDR3-1,600MHz speeds but with excellent 9-9-9-24-2T timings. We're going to quantify whether it's worth spending extra over a DDR3-1,600 CL9 pack when using everyday applications.
Overclocking
We've chosen three arbitrary speeds and timings in order to evaluate the overclocking potential of the two sets of modules. Voltage was raised from 1.50V/1.60V to 1.65V.
2,133MHz (9-10-9-27-2T) |
2, 200MHz (11-11-11-31-2T) |
2,400MHz (12-12-12-31-2T) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| G.Skill RipjawsX 16GB |
 |
|
|
| Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB |
 |
|
|
We were pleasantly surprised that the four-module pack managed to pass each of our overclocking tests, albeit with 1.65V running the chips. Zeroing-in on the maximum frequency at the shipping 9-11-11-31 timings, we managed a peak speed of 2,278MHz.