Testing methodology
Comparison Memory |
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|---|---|---|---|
| G.Skill Ripjaws 4 3,000 | Corsair Vengeance LPX 2,800 |
Crucial DDR4-2,133
|
|
| Model | F4-3000C15Q-16GRR | CMK16GX4MA2800C16 |
CT8G4DFD8213 |
| Capacity | 16GB (4x4GB) | 16GB (4x4GB) |
32GB (4x8GB) |
| Speed | 3,000MHz | 2,800MHz |
2,133MHz |
| Timings | 15-15-15-35-2T | 16-18-18-36-2T |
15-15-15-36-2T |
| Voltage | 1.35V | 1.20V |
1.20V |
| Price* | £380 | £295 |
£300 |
| Cost per GB* | £23.75 | £18.44 |
£9.37 |
| *Approximate, correct at time of writing | |||
Test Platform |
|||
| CPU | Intel Core i7-5960X | ||
| Motherboard | Asus X99-Deluxe (5501 BIOS) | ||
| Storage Device | Crucial MX100 512GB SSD | ||
| Graphics Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (340.52 drivers) | ||
| Power Supply | Corsair AX760i | ||
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 64-bit | ||
Benchmarks |
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| HEXUS.PiFast | Our number-crunching benchmark stresses a single core by calculating Pi to 10m places | ||
| CINEBENCH R15 | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses all cores | ||
| HandBrake 0.9.9.1 | Free-to-use video encoder that stresses all CPU cores (64-bit) | ||
| AIDA64 v4.60.3124 | Memory analysis tool supporting Haswell CPUs | ||
| 3DMark | DX11, Fire Strike default test | ||
| BioShock Infinite | DX11, 1,920x1,080, ultra quality | ||
| Batman: Arkham Origins | DX11, 1,920x1,080, enhanced quality | ||
Notes
Comparing memory modules of differing speeds on an X99 platform is not as straightforward as it should be.
Motherboards offer a maximum memory frequency of 2,666MHz when using the default 100MHz base clock. The only method of achieving higher speeds, for comparison modules, is to increase the base clock and input XMP parameters. Going via XMP requires the CPU strap and base clock set to 125MHz, pushing the CPU speed out of the default specification.
We want to lock the CPU speed to a a certain frequency and then see what effect memory timings and frequency have on our benchmarks, rather than what effect the CPU imposes. The way to do this is to select a CPU speed - 3.8GHz in our case - and toggle the other parameters to fit.
2,133MHz DDR4 - Crucial
2,800MHz DDR4 - Corsair LPX
3,040MHz DDR4 - G.Skill Ripjaws 4
We need to increase the DRAM frequency a touch to fit into an all-core 3.8GHz CPU speed, with the G.Skill running at 3,042.2MHz.
Overclocking
We've chosen three arbitrary speeds and default timings in order to evaluate the overclocking potential of the Crucial modules. Voltage was kept at 1.35V.
2,400MHz (15-15-15-36-2T) |
2,667MHz (15-15-15-36-2T) |
2,800MHz (15-15-15-36-2T) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Crucial @ 1.35V |
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|
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Keeping the same shipping latencies shows Crucial's memory scale nicely up to 2,667MHz.