Corsair TwinX1024-4000 PRO: Improving DDR500 Performance

Final Words

Corsair’s new PRO Series memory provides some unique choices in quality memory. They are the first Memory Modules to provide top-mounted LED’s that show memory activity in each of the memory banks. Frankly, it is difficult to think of a practical use for the LED array, except possibly to tell you the module is mounted correctly in the slot or your computer is on. The LED grabs attention, and that is probably the real reason we are seeing them. With memory LED’s, you can visually announce to the world that you own some of the best memory available. As case modders have proven, they are a market willing to spend money, and the new Corsair PRO memory will likely become the case modder’s preferred memory until other manufacturers release LED memory.

The important feature, however, is how this expensive Corsair PRO performs. Corsair has an enviable reputation of delivering some of the best memory performance in the industry, and gimmicks are just that if performance doesn’t match.

The TwinX1024-4000PRO kit we tested performed much better than the Corsair XMS4000 memory that we tested just a few weeks ago. Of the 10 modules tested, Corsair 4000 PRO is among the top 3 performers in virtually every test we ran at DDR500 and at the highest overclock of DDR539. While Corsair still does not quite match the overclocks we could achieve with OCZ DDR500 or Geil Platinum4000, they are much closer than Corsair’s previous DDR500. The matched CMX512-4000PRO modules also perform at significantly better timings at DDR500 to DDR539 than specification, which is the pattern also found in the best DDR500 modules. Based on DDR500 performance alone, we would have a hard time choosing among OCZ, Corsair, and Geil.

At DDR400 — the memory spec for Intel 875/865 boards — Corsair 4000 PRO is the only DDR500 that can actually run at a fast CAS2 memory timing. At 2-3-3-5 timings, it is, in fact, just as fast at DDR400 as Corsair’s recently introduced 3200 PRO. It appears Corsair has made a different trade-off than other DDR500 manufacturers, and it is a tradeoff we applaud. This DDR400 performance from a DDR500 module is very impressive and hopefully, the first of many similar modules. In fact, in many of our tests at DDR400, Corsair 4000 PRO results are in the same league with OCZ 3700 GOLD and Mushkin PC3500 Level II. The OCZ GOLD and Mushkin L2 are neither rated as DDR500 modules, but they have a reputation for providing very fast DDR400 performance and reasonable 1:1 overclocks. The ability of Corsair 4000 PRO, a true DDR500 memory, to perform at these levels is unique for now.

If your goal is the highest 1:1 overclock you can achieve, then OCZ PC4000 or Geil 4000Platinum should be your choice. If you want the fastest DDR400 memory performance you can get and a reasonable overclock, then Mushkin 3500 Level II or OCZ 3700 GOLD should be your choice.

However, if you want it all — great timings at DDR400, top performance at DDR500, and a reasonable compromise on the top overclock you can achieve above DDR500 — then Corsair TwinX1024-4000PRO should be your choice. The Corsair CMX512-4000PRO modules and the matched modules in the TwinX kit are the only DDR500 that we have tested that come close to Universal High-Speed memory for the 865/875 platform. They even make sense for Athlon fans who want decent DDR400 performance now and a hedge for that future Socket 939 that will handle regular unbuffered memory.

We have heard that Corsair 4000 PRO is the first of many “Universal” modules that will soon appear from other manufacturers and that is certainly great news. But for now, Corsair 4000 PRO is the only Universal high-speed memory.