Kingston HyperX DDR3-2000C9 Review

Sup everyone,

As usual, the memory freak has another... RAM review for you today.

It's about a relatively ( and very affordable in some places it seems ) affordable memory kit from Kingston, the HyperX DDR3-2000C9 ( part number... hold on....hmm... KHX2000C9AD3T1FK3/6GX ! woot I made it! ).

Some quotes from the review:

Today we're going to check one of their latest overclocking-oriented, yet relatively cheap triple channel DDR3 memory kit designed for Intel's LGA1366 ( X58 ) platform, the KHX2000C9AD3T1FK3/6GX, a 6GB triple channel memory kit accompanied by a memory cooler made by Kinston, the "HyperX Fan".

Before somebody gets confused, and just to make sure that I won't mislead you with my introduction, I'd like to make clear that this memory kit is best suited for an Intel X58 platform-based system, but it will also work fine on any of their latest platforms, the LGA1156 and of course the LGA775, however your overclocking might be sort of restricted on the LGA775 platform and the LGA1156 platform when using a Clarkdale processor ( Intel Core i3 530/540/550, Intel Core i5 650/660/661/670/680 ) due to various factors, mainly the memory controller ( on-chipset or integrated in the CPU ).

For the LGA1156 platform users, there should be a dual channel version of this kit available in stores now ( p/n: KHX2000C9AD3T1FK2/4GX ) if you want 4GB or a dual channel kit in general.

Why should you buy a expensive "overclocking" DDR3-2000 memory kit instead of a cheap DDR3-1066 or DDR3-1333 memory kit of the same capacity ?

Well, you can easily do everything with a "slow" budget DDR3-1333 memory kit, use any Office productivity suite, play the latest games, author DVDs and music, watch high definition movies, etc.

"So, if I my computer can handle everything just fine with a budget DDR3 memory kit, why should I look after a non-budget DDR3 memory kit ?"

If you are looking to overclock your PC, and you're not going to be satisfied with a mild overclock, then you should obtain a decent memory kit to avoid any possible bottlenecks, such as memory frequency limitation ( your RAM not being able to work at higher frequencies ). If you are a benchmarker, and hunting down some nice numbers in various benchmarks to compete with other users or your friends, having a top-notch memory kit will help you reach higher numbers and "crush" the competition.

Other than that, a better memory kit may help in some bandwidth sensitive applications such as web server & database setups, etc.

 

Getting the most out of a memory kit is much more difficult than overclocking your CPU ( processor ) or your VGA ( graphics card ), there are far too many variables and parameters that you need to tweak to achieve a stable overclock. One of the most time consuming ways, yet the most rewarding since you'll be finding the max your memory can do is... the one I used for this review of course ( I'm a glutton for punishment, I know :-D )

In this method you take each timing one by one and find the clock frequency limits with each value.

It's better to start with the ones that limit overclocking the most, CAS Latency ( tCL ) and RAS to CAS Delay ( tRCD ). Set the CAS Latency to the lowest value you think it's going to work ( 6T for example ) and loosen the rest timings ( set the other timings to values that are surely stable at any frequency, very relaxed ) and start with a reasonable operating frequency ( like DDR3-1333 for example ) and work your way up adjusting the frequency, the voltages and the timing value once you reached the limit for each specific value.

 

In the following chart you'll find the maximum error-free ( totally stable ) operating clock frequencies my Kingston HyperX DDR3-2000 6GB triple channel memory kit achieved on my trusty eVGA Classified and the Intel Core i7 980X processor...

Grab a cup of coffee or your favorite drink and read the review now! :