Hot Stuff: Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO DDR Memory

Introduction

Corsair Memory, a leader and innovator in the PC memory market, has teamed up with ASUS Technologies, a leader in the PC motherboard market, to develop an exciting new memory product for the performance enthusiast. The Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO package is a matched pair totaling 2GB of low latency memory modules with activity LEDs. This memory was optimized for the ASUS A8N32-SLI motherboard, which uses NVIDIA's latest nForce4 SLI x16 chipset. Have no fear though, Corsair tests their memory on a variety of the latest motherboards to ensure maximum compatibility and peak performance for all.

The TWINX2048-3500LLPRO is a 2GByte matched memory pair specifically designed for motherboards using chipsets with dual memory channels. This memory kit consists of two CMX1024-3500LLPRO memory modules that have been tested together on a current production AMD motherboard at DDR437 (218 MHz) and extremely Low Latency of 2-3-2-6 T1. These TwinX memory kits are designed to provide the ultimate in performance and stability in dual channel boards. As part of Corsair's XMS ProSeries, each module includes the high-efficiency aluminum XMS heatsink, and 18 activity LED's that show the level of memory activity on each bank.

Why upgrade your system to 2GB? Are you a serious gamer that plays the latest high-end games like Battlefield 2 or World of Warcraft? Do you do a lot of video or photo editing? Even just having a bunch of applications open at once can eat up RAM faster than one might expect.

Manufacturer's Features & Specifications

Features:

• 2048 Megabytes of memory
  • Two CMX1024-3500LLPRO memory DIMMs
• High-efficiency aluminum XMS heatsink
  • 95% greater surface area than standard memory heatspreaders
  • Thermally bonded to the module
• 18 activity LED's show level of memory activity
• Benchmarked over multiple chip sets, processors, and motherboards
• Approximately 1.75" tall x 5.41" long x 0.30" wide; 2.9 oz
• Lifetime warranty

Test Specifications:

• Tested as a matched pair in an Asus A8N-SLI Premium at 218MHz
  • Packaged together immediately following system test
• Tested at Plug and Frag 2-3-2-6-T1 latency settings
• Dual channel testing environment
• Tested at DDR437 (218MHz)
• SPD programmed at advanced 2-3-2-6 values
• Boots using ultra-low latency values (2-3-2-6-T1)

Performance Summary & Final Conclusions:

Corsair's TWINX2048-3500LLPRO certainly delivers, the combination of low latency settings and minimal voltage makes it an excellent candidate for any motherboard. Even though the memory is rated for DDR437, we managed to achieve much higher speeds while maintaining very good timings and for the most part no increase in voltage. Once again, Corsair has come through with flying colors providing an excellent product for the PC performance enthusiast.

The demand for 2GB of memory in a PC will only increase with time. With Windows Vista just around the corner and the expected explosion of 64bit computing, one can only guess at what new "realistic" baseline of PC requirements will be, but it is pretty safe to assume more memory will be needed to fuel this next generation of software. Even today's software can see a benefit from additional RAM, depending on the particular task.