Corsair have sent us some of their flagship high performance DDR3 to test. Click on the link to see how it does!
Product on Review: Dominator GT – CMG4GX3M2B1600C7
Manufacturer: Corsair
Street Price: £162.29
There are two things you should take into consideration when choosing what memory to upgrade to, the first is overall speed which is sometimes called data rate. Such as the kit we are going to look at today – 1600MHz. The faster this is the larger the bandwidth and thus better overall performance. The second is latency, which is often overlooked by consumers. You may well have fast rated memory modules but if the latency timings are high bandwidth could experience issues.
Today we take a look at Corsair’s Dominator GT series, a DDR3 dual channel kit designed specifically for the AMD platform. This kit has some pretty tight timings and is reasonably rated and since Corsair are one of the main players in the high performance memory marketplace it will be interesting to see how these modules perform a little later on.
| It’s a PC3-12800 4gb (2x2gb) kit aimed in particular at AMD based systems. Whether you are building a budget rig or a top-of-the-line Black Edition gaming system, Corsair has you covered. With Corsair you can get 100% tested compatibility and well-assorted solutions for your budget and your AMD™ system needs. Corsair’s Dominator memory kits are tuned for optimal performance in AMD Socket AM3 platforms. The modules also feature Corsair’s unique DHX+ cooling technology and sport green heatsink fins and highlights for the ultimate AMD-compatible look. An Airflow fan with matching green highlights is also included. The DOMINATOR-GT is the ultimate performance solution within the DOMINATOR product line. Limited to only extremely high memory speeds, the Corsair DOMINATOR-GT only uses highly screened IC’s to guarantee performance and over-clockability. Using ultra efficient Dual-path Heat Xchange (DHX) cooling technology, the DOMINATOR-GT modules also ship with the Airflow Fan to maximize heat transfer away from the modules– all the while being stable and reliable. With removable heat sinks, the DOMINATOR-GT modules can even be outfitted with additional upcoming accessories with enhanced features. |
Specifications
Name – Corsair Dominator GT Edition
Product code – CMG4GX3M2B1600C7
Speed Rating – PC3-12800
Tested Speed – 1600mhz
Size – 4gb kit (2x2gb)
Tested Latency – 7-7-7-20
Tested Voltage – 1.65v
Performance Profile – BEMP
SPD Speed – 1333mhz
SPD Latency – 9-9-9-24
Package – 240pin DIMM
Additional hardware – Airflow cooling fan
The Dominator DIMM’s AMD support specifically relates to the B.E.M.P (Black Edition Memory Profile) Performance Profile settings the ram comes with. These allow the tuned memory sticks to run at their rated speeds and timings with compatible AM3 systems.
Packaging and closer look
The Dominator GT arrived in a very unassuming plain white parcel. Only the Corsair logo gave the game away as to what was within.
The simply styled Corsair box.
Once opened i was greeted by the two heatsinked DIMM’s and an additional box containing the Dominator Airflow cooling fan.
DDR3 DIMM’s and the Airflow cooler box.
The Dominator GT DIMM’s are very good looking and their large (but not ludicrously so) heatsinks hint at the performance on offer. They are very solid units and should inspire confidence that they’re built to last!
The Dominator GT’s look great.
Up front the DIMM simply identifies itself as coming from the Dominator GT stable.
Simply style!
Closer look continued
Around back we find the specific technical information relating to these sticks of memory.
Rear of the Dominator GT DIMM.
Easier to read up close!
Impressive specs.
The DHX (Dual-path Heat Xchange) technology incorporated into the Dominator GT’s PCB and heatsink design helps remove heat from the memory circuit board through both convection and conduction. The diagram below explains all aspects of the design.
DHX specs.
Onto the supplied Airflow fan – it’s all aluminium construction and its design mirrors that of the Dominator GT modules. The unit contains two 60mm tachometer controlled fans that should cool the DIMMs both effectively and quietly. It’s simple thumb screw installation system also means that it fits securely and happily onto most motherboards.
The Airflow fan.
Thumbscrew fixings should make install easy.
Test setup and installation
Test setup
CPU: Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition
MOBO: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 890GX
HDD: 250gb WD 7200rpm SATA HDD
Optical drive: LG Bluray/HDDVD Multidrive
CPU cooler: Coolermaster Hyper TX3
PSU: Hiper Type-R 580w
GPU: Gainward GTX260
Installation
Installation of the Dominator GT was of course very simple. The Airflow fan was a touch more involved but not remotely difficult.
I will mention that the Hyper TX3 i had installed to cool the CPU did get in the way of the Airflow fan a little. Care has to be taken to make sure you don’t foul any larger heatsink/fan that might be in the way.
Airflow fan installed in test PC.
Overclocking and sound
Overclocking
The Dominator GT ran happily at its rated voltage, clock speed and timings – 1.65v, 1600mhz and 7-7-7-20.
Stock.
I increased the clock speed of the ram to 1686mhz at the same voltage but in order to get the memory stable i had to slacken the timings to 8-8-8-21.
1686mhz.
I then pushed further and managed a maximum clock of 1760mhz. In order to reach this clock i had to up the voltage to 1.7v and slacken the timings to 9-9-9-24.
1760mhz.
A 160mhz boost over stock is pretty good. In fact i’m fairly sure that if i had more time to tweak i’d be able to tighten the timings and/or increase the speed a little more too.
Sound
The Airflow fan is a little intrusive at full tilt – if you 7v or even 5v them they would be virtually silent and still provide sufficient airflow for the ram modules.
Testing – Sisoft Sandra
Sisoft Sandra is up first. Its full title is the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant. It’s a comprehensive information and diagnostic suite that can monitor and test most aspects of your PC.
For the purposes of this test i’ll be concentrating on the memory’s bandwidth and latency performance.
As you can see each overclock provided an increase in performance at every point. There’s a decent boost in bandwidth whilst latency drops nicely too.
Memory Bandwidth – FLOAT.
Memory Bandwidth – INT.
Memory Latency.
Testing – Everest Ultimate
Everest Ultimate from Layalys is another diagnostic and benchmarking utility. Temperature and voltage monitoring is on offer as well as a suite of stress testing and benching features.
Once again the program will be used to test purely the bandwidth and latency performance increases in the Dominator GT as the reference clockspeed is pushed up.
Everest also showed the same trend with improvements across the board.
Memory Read.
Memory Write.
Memory Latency.
Testing – Super Pi
Super Pi is the final program i’ve chosen to test the performance of this ram. Whilst not an actual raw monitoring and benchmarking suite it is a useful computer program that can calculate Pi to a specified number of digits after the decimal point – up to an impressive maximum of 32 million digits.
It’s been used over the years to test just this so let’s take a look at how our overclock effects the time taken to calculate Pi.
Super Pi confirms it again. Yes the CPU got a slight boost from the increased clocks but memory speed and latencies always have a great effect on a good Super Pi time – and that is again reflected here.
1 Million.
8 Million.
32 Million.
Conclusion
For those looking for a high performance DDR3 dual channel kit the Dominator GT on test here would be a fine choice.
Its high speed and low latencies lend themselves to great performance and the fact that you can increase that capability through a decent overclock is all the more commendable.
Yes, it is a bit of an investment but it\’s still got some of the tightest timings of any of the ram kits in its speed class. The majority run CAS 8 or even 9 which makes this kit very attractive. I\’m sure that for the majority of performance enthusiasts it would be worth the additional outlay!
The excellent Dominator GT PC3-12800 Dual Channel Kit.
I must also mention that during all of my testing the ram modules never got more than mildly warm to the touch – even when overclocked. On the one hand this is excellent news but on the other it left me wondering why the bundled Airflow fan might be needed.
Yes the Airflow fan is well made, robust and pretty quiet and yes upon first inspection i considered it to be a useful addition to the kit but unless you\’re really pumping high voltage and big clocks out of the DIMMs it seemed that it might not really be required.
I suppose if you were watercooling whilst heavily overclocking and had no airflow passing over the DIMMs then the Airflow fan may come into its own.
The ram modules themselves have performed impeccably. I had no stability issues, they clocked well, look great, run cool and carry Corsair\’s lifetime warranty too.
With that in mind i\’ll conclude that you are indeed getting what you pay for here. A high guaranteed 1600mhz clockspeed with tight CAS 7 timings are something many overclockers will be prepared to pay for.
As a result i award the Corsair Dominator GT PC3-12800 the Vortez Hardware \’Silver\’ award.
Pros
+ Overclocked nicely
+ Tight timings
+ Cool running even when overclocked
+ Very stable throughout all testing
+ Great looking
+ Bundled Airflow fan
+ Lifetime Warranty
Cons
– A bit of an investment
– Airflow fan may not be needed in majority of systems
We would like to thank Corsair for supplying the Dominator GT (CMG4GX3M2B1600C7) for review. Discuss this review on our forums
P.S: For those unsure that they\’d ever need the Airflow fan i can confirm that you can pick up the Dominator GT modules on their own which will save £15 over the price at the beginning of the article.
