Memory

GeIL EVO CORSA 2133MHz CL10 8GB DDR3 Review

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November 28, 2011 8 Min Read
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A new DDR3 memory kit named EVO CORSA rated at PC3-17000 (2133MHz) with CAS timings 10-11-11-30 for Sandy Bridge / AMD.



Product on Review: EVO CORSA PC3-17000
Manufacturer and Sponsor: GeIL
Street Price: £70 (at time of review)

GeIL aren’t a brand that will first spring to mind when you think about memory. They had lots of success in the DDR1/DDR2 days but since then have gone rather quiet in Europe particularly. This year we have had some big releases from both Intel and AMD by way of Sandy Bridge, AMD 990FX and just recently Sandy Bridge-E, seizing this opportunity GeIL have put all of their efforts into producing a new range of kits designed for these new platforms and chipsets.

Today we will be taking a look at the new EVO CORSA DDR3 range. Though GeIL have kits in different varities we will be looking at a dual channel kit designed for Sandy Bridge. So far we have mostly considered 1600MHz kits in our Sandy Bridge memory reviews but today’s sample sees us venturing into the plains of the elite…. 2133MHz.



GeIL’s take on EVO CORSA
Corsa, the Italian word for “race”, hence the name for the 3rd generation of GeIL’s DDR3 Gaming Series Memory – EVO CORSA, which symbolize extreme speed as a race car on the track. The Metallic-Amazon-Green finish of the EVO CORSA heatspreader is derived from the famous German race track – the Nurburgring a.k.a. “the Green Hell”.

The CORSA Heat-spreader is designed with MTCD – Maximum Thermal Conduction & Dissipation for superior cooling performance. Ranging from DDR3 1866MHz and up, the EVO CORSA is designed for the latest Intel & AMD chipsets for maximum performance and compatibility. EVO CORSA is the new DDR3 performance benchmark.

Technical Specifications


– Available in 4GB (2GBx2) & 8GB(4GBx2) Dual Channel Package
– Available CAS: 9-11-9-28, 10-11-11-30, 11-11-11-36
Model number sku
GOC34GB2133C11DC | GOC38GB2133C11DC | GOC34GB2133C10ADC
GOC38GB2133C10ADC | GOC34GB2133C9ADC | GOC38GB2133C9ADC
Working Voltage
CAS9: 1.65V
CAS10 1.5V
CAS11: 1.5V
– Heat-spreader: CORSA edition heat-sink system with MTCD Technology in Metallic Green finish
– Technology: DBT Enhanced, Die-hard Burn-in Technology
– Lifetime Warranty

Packaging & Closer Look


EVO CORSA is presented in a small cardboard packet. GeIL have chosen to use the remains of a tyre mark on a racecourse to market this memory kit – representing speed and endurance. There is a small window that gives a sneak preview of one of the modules inside and the GeIL DBT Enhanced logo can be clearly seen in the bottom right corner. On the reverse of the packet is the GeIL company address and memory specifications.


EVO CORSA packaging



The reverse of packaging with memory specifications


EVO CORSA as you might have guessed from the sneak preview through the packaging – have yellow heatsinks. With most enthusiasts now being aesthetically conscious and motherboards being prominently black and blue, these heatsinks will struggle to co-ordinate. If you have a wacky side or aren’t bothered at all by the colour configuration inside your rig then you won’t have a problem!


An overview of GeIL EVO CORSA

Looking at the modules from the side we can see the profile of the EVO CORSA kit. The thickness of the modules with the heatsinks attached are 4mm, whilst the extended height of the heatsink adds on an additional 1.75cm.


The profile of EVO CORSA



The height of EVO CORSA heatsinks


On the reverse of the modules is the specifications label, this gives the capacity, frequency, CAS timings, serial number and rated voltage. The CAS timings on this kit are quite high so it’s expected that overclocking will be extremely limited – more on this later.


Specifications label giving details about kit

Testing Methodologies & Overclocking


CPU Intel Core i5 2500K (3.3GHz)
Motherboard ASUS P8P67
Memory
– 8GB GeIL EVO CORSA 2133MHz 10-11-11-30
– 8GB Patriot G2 1600MHz 9-9-9-24
– 8GB G.Skill Sniper 1600MHz 9-9-9-24
– 4GB Kingston HyperX Special Edition 1600MHz 9-9-9-27
– 4GB G.Skill RipjawsX 1600MHz 7-8-7-24
– 4GB OCZ Reaper 1600MHz 8-8-8-26
CPU Cooler Noctua NH-D14
Graphics ZOTAC GTX 460
PSU OCZ Fatal1ty 750W

For the purpose of testing I will be using the EVO CORSA kit and all subsequent Sandy Bridge memory on the ASUS P8P67 motherboard, using the Intel 2500K.


EVO CORSA kit installed on the ASUS P8P67 with Noctua NH-D14


Overclocking

With BCLK being fixed on the Sandy Bridge platform this has now altered the way we can overclock. Overclocking power with Sandy Bridge is concentrated on the CPU rather than memory. We do not have the flexibility we once had by changing the BCLK in order to move the frequencies in small increments, instead we have only set margins to move in because of the divider that is set. So available we have 1066MHz / 1600MHz / 1866MHz / 2133MHz / 2400MHz. In essence we have little room to experiment with, but let’s see what we can do.

Sadly, as expected the high frequency and high CAS timings with this kit result in no room for overclocking at all. Even trying to improve those CAS timings results in failed boot-ups. Below are the CPU-Z screenshots of the stock ratings

Synthetic Benchmarks – AIDA64

AIDA64 is the successor to Everest ULTIMATE. This application not only details every component within a system but it also incorporates a comprehensive memory benchmarking tool that will ascertain bandwidth and latency figures.


Synthetic Benchmarks – SiSoftware SANDRA 2011

SANDRA isn’t always a benchmark that is included in hardware reviews but I believe it shouldn’t be ignored. SANDRA provides a vigorous package that tests your system in a rather large array of benchmarks. There are many aspects of benchmark that can be executed. We will be considering memory specific benchmark tests.







Synthetic Benchmarks – 3DMark 11

Designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance 3DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.




Gaming Benchmarks – Metro 2033, Dirt 2, UT3, Black Ops

It’s important for us to perform a number of game benchmarks as well as the synthetic tests because the EVO CORSA’s will surely feature in many gaming systems, because this kit is specifically targeted at gamers. So here we have a selection of popular gaming titles, critically acclaimed and action-packed.








Conclusion


Locating GeIL memory kits in the UK market is a difficult task but thankfully the tail-end of this year has seen a significant movement by GeIL to boost things in Europe – something they used to be revered for. So how well does the EVO CORSA DDR3 kit perform on the Sandy Bridge platform? The answer is: very well indeed. There are different variations in frequency and CAS timings available but the 2133MHz CL10 kit we have examined today delivers some interesting and satisfying results.

Due to the high frequency and high CAS timings of this kit there is sadly no room to overclock. Increasing the frequency results in problems as does the lowering/tightening the CAS timings but then some consumers will be interested in this kit for the simple fact that it already comes at an impressive stock frequency.



The only real niggle with this kit is the colour. Many enthusiasts are favouring subtle colours in a bid to create a stealthy looking system. Gone are the days when motherboards would resemble a rainbow, so the EVO CORSA colour will leave many puzzled. If you aren’t particularly fussed about things matching within your configuration and are only focussed on performance then this won’t be an issue.

In terms of pricing, this kit can be found for around £70 inc. VAT which isn’t bad at all for an 8GB DDR3 kit at 2133MHz. It’s certainly affordable and if you have browsed the benchmarks on the preceding pages you will know that this kit performs consistently well.

Pros
+ Great performance
+ Good pricing
+ Compatible with big CPU coolers

Cons
– No option for overclocking
– Colour hard to match with motherboards / system




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