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Test Setup

For this test, we chose the best performing Intel 975X motherboard we had in house, our excellent Asus P5W DH, and paired it with an Intel Quad Core QX6700!  No benchmark test of something as huge as these FLEX XLC memory modules can be complete without including Corsair's own ultra extreme memory series, the "Dominator".  We reviewed the excellent Dominator PC2-8888 last month so this should prove extremely interesting.

Benchmarks

Software used during testing consisted of the following:

• Windows XP Professional
• NVIDIA ForceWare 84.21 drivers
• RightMark Memory Analyzer
• SiSoft Sandra 2007
• WinRAR
• Doom 3

In order to keep the testing as fair as possible, we will use the following test platform:

• Intel Core 2 Quad QX6700 (Kentsfield) 2.66GHZ 1066MHZ FSB 8MB L2
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 (Kentsfield)
• Asus P5W DH Deluxe motherboard
• Asus P5B-E Deluxe motherboard
• Asus P5N32-E SLI motherboard (review soon to be published)
• Corsair XMS2 "Dominator" PC2-8888 memory
• Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8000
• Corsair PC2-8500 memory
• SuperTalent low latency PC-6400 2GB kit
• OCZ PC-8888 memory
• XFX GeForce 7800 GT

As normal, we discuss our overclocking adventures at the end of the article. However, in the results you'll see in the following pages we include overclocked benchmarks to show you what gains you might get if you also achieved similar overclocks - our test sytems were all stable at the settings shown with air cooling. The chart labels incorporate a lot of information about the test configuration. The first line shows the socket type and the model of the processor. Since all the processors shown are dual core devices, we did not specify that on the charts.

The second line shows the "FSB/HT clock rate" x "CPU multiplier"  and the effective DDR memory speed. Please note that all DDR2 tests were run at 4-4-4-12 timings where possible.

One change from our usual testing strategy that needs to be pointed out is that the P5B-E results for the OCZ PC2-9200 were obtained with an E6400 processor as that was what was installed in that board at that time. The two core vs. four core issue is moot as the memory benchmarks are not multi-threaded (Doom might slightly benefit from the additional cores) and while the 4MB vs. 2MB cache size differences will cause some performance differences, they will be relatively minor for the purposes of this review.

Methodology

I will be concentrating on seeing how far I can push the OCZ PC9200 memory compared to these other  DIMM's - how fast can they go with a 4-4-4-12 timing?

Given that the 975X is currently one of the best chipsets available, it is not surprising that we were able to obtain excellent results. What you may find surprising is just how much "headroom" these dimm's have for being pushed beyond specifications...

Ok, enough talking... let's get on with the testing!