Overclocking:
Although Kingston produces HyperX memory modules with overclocked speeds and advanced timings, using these modules in excess of the published speeds voids the warranty! So, if you intend to run at elevated speeds and want to use a Kingston product, be sure to select the appropriate module to avoid any issues with your warranty.
Since it isn't my money on the line for warranty purposes, I had to overclock this kit to see what it could do. Overclocking on the test system described previously has always been a bit disappointing. Regardless of CPU settings, memory settings, or any of the handful of other settings available, the maximum clock speed achieved (and duplicated with a handful of different memory modules) is a fairly meager 230MHz (460MHz DDR).
A low latency kit of PC3200 or PC3500 is ideal for this type of system, as it allows enhanced performance at lower clock speeds. But, being able to overclock even just a little is a nice way to squeeze a bit more out of your system's performance. The Kingston kit showed that it could climb to my maximum overclock of 460MHz DDR, but it didn't do it as easily as many other kits I have tried. The timings had to be relaxed from 2.5-3-3-7 1T to 3-3-3-8 2T, and even then there were occasional blue screens and other errors. The Kingston HyperX KHX3200K2/2G kit made it very clear that it wasn't that interested in being overclocked, and considering it could run at 2-3-3-6 at PC3200 speeds, perhaps it should be appreciated for that accomplishment.
Once the overclocking limit was set, the 2GB kits from Kingston and Corsair were run through a series of benchmarks at three speeds; 400MHz, 438MHz, and 460MHz DDR.
Benchmarking:
The following list of tests were run on the two 2GB DDR kits at 400MHz DDR, 438MHz DDR, and 460MHz DDR. As mentioned, both sets of DDR were run at 2.8V, with the Corsair PC3500 set to 2-3-2-6 1T timings at every speed, and the Kingston PC3200 run at 2.5-3-3-7 1T at 400MHz and 438MHz, and 3-3-3-8 2T at 460MHz.
» SiSoft Sandra 2005 Memory Benchmark
» Everest Home Edition 2.01 Memory Benchmark
» Futuremark PCMark05 System Benchmark
» PiFast 43
» Quake 4
» Battlefield 2
SiSoft Sandra 2005 Memory Benchmark - The first test is a synthetic benchmark that has pretty much become a memory review staple. Two values are provided, Integer and Float, both in units of MB/s (higher is better). From the chart below you can see that the Kingston 2GB kit can meet or exceed the performance of the 2GB Corsair kit when running at 400MHz and 438MHz. This first glimpse at the performance was a bit of a surprise considering that the Corsair kit ran at tighter timings at these speeds. Once you get up to 460MHz things change drastically, and the more relaxed timings really hamper the Kingston kit's performance.
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