Configuration:
The Kingston HyperX 2GB PC3-11000 DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Kit was installed in a system with the following components for this review:
» Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Dual Core processor
» ASUS P5KC P35 ATX motherboard
» Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB hard drive
» PC Power and Cooling 750 Quad Silencer power supply
» Cooler Master iTower 930 ATX
» Windows Vista Home Premium
Before installing this memory kit, I did a bit of reading to see how Kingston achieved the interesting rated speed of 1375MHz. A PDF on their website revealed that the SPD of this kit is programmed to a JEDEC standard speed of DDR3 1066MHz, with timings of 7-7-7, and a voltage of 1.5V. My analogy to Spinal Tap in the introduction was somewhat correct, but instead of 1333MHz, the "10" setting is actually 1066MHz.
With that information in mind, I booted up the test system for the first time with plans to access the BIOS and make adjustments as necessary to be able to boot safely into Windows. The BIOS was initially set to the values of 1066MHz, 7-7-7-20, and 1.5V and Windows was started up as a preliminary check. A few quick benchmarks and 30 minutes of OCCT were all I needed in order to feel confident in moving to the rated speed of 1375MHz, with timings of 7-7-7-20, and 1.7V.
1375MHz is an odd speed, and I doubt you will ever see it as a default in any motherboard BIOS. Even with overclocking I was not able achieve it exactly, and settled for 1 click higher... 1376MHz. This speed was achieved by a nominal increase in the bus speed from 333MHz to 344MHz. This took the Intel E6850 processor from a stock speed of about 3GHz to 3.096GHz. The effective FSB:DRAM ratio in the BIOS was 1:2, which should produced a speed of 1376MHz DDR3.
The screenshots below were taken from CPU-Z Version 1.41, with the system booted into Windows with the memory running at 1376MHz DDR3. The below left screen shows the "Memory" tab which indicates the present setting of the memory installed. Here we can see it reports the timings of 7-7-7-20 2T, and that the actual frequency is slightly higher at 689.9 MHz, or 1379.8 MHz DDR3. That is about as close to 1375 as it is going to get with out running under the rated speed, so we'll run with it as the rated speed for all tests.
 
The above right screenshot shows the SPD tab, which confirms that the memory was not officially programmed to run at 1375MHz. As mentioned previously, it is rated at 1066MHz (reference the 533MHz column), with timings of 7-7-7, and 1.5V. Of interest is that at just 1218MHz DDR3 (the 609MHz column), the timings are reported as being looser (8-8-8) than what is possible at 1375MHz.
With the system up and running at the memory's rated speed, a few more benchmarks and another successful 30 minute session of OCCT were executed before getting serious about testing.
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