Corsair is always testing the latest and greatest in computer hardware to ensure compatibility and performance. While testing AMD’s recently launched Phenom™ II X6 processors, we noticed we were able to reach higher frequencies than previously possible on an AMD platform. The previous Phenom II X4 processors (codenamed Deneb) would reach memory frequencies just above 1600MHz with DDR3. Several overclockers were able to heavily tweak their systems and memory to reach speeds just shy of 2000MHz.
Given the improvements to the memory overclocking on the Thuban processors, naturally we wanted to see how far they could be pushed. Pairing the Corsair Dominator GTX memory with the new AMD Phenom II X6 1090T processor on the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula motherboard allowed for 2000MHz without any major tweaking. Let’s take a look at all the components used.
When making memory modules that are tip-toeing the very edge of what is possible, it takes a lot of time and some very talented people. We're lucky enough to have one of these people in Michal Nowicki. Michal was kind enough to give me a bit of time to discuss our latest and greatest Dominator GTX DDR3 memory module, the GTX4 — with operation guaranteed up to 2533 MHz.
Q: What is your job here at Corsair?
A: I am an Engineering Specialist at Corsair. My day to day responsibilities are focused around DRAM Product Development. Anytime you hear about Corsair memory products reaching another milestone of performance leadership with the Dominator GT and GTX product lines, or a high-density 24GB Dominator DDR3 memory kit, there is very good chance I had a part in the engineering effort to bring those products to end-users.
ASUS held their firstIIIXIII Extreme Overclocking Summit in Santa Clara, California on April 10th and 11th, to overclock the brand new ASUS ROG motherboards and set world records. Three extreme overclocking teams from North America battled it out over two days of tweaking and pushing their systems to the limit using liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen allowed the Intel® Core™ i7 processors to be pushed to frequencies over 6.5GHz on the ASUS motherboards. The event was centered on ASUS’s new Rampage III Extreme and Maximus III Extreme motherboards. It was split over two days, with the first day dedicated to ASUS-provided hardware and the second day open to any hardware the teams brought. The event was streamed live via webcam and broadcast on ASUS’s ROG website.
Over 200 Liters of Liquid Nitrogen
Each team was provided with enough hardware for three complete systems, with additional spare parts as well. Each team received three ASUS Rampage III Extreme and two Maximus III Extreme motherboards along with Intel Core i7 processors to match. Each was also provided six ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 video cards, three kits of Corsair® Dominator GT modules, several SSDs and three power supplies. Along with all the hardware, each team was allotted 60 liters of liquid nitrogen each day. This allowed them to cool the processors and video cards to sub-zero temperatures, nearing the -190°C mark. Each team had to compete in several different benchmark categories including: CPU-Z Frequency, WPrime 1024m, SuperPi 32m, 3DMark06 and 3DMark Vantage on both P55 and X58 platforms.
Moving data is still an arduous task. It's gotten better, though, with the advent of fast flash drives, and there's none faster than the new Flash Voyager® GTR. The Flash Voyager GTR is just awesome. How awesome? In our lab tests, we compared the 128GB version against a major competitor's 128GB "fast" flash drive. Instead of relying on artificial benchmarks, though, we decided to move some real files back and forth and see what kind of speeds we'd get:
The performance speaks for itself. The Flash Voyager GTR is nearly six times as fast when copying documents, and nearly twice as fast with everything else!
This kind of speed means less time waiting for files to copy, and more time using a USB drive as it was intended. Put your favorite movies or your entire MP3 collection onto your laptop in minutes. Make a bootable USB drive with your favorite Operating Systems on it. Copy all your favorite programs to it, some of which can be run from the drive itself! With speed like this, an external hard drive can be reserved for large file storage and left plugged in at home. There's no need to lug around that heavy external drive with its power brick when the Flash Voyager GTR easily outperforms it.
Use it as a hard drive, an OS loader, a media jukebox, or whatever you like—the Flash Voyager GTR will do it with speed to spare.
I just uploaded a video demonstrating the performance advantages of swapping out the hard drive of a Dell Inspiron™ laptop with a Corsair Performance Series P128 SSD. To say I was blown away by the experience would be accurate. I've upgraded to one of our SSD drives on my home computer and always felt like it was faster after the upgrade, but I didn't do any benchmarks or time the boot speed of my machine before and after, so I never really knew how much faster it really was.
After making this video though, I can sum up the difference a SSD drive makes with one word: impressive. Have a look below and you'll see what I mean.
The results were so impressive, I had to double-check our test. I can't remember the last time changing one component made such a dramatic difference in the performance of a machine. So, as a sanity check, we swapped the hard drives between the laptops to make sure we didn't have a faulty system. Nothing changed. The system with our P128 SSD was not just seconds, but minutes faster booting up with these programs installed.
The P128 machine got a 6.7 in the Windows® Experience Index while the system with the standard HDD had a hard disk score of 5.7. This doesn't sound like much of a difference, and actually tells me that you can't learn everything you need to know about hardware just by looking at benchmarks.
Our test method was pretty simple. We didn't modify Windows® 7 at all. We simply installed a few programs that users would install to a new machine and added them to the "Startup" folder in the start menu.
These programs included Opera, Digsby, Google Chrome, iTunes, Adobe Reader and the Dell Dock. Once we had our programs installed, all we needed to do was restart the machine and it would load our desired programs in the same order, every time. And every time, the HDD-based system was over two minutes slower to boot than the system with our Performance Series P128 SSD. If you have any questions about the SSD performance video above, our test method or the products featured in the video, post in the comments below!
Back in 2003, we launched the original XMS Pro Series modules. They gave you information about memory utilization using an LED display on the modules themselves. At the time, this was pretty awesome technology.
Today, we've announced the Corsair AirFlow Pro which is an evolution of this technology. Not only will the AirFlow Pro show you memory activity, but it also shows the temperature of the modules. It's not just a meaningless light show. It's information you can use.
I hadn't seen the AirFlow Pro until just yesterday while I was gathering the photo and video content for this post, and I was impressed. Not only with the lights themselves, but how easy it was to install. Up to six modules can have their temperature and activity individually displayed on the AirFlow Pro. The AirFlow Pro easily mounts onto our existing AirFlow kit and requires no tools. There's just a couple screws to tighten and a single cable that plugs into each memory module.
For a complete listing of Corsair part numbers that are supported, reference this table. As a rule of thumb, if the part number on your modules starts with "CMT" or "CMP," you're good to go.
That's enough talk. To see the AirFlow Pro in action, check out the video below! Let us know what you think. We're pretty excited about this one!
"This has been a long time coming: the Hardware Canucks custom case is finally ready for its unveiling! By using a stock Corsair Obsidian [Series] 800D as a starting point, MNPCTECH.com has put together a unique mod that not only shows their skill but also gives us something to lust over."
You can read about all the details, from start to finish, on the Corsair Forum.
So, you think you put your PC components through some extreme conditions? Maybe you overclock your RAM or CPU a bit. Maybe you've accidentally put your Flash Voyager® or Flash Survivor™ USB flash drives through the wash. Maybe you even dabble a bit in liquid nitrogen. All of this is pretty "extreme" until you see the environments where famous explorer Graham Hoyland is using his Corsair hardware. Here's a hint — Mount Everest. Watch the video below for details:
The Corsair Obsidian Series 800D full-tower case features a four drive hot-swap bay. This bay is a fast and convenient way to install and change drives in your 800D.
This hot-swap system has four trays which each have release levers. The trays slide easily in and out of the individual drive bays.
