Separating The Wheat from the Chaff: The Latest DDR2 Modules Tested

Corsair XMS2 CM2X512-5400C4PRO

The XMS2 Pro module from Corsair reached our lab a long time ago - July 2004 - making it among the first modules for DDR2-667 . While availability was not ensured until many weeks later, that proved to be no problem at all, because as we said before, overclocking 915/925 systems is still the only sensible use for DDR2-667.

The aluminum enclosure of the Corsair DIMMs is an obvious distinguishing feature compared to those of other makers. The grooves give the design a high-tech look, and the sticker isn’t too flashy.

Despite the CL4-4-4-12 timings printed on the label, we operated the XMS2 Pro modules in our test system at CL4-5-5-15. In the case of the DIMMs we used, though, this was required because they were rather old. The version now available in retail stores should be programmed as labeled, as we experienced no problems at all when we manually set the timings to CL4-4-4-12 - even up to DDR2-710 speed (FSB1066 with 266 MHz). Considering the age of our modules, that’s a respectable result.