Performance And Value Conclusion
Best Overclocking: Crucial CT2KIT51264BA1339
Crucial continues to stick its finger in the eye of the “bling” crowd by disproving heat-spreader myths. At 1.65V, its bare DDR3-1333 modules have continuously outpaced similarly-priced competition, and that trend continues with its latest high-density parts.
Best Timings: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Most users don’t overclock, but many who do still select a standard data rate for RAM. Optimizing memory timings without stressing the memory controller is easy with G.Skill’s F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL, which reached DDR3-1600 CAS 7 and DDR3-1333 CAS 6 in today’s evaluation.
Best Value for Non-Overclockers: Super Talent Chrome-series WP160UX8G9
With the exception of Patriot’s Sector 5 that defaulted to DDR3-1066, the other four module sets all defaulted to the same DDR3-1333 CAS 9 speed and timings. Among those four module sets, non-overclockers will find that price is the biggest value determiner.
Our choice: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
If we were building the ultimate LGA 1156-based system today, we’d select G.Skill’s 8GB DDR3-1600 dual-channel kit for its support of tight DDR3-1600 timings. As seen in our System Builder Marathon, our overclocked performance systems rarely use excessively high data rates because they do not noticeably boost the performances of the applications and games we use in our tests.
Yet our needs are not always your needs. While none of the modules in today’s comparison won enough comparison categories to earn an award, your purchase is the highest honor any product can receive. End-users looking for the ultimate memory upgrade should consider their own overclocking, latency, and value desires before placing that award in the hands of their favorite vendor.
