4GB Gets Cheap: 9 Dual-Channel Kits Compared

Features
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Corsair, Crucial, And G.Skill

Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5

From its XMS2 line of performance modules, Corsair provided its TWIN2X4096-6400C5 memory kit. Like the name implies, this 4.0 GB (4,096 MB) dual-channel kit comes rated at DDR2-800 (PC2-6400) speed and CAS 5 latencies. In case a plethora of otherwise straight-forward model numbers and naming schemes still haven’t confused you, each kit contains two individual CM2X2048-6400C5 modules and the individual parts follow the same naming convention.

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Rated at 5-5-5-18 timings and 1.90 V at a 800 MHz data rate, Corsair’s 6400C5 memory is SPD programmed to use the same speed and timings at the motherboard’s default 1.80 V. These should always be bootable, but some systems may require manual voltage increases in order to assure stability.

Corsair provides a lifetime warranty on all its DRAM products for the original end-user.

Crucial Ballistix BL2KIT25664AA80A

Most buyers will never remember Crucial’s component kit names, but with Ballistix, they don’t have to—because Crucial limits its Ballistix line to only a few variations, buyers can find the same parts by simply remembering the size, speed, and color.

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Rated at 4-4-4-12 timings at 2.00 V and a 800 MHz data rate, Ballistix requires manual calibration to achieve rated performance levels. Users of EPP-capable motherboards can take a shortcut in manual calibration by selecting one of two pre-loaded profiles.

Crucial provides a lifetime warranty on all its DRAM products for the original purchaser.

G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ

G.Skill specializes in “value performance” by typically selling its higher-speed modules at prices similar to what its competitors sell their standard-speed parts for. Its part number F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ 4.0GB dual-channel kit is a perfect example of this, offering a DDR2-1000 (PC2-8000) rating at a price typical of DDR2-800 components.

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A higher rated speed is a nice added feature, but enthusiasts already know that DDR2-1000 is simply an overclock-rating for approved DDR2-800 parts. This confirmed overclock provides buyers with a type of performance guarantee, which something that comes in handy when overclocking other components.

As the name implies, F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ is rated to run CAS 5 latencies at PC2-8000 speed, although up to 2.1 V may be needed to make these settings stable. Programmed to boot at PC2-6400 speed at 5-5-5-15 timings, manual configuration is as easy as locking in the SPD timings and increasing the voltage. Users of EPP-capable motherboards can instead enable Profile 1 to get the same results.

G.Skill provides a full lifetime warranty with each of its DRAM products.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
54 Comments Comment from the forums
  • randomizer
    Good to see G.Skill finally decided to send some samples.
    Reply
  • JonnyDough
    You can increase how much ram is used for prefetch in XP as well, so that hardly says that Vista is faster than XP once you use more RAM. I for one have skipped the Vista era and am happily awaiting Windows 7. I guess I prefer to keep my $100 in my wallet for awhile instead of giving it to M$ investors.
    Reply
  • V3NOM
    i rofl'd that my cheap Team Elite owned all of them except the ballistix...
    Reply
  • JonnyDough
    Stop using rebates as qualifiers. I was taught in consumer math that if you purchase something with the cost of a rebate figured in, you had better be prepared to pay full price. I think a lot of us here IGNORE rebate pricing, and won't even support it by buying rebated items. Rebates are CRAP, no consumer likes them. They aren't a "discount" they are a marketing ploy to rip people off.
    Reply
  • raider37
    I'm pretty darn happy with my 4GB of XMS2 DDR2-800 RAM from Corsair, all my components are overclocked and work extremely well, plus here in Pakistan only 2 memory companies are widely available (Kingston and corsair) and we all know kingston is overpriced and their modules do not perform as well as Corsairs.
    Reply
  • johnbilicki
    As a regular I feel insulted that my fellow readers and I are expected to except an introduction suggesting that we are mindless consumers no different than the people who trampled and killed a worker at Walmart this past Friday.

    My dual core socket 939 with 2GB of RAM running XP Pro might not get as much FPS as my friend running a quad with 4GB and Vista but my system runs smooth on almost all the same games without dealing with all the constant freezing, errors, glitches, and horrendous boot times plus I don't have to run a page file. A real enthusiast would turn in their grave if they saw qttask in the task manager. Real pride is knowing your rig's software too and mindlessly burning money instead doing a few simple Google queries is what an amateur would do.

    I expect better than this. It does really matter.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    johnbilickiAs a regular I feel insulted that my fellow readers and I are expected to except an introduction suggesting that we are mindless consumers no different than the people who trampled and killed a worker at Walmart this past Friday.
    That sounds like the voice of experience...you were at that Wal Mart? Because it appears that everyone else automatically knew that the introduction was meant to cover the widest range of potential buyers, and not each one of them specifically. Yet you mindlessly trampled into that rant?
    Reply
  • johnbilicki
    CrashmanThat sounds like the voice of experience...you were at that Wal Mart? Because it appears that everyone else automatically knew that the introduction was meant to cover the widest range of potential buyers, and not each one of them specifically. Yet you mindlessly trampled into that rant?
    The introduction slaps everyone in the face by suggesting money is the only solution. Even less experienced people know how to do a Google query.

    "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who haven't got it." - George Bernard Shaw
    Reply
  • Crashman
    johnbilickiThe introduction slaps everyone in the face by suggesting money is the only solution. Even less experienced people know how to do a Google query."The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who haven't got it." - George Bernard Shaw
    It suggests that very little money can be a very easy solution to multiple performance issues.

    And you're using a quote to emphasise your cynicism concerning my observation? Thanks!
    Reply
  • johnbilicki
    CrashmanIt suggests that very little money can be a very easy solution to multiple performance issues.And you're using a quote to emphasise your cynicism concerning my observation? Thanks!
    ...and entirely avoids the point of optimizing a system's software just as you have! It's an informal fallacy to suggest you have made some unique observation as I have when all you have done is avoid my point in the simple interest to convince people to spend money instead of simply preventing junk from being loaded in to their existing memory.
    Reply