Introduction

When Corsair introduced their XMS PRO Series approximately a year or so ago, that memory was unique among all others being the very first to offer real-time LED bank activity monitoring. Just as exciting, yet lost even on many PC-enthusiasts, were the thermal advances Corsair had made in designing aluminum heat spreaders with over 100% of the surface area found on most heat spreaders. Additionally, most "performance" DDR affixed their heat spreaders with a double-sided "thermal" tape which in reality insulated or trapped more heat then it dissipated. Corsair XMS PRO eschewed thermal tape for a much more effective thermal epoxy placed between the memory ICs and heat spreader. Their XMS Series were then clamped and slow cured in special ovens. With this costly (for Corsair) but highly effective technology XMS PRO memory not only looked great but ran cooler, therefore performed better. Today Corsair has once again "re-invented" DDR memory as we know it in their new X-PERT series. Incorporating the very best attributes found in their XMS Pro series, XPERT DDR is much "smarter." Just how smart? Read on.



In the box

XPERT memory arrived in a fairly large box for a memory kit. The windowed box gently yet firmly cradled the modules and their corresponding LEDs using a "pink" foam insert. Installation instructions and a driver CD are also included making installation a breeze. The CD contains a Memory Dashboard software as well as the benchmarking utility from Lavalys Everest Home Edition 1.51. The supplied box should provide excellent protection, even from shipping employees whom may be related to "Oofi" the infamous Gorilla "Baggage Handler" from those old American Tourist commercials.



Opening the box exposes the memory laid on a "pink" protective foam. In the photo below I've flipped over one of the LED indicators to give a basic idea of the electronics.



Inserts in the LEDs correspond to extending tabs on each DIMM's PCB. The photos below show the underside of the LED with it's matching module and then close-up of the LED underside where the PCB tab inserts.





Corsair also provides a manual with step by step installation and operation instructions. The memory can be operated with or without the enclosed LEDs. Carefully removing the memory from the package you simply insert the modules into their perspective DIMMs, being careful not to place pressure on the pins. The LED's should only be applied after the memory is safely locked in. XPERT memory will run at its specified CL-2-2-5 performance regardless of whether the LEDs are installed.



Installation is easy. In the photo below you can see how the size of the LED forces it to sit atop the module at an offset. As mentioned earlier the width of the LED "cover" requires they "hang" extending over each DIMM and the vacant dimm next to it, thereby forming an inverted "L" when installed as seen below.



With the memory now seated in it's DIMM and the system powered up, XPERT continually displays the XPERT part name, Frequency, Voltage, and Temp, respectively. The information displayed can be fine-tuned to three user programmable 23 character marquees, and you can even adjust scroll speed. I've made a video of the display below.

Click on the photo below to view XPERT's readout cycle.


Click = Download , Right Click save as.. advised

Installation

I only tested XPERT briefly on my Socket-478 Prescott 3.0E/Asus system due to the graphic card limitations. Since the Asus was boxed it made a quick example for photographing the installation for XPERT. Eventually I switched to the A64 3500/DFI Lanparty nF4 Ultra setup. Both systems were water-cooled. The Intel/Asus system was cooled with Alphacool's venerable Alphacool Xtreme Pro Set. The primary benchmark system based on the A64/DFI combo will be cooled with Corsair's COOL system, as seen below.



XPERT PC3200 Ergonomic Specifications

Test Setup 1, 2
CPU	1.) Intel Socket-478 Prescott 3.0E 2.) A64 3500
Mainboard	1.) Asus P4C800E-Deluxe (875 chipset/BIOS v.1019) 2.) DFI Lanparty UT (nF4 Ultra chipset/BIOS v.310)
Memory	XPERT Series CMXP512-3200XL (2x512MB DC)
Graphics	1.) ECS Xabre 400 2.) ATI X800 XT PCI-ex
Power Supply	1.) PCPower&Cooling TurboCool 510 Deluxe 2.) OCZ PowerStream ADJ420W
Operating System	Windows XP Professional

Appropriate Memory Evaluation and Benchmarking

When testing memory, specifically its overclocking potential, I begin running the part at it's default speed under SPD (Serial Presence Detect) or under Auto in DRAM BIOS settings. The largest percentage of PC End-users do not regularly enter their BIOS and begin making intricate SDRAM and Advanced Chipset adjustments. Experienced Overclockers in general make up a very small percentage of PC-users, and even a smaller percentage will adjust memory timings beyond the most basic settings. The typical Overclocker will enter their BIOS and manually adjust CL (CAS Latency) among the plethora of other adjustments ultimately "forcing" the memory to run under a given setting/s. I allow memory to run from its native SPD/Auto configuration thereby revealing manufacturer preprogrammed Serial Presence Detect timings. Additionally how the part performs under such settings will quickly reveal details about the manufacturer’s choice of ICs and PCB.

I've found a propensity among the very best overclocking parts to be very specific in their required settings at a given speed and with a specific system, especially in A64 based systems. Since every memory varies slightly in its design execution, parts and voltage requirements, often only the most experienced overclockers are able to extract the best performance. At times these settings even become closely guarded formulas which can only be found searching the most obscure hardware site forums and esoteric thread topics. At the end of the day there may be just a handful of people, one from each corner of the globe subscribing to these threads. While Corsair has been a friend to overclockers everywhere, they cannot remain in business spending millions on R&D only to sell a handful of XPERT. While XPERT is an "Enthusiast" part primarily, Gamers with a little extra cash and/or the budding Overclocker are going to love this product. This is because it doesn't require a dual PhD in Cryptanalysis, and Electrical Engineering to find just the right BIOS settings. Ironically, the LED readout which displays so much relevant info is the ideal teacher for those wanting to learn. Once BIOS settings are made the results can be seen on the modules before long before Windows and the Dashboard Utility.

Displaying values such as temp and voltage in real-time proved to be quite a valuable tool.



Corsair's Dashboard UtilityOur first screenshot shows the XPERT Dashboard Utility which is contained on the driver CD or can be downloaded from their site as the above title links. The software essentially replicates the information displayed on the modules, and some additional features as well. Opening the utility and clicking on "All" displays basic memory information as seen below. The second screenshot will show additional information such as timing's, voltage, etc, which can be displayed simply by clicking on he specific DIMM. As you can see below our Intel system is running at 200FSB (1:1) with timings set in the BIOS under SPD (Serial Presence Detect).



Clicking on the specific DIMM # brings up more detailed information.



Through Dashboard you can customize the LED marquee to scroll three custom messages each 23-charaters in length or a continual message 69-characters in length. As seen from the screenshot below, whomever wrote the Dashboard software either has high aspirations for Corsair, or perhaps a telling sense of humor.




Intel Prescott Socket-478 3.0E / Asus P4C800E-Deluxe Benchmarking

As stated earlier our Intel Asus/3.0E system was limited by virtue of its graphics card, therefore, this system was used briefly to exemplify basic Intel compatibility. I ran limited benchmarks, one being Lavalys Everest v1.51 which was included on the driver CD. Clicking on the thumbnails below from left to right will show the memory bandwidth benchmarks, READ, WRITE, and Latency (respectively). All three were at 200FSB / 1:1 aspect ratio, default VDIMM, default Vcore, and SPD timings.



Overclocking with the 875-MCH. Raising the FSB speed, hence the memory clock speed, did not require a VDIMM increase nor did it effect stability. The SPD setting Corsair has programmed into their XPERT series resembles that of their entire Low Latency TwinX line. I pushed the Prescott from its default 3.0GHz to 3.7GHz raising the FSB to 250FSB (1005MHz QDR/500MHz DDR). Below the timings automatically changed to 2-4-4-8 under SPD.



Timings are still tight in CAS Latency although CAS to RAS Delay, RAS Precharge and Active to Precharge Delay have increased, but are still appropriate given the speed increase and PC4000 performance. For our final Intel benchmark I've included the synthetic Sandra 2005 bandwidth/Buffered. Settings remained the same at 250FSB and SPD.



Bandwidth wasn't what I expected given some clock speeds, changing CL from SPD to specific timings such as 2.5-3-3-7 would have resulted in better performance. The Canterwood or 875's MCH (Memory Controller Hub) is dated compared to the on-die MCH of the A64. Although my S478 Prescott is an excellent overclocker, and some excellent bandwidth has been achieved with high VDIMM and specific timing, Canterwood is now in its technical terrible two's. I mean no disrespect towards current Socket 478 owners and you’re hanging on to that system waiting for the dual-core Intel you’re probably better off. In fact it's arguable whether DDR2's lackadaisical latencies and LGA 775 Prescott with black-hole pipeline depth offers any improvement over its predecessor. The lower latencies maintained by the 875/DDR combo mated with the overclocking prowess of Northwood still give Intel's latest offering's a run for their money, and their life. Nonetheless in the evolutionary timeline of the PC-world, which juxtaposed is similar to the geologic scale of evolution, two years is a virtual grand scale leap in technology.

Without further adieus, onto A64 benchmarking->

A64 benchmarks:

In our Pentium section I ran limited benchmarks due to system shortcomings. The on-die MCH (Memory Controler Hub) of the .09-micron Winchester core equipped A64 3500+ should prove to be a much more suitable testing catalyst. Of course the DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra is on the short list of overclockers and PC-Enthusiasts alike giving our combination fairly decent performance potential mated with XPERT. As indicted in the preceding section, running XPERT on SPD and/or Auto settings is representative of the largest population of Desktop PC owners, including many enthusiasts. It would be most presumptuous to neglect, or deprive "Newbs" based on some rule of exclusivity only experienced overclockers have the right to purchase a motherboard such as the DFI LANPARTY, or XPERT memory. These products were designed with the overclocker and enthusiast in mind, but not at the exclusion of all others. In fact I'd challenge even the most experienced overclocker to claim an intimate knowledge with all settings offered in the DFI BIOS (Ed. Note: these guys can help you out! ;)). Albeit the shipping BIOS or the version were using today v.310. As seen below, the DRAM menu is absolutely loaded.





DFI not only give us a plethora of options, they give us the opportunity to increase our knowledge. Researching each and every setting is the safest way to learn to how to use them. Given the number of DRAM BIOS options alone in order to ensure our test conditions are as objective as possible, most will be left at AUTO, or SPD. This will not only simplify things for the majority of us unfamiliar with the most obscure settings, it levels the playing field. While many PC-users are familiar with settings such as Tcl (CAS Latency Control), the number of people familiar with Trcd (RAS to CAS Delay) decreases and fewer still will be familiar with setting's such as Trrd (Row to Row Delay). I don't believe the semantics behind the name XPERT implies one must be an expert to own this product. Below we have our DFI test setup.

Benchmarks Utilized
Bandwidth Related	SiSoftware Sandra 2005 Lavalys Everest v1.51 CPUBench2003 Beta 2 V.1.5
Futuremark	3DMark2001SE PCMark04
Graphics Related	[H]ardOCP's UT2K3 v2.1 DOOM3 Timedemo Demo1 UBISOFT Far Cry Benchmark
Mathematical	SuperPi
System Parameters	2200MHz = 1.350Vcore / 200MHz 1:1 = 2.6VDIMM (SPD/AUTO) 2650MHz = 1.43Vcore / 240MHz 1:1 = 3.0VDIMM (SPD/AUTO) All benchmarks were run with Hyper Transport at 5X

A64 benchmarks continued

3D Benchmarks are often an ambiguous tool for measuring RAM performance simply because it's difficult to dissect main memory influence from the graphic card's influence overall. For this reason I've chosen 3DMark2001SE, and Far Cry specifically because they do draw from RAM but for divaricating reasons. Far Cry based upon its powerful graphic engine demands much from a system as it surpasses even the ability of recent graphic technology and 3DMArk2001SE because it was originally intended to test cards which did share system memory. I've also included DOOM3 and UT2K3 based on the same dichotomous theory of memory usage respectively.





UT2K3 1024x768 Low Quality / Low FPS





Finally, I’ve included a Sandra screenshot indicating memory bandwidth at 250FSB, again ran with Hyper Transport at 5x (see below). Were it not for some minor system instabilities at around >250FSB this evaluation could have easily included a full series of results at DDR500 or 250FSB. As a Reviewer, however; the standard of testability must be exceedingly high. The results must be repeatable regardless. Had I raised voltages a bit and made a few more BIOS tweaks, XPERT could have ran 100% stable at PC4000 specifications, however; complicating the overclocking process by increasing the number of BIOS adjustments would have been counter-productive to my underlying theme. Which is essentially, that the performance associated with overclocking is now accessible to all. Corsair has labored to program XPERT's SPD (Serial Presence Detect) settings so any end-user can overclock with a minimum of fuss. All that was required to attain the performance seen in this review including the speeds reached below were made with three simple BIOS adjustments: raising the FSB, raising VDIMM and raising Vcore. All of which could have done in Windows with uGuru! In so far as Vcore and VDIMM are concerned these are relative based on the processor and memory. Each CPU will no doubt have its own headroom, and ofetn memory can be just as tempermental when it comes to required voltages for overclocking. Countless PC-enthusiasts have tried to forecast overclockability based on processor spec's such as "date of manufacture," "Fab location" etc... There is no concrete formula beyond end-users reporting their results and trying to find processor's from the same "batch" or even "wafer." Such information can be found in countless forums including [M]'s Forums.



Epilogue / Conlusion

It was just a few years ago a niche community of PC-enthusiasts and overclockers were hunched over their work-bench, soldering iron in one hand, "Phase Change for Dummies" in the other. Today that population is growing in leaps and bounds as the overclocking bug has literally spread like a computer virus infecting all in its path. Such a Groundswell hasn't gone unnoticed by PC-manufacturers whom have been laboring to attract the converts (or offer the antidote). In an effort to meet demands of the growing enthusiast community, manufacturers have tapped resources wherever they can, including the morphing of Server technology with Desktop, water-cooling possibly replacing air and the availability of high-speed DDR, well beyond JEDEC JESD79-2A specifications.

Motherboard makers who literally provide us with the platform, from which we can overclock, have made substantial investments in the trend. Abit revolutionized motherboard technology when they began to offer a feature known as µGURU which finally made it possible to overclock through Windows with much of the stability as if overclocking through BIOS. The point of all this is to offer overclocking type expertise to the layperson.

Today in evaluating Corsair XPERT memory I hope I've gone beyond the atypical review formula which culminates in benchmark results. Surely XPERT performs and it performs well beyond its default specs, yet XPERT provides more then great performance.

Continually displaying each module's speed, voltage and temperature the memory provides pertinent data long before you boot into Windows. Ergonomically there's nothing that can touch XPERT and it will hang tough, holding CL2 2-2-5 at DDR400, or 2-3-2-5 at DDR480. XPERT isn't budget memory at around 400USD, however; there are several brands of Low Latency 1024MB kits approaching the same price.

update: memory price fluctuations cause prices of these XPERT kits to drop fast, make sure to shop around to find the best deal

For those with windowed cases, wanting high-speed, low-latency memory, regardless of overclocking experience, this is a product for you. The XPERT is in the memory's SPD, as raising FSB does little to change its low latency timings. Given this product's versatility I would recommend XPERT for the expert, as well as anyone wanting to delve into the world of overclocking with style! I'd like to thank Corsair for providing their product for review.

Questions/Comments: forum thread