Crucial PC2700 vs. Corsair XMS3000v1.1
Stephen Cooper, May 27th, 2002
..:: Introduction ::..
When you think of high performance memory, two names should surely come to mind. What names would those be? Well, if Crucial and Corsair weren’t two of the first names you thought of, you need to let me in on the secret. With the recent finalization of the DDR333 standard by the JEDEC, Crucial has at long last begun selling their DDR333 modules. Crucial is of course a subsidiary of Micron, so they wanted to make sure their modules met the JEDEC specs before throwing them into the market. Corsair however has had DDR333 RAM available for quite some time now, and it has been rather popular among overclockers. Today I’ll be comparing Crucial’s PC2700 vs. Corsair’s XMS3000 v1.1. Let’s start off with a quick background of DDR, and a look at the modules.
..:: DDR Background ::..
DDR memory itself utilizes a 184-Pin DIMM, unlike its older brethren SDRAM which relies upon a 168-Pin DIMM slot. This type of RAM theoretically offers double the bandwidth of the older SDRAM. How does it accomplish this feat? Simple. DDR RAM operates twice per clock cycle. The wave itself is a square wave, a.k.a. a digital wave. DDR transmits data on the rising edge of the clock, between the “0” and “1”. Data is also transmitted on the falling edge of the clock, between the “1” and the “0”. Older SDRAM only transmits data on the rising edge of the clock, while DDR transmits twice that, hence the name Double Data Rate.
..:: Corsair XMS3000 v1.1 ::..
 
The Corsair 512MB module comes along with an attractive black heat spreader with the Corsair logo printed on it. The module itself is double sided, utilizing eight 32M x 8 DDR SDRAM chips with an access time of 6.0 nanoseconds. 512MB modules tend to fair worse with overclocking than smaller modules, but on the other end, they usually tend to outperform two 256MB modules. Corsair’s XMS3000 is tested to operate at 166MHz (2-2-2, 1T Command), and 185MHz (2-3-3, 1T Command). The memory is tested on either an EPoX EP-8K3A, or an Asus P4S333, and is made especially for gaming. Just in case you’re wondering why there aren’t any pictures of the RAM, you can thank my digital camera seizing up for that one. Arg.
..:: Crucial PC2700 ::..
Our Crucial memory stick doesn’t come with any eye catching heat spreader unlike we see with Corsair. Corsair’s memory is aimed at overclockers, while overclocking a module from Crucial immediately voids the warranty. Not that that will really matter to overclockers out there, but hey, I felt obligated to mention it, heh. Our Crucial module is also double-sided sporting a 32M x 6 arrangement of DDR SDRAM chips. Each of these chips is rated at 6.0 nanoseconds, and the module is rated for a CAS Latency of 2.5. Now that we’re familiar with the sticks, it’s time to void a few warranties and see how these sticks perform!
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