Corsair XMS

Wiwien · May 18, 2003

I'm planning to switch my DDR ram with corsair XMS, but am confused between which one I should choose. It's going to be either TWINX512-2700LL or 512 MB CMX512-2700LL.

Which one should I choose? Is there a difference in performance between the two?

Pointman · May 18, 2003

The TWINX512-2700LL are two CMX256-2700LL sticks that have been tested to work at a high level together. If they pass the tests, they are phisically packaged and sold together, specifically for dual channel motherboards. If you have a dual channel mobo, I'd get the TWINX ones. If not, I'd get the single CMX512-2700LL stick. Then again, if you plan on buying a new mobo in the near future, I'd probably get the TWINXs anyway. I don't think the performance will be that different in a single channel mobo, but I'm not too sure.

Error · May 18, 2003

There is a difference in performance between running dual channel ddr and single channel but from my own experiences the differences arent that big...Alot of apps and games seem to load faster since it uses one channel to run an app and another to run your pc...

It's handy in alot of ways but nothing too special...

Wiwien · May 19, 2003

Originally posted by Pointman
The TWINX512-2700LL are two CMX512-2700LL sticks ...

Isn't it supposed to be two CMX256-2700LL? I know it's most probably a typo but I just want to make sure.

And error, so you are saying, even though the difference is not that big, still it's faster running a dual channel memory?

I tried to make sure that my mobo is capable of handling a dual channel DDR RAM, but cannot find anything in the spec. My Mobo is ASUS P4PE (not the Black Pearl version). Does anyone know for sure that my mobo does support dual channel?

Error · May 19, 2003

Well in some cases it's faster,not in all though...Supposedly it helps run certain programs on one memory channel while the rest of your pc uses the other...I really havent noticed any speed difference with running dual channel, any speen differences I would notice are by looking at the numbers in benchmarking...

And I dont think your board supports dual channel,all the boards I seen that support dual channel ddr have 2 dimm slots right next to each other with the third being about an inch apart from the other two...

Pointman · May 19, 2003

Isn't it supposed to be two CMX256-2700LL? I know it's most probably a typo but I just want to make sure.

Oops! Yeah, it's two sticks of 256 (adding up to 512). I was so busy making sure I had the correct model number I over looked the fact that I used the wrong size in MB. I corrected my other post as to not confuse anyone else that may read it.

Wiwien · May 27, 2003

I'm a bit confused here... hopefully someone can help me out.

I just bought a CMX512-2700LL. The memory has the right sticker (i.e. showing CMX512-2700LL on the warranty sticker). But there's a TWINX<FONT SIZE="-1"><SUP>TM</SUP></FONT> sticker on it as well. Now the store tells me that TWINX1024-2700LL was made of a pair CMX512-2700LL, and I got one of them because I order that basically. My question is, the dual channel DDR, is it dependent on the motherboard and not the memory itself? I always thought it was the memory that is dual channel. So what happen if I put a pair of CMX512-2700LL (making it TWINX1024-2700LL) to a motherboard that doesn't support dual channel DDR?

Error · May 27, 2003

You need a mobo that supports dual channel,from what I understand you can run any memory in dual channel,you just need the board to support it...

My memory isnt made for dual channel but it's running fine in dual mode...

Wiwien · May 27, 2003

Ah, I see, so dual channel has nothing to do with the memory module. It's the motherboard that defines whether it is dual channel or not.

Mandarr · May 27, 2003

:thud: :blockhead :huh:

I'm getting just a little confused now lol.

Scuddman · May 27, 2003

LOL! Your motherboard has to support dual channel, but a few companies out there (like Corsair) have chosen to test modules and pair them together in order to give the user lower latency when running in dual channel mode. Most memory can be run in dual channel, but if their timings are off, you won't see much speed increase due to the latency.

Pointman · May 27, 2003

Originally posted by Wiwien
I tried to make sure that my mobo is capable of handling a dual channel DDR RAM, but cannot find anything in the spec. My Mobo is ASUS P4PE (not the Black Pearl version). Does anyone know for sure that my mobo does support dual channel?

I just looked at the Asus site, and it looks like your board does not support dual channel memory architecture. I looked around thier site, and the boards that do support it clearly state that they do in their memory specs. But, you may just want to plan for the possible future, and get the TWINX matched sticks just incase you ever happen upon a mobo with dual channel memory. (Just an idea) If I'm not mistaken, the TWINX are roughly the same price as two sticks of the CMX. I saw a review on newegg.com from someone that is using the TWINX with the same mobo and they say it works quite nicely.