Super Talent Performance Series DDR3-1600 CL8 2x1gb Mini-Review

I ordered these stick from ewiz to go with my HTPC upgrade. The other components of the upgrade included a Phenom II X2 545 (currently running at 3GHz and unlocked to an X4) and MSI 760GM-E51. But since this kit is labeled “Performance Series,” I figured I would see how much performance I could get out of them.

First, a few specs and pictures.

Brand: Super Talent Performance Series

Model: WP160UX2G8

Type: 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM

Capacity: 2gb (2 x 1gb)

Speed: DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Cas latency: 8

Heat spreader: Yes

Since P55 is known for its amazing ability to overclock memory, I began testing on a Gigabyte P55A-UD6 with the following results.

1700mhz was about the max on stock timings and 1.68v.

The highest speed I could get this memory stable was 1800MHz, at cas 9 and 1.72v. I could almost make it into Windows at 2000MHz, but running as high as cas 10 was still a no go. I haven’t tried more than 1.76v on these sticks. Tight timings at low frequencies were also difficult with this kit. And by tight timings I mean cas 6 at 1600MHz. That’s hardly surprising.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get these sticks consistently stable at any reasonable settings in my HTPC. Sure, I can run 1333MHz cas 9, but what’s the fun in that?

Conclusion

At around $40, this RAM offers a HUGE value for light to moderate P55 overclocking. Though I was expecting a little more in the way of overclocking from the “Performance Series,” I was not entirely disappointed. They did far better than stock settings, and I would absolutely recommend this kit to anyone wanting to go P55 on a budget. And with so little focus on 2gb DDR3 kits these days, I’m betting the 4gb kit will outperform these by quite a bit.

–sno.lcn