PC Mark 2002 - Pentium 4 @ 12x250

Same lead over the OCZ kit, and very close between the two TWINX kits. Despite the improved timings, the gap between the TWINX kits is narrow indeed. We do our benchmarks five times, and the largest gap between the two was no more than 5 PC Marks, with the average being about 2.

PC Mark 2002 - Pentium 4 @ Maximum OC (TWINX4000 PS @ 285FSB)

The ProSeries continues to dominate, given its 5MHz advantage. Remember though that it's not only the memory that is running at 285FSB, but the CPU as well.

PiFast

A good indicator of CPU/Motherboard performance is PiFast version 4.2, by Xavier Gourdon. We used a computation of 10000000 digits of Pi, Chudnovsky method, 1024 K FFT, and no disk memory. Note that lower scores are better, and times are in seconds. All memory timings are at 2-3-3-5 at 200FSB.

Pentium 4 @ 12x200

Not much of a difference between the TWINX kits, but if we want to nitpick, then yup, the original kit is a little quicker. There's only an average of 0.08 seconds, with the largest gap during our benchmark trials being 0.11 seconds. The ProSeries was never able to surpass the original TWINX though.

Pentium 4 @ 12x250 (TWINX4000 PS @ 2.5-4-3-6)

Score one for the ProSeries as the improved timings nets it a victory this time around.

Pentium 4 @ Maximum OC (TWINX4000 PS @ 285FSB)

Given its ability to overclock better than the others, it was no surprise to see the ProSeries take this one.

TMPGEnc MPEG Encoding

Video editing is a taxing chore, and we'll be testing the TWINX ProSeries using TMPGEnc 2.512 to encode a 7.78MB, 1:30 movie trailer to a 24FPS MPG file. Note that lower scores are better. All memory timings are at 2-3-3-5 at 200FSB.

Pentium 4 @ 12x200

Pentium 4 @ 12x250 (TWINX4000 PS @ 2.5-4-3-6)

I promise to change the movie file in the near future. I guess the short clip isn't enough to illustrate the differences between the ram modules.

Pentium 4 @ Maximum OC (TWINX4000 PS @ 285FSB)

A small one second lead by the ProSeries here. Though a second isn't a lot, as the movie file increases, it's safe to expect the time difference to scale accordingly.

Unreal Tournament 2003

UT2K3 s a real system killer, and can bring many systems to its knees. We used the [H]ardocp UT2003 Benchmarking utility version 2.1, which are excellent tools in testing various resolutions and detail levels. We selected the CPU test, which uses the dm-inferno map. All memory timings are at 2-3-3-5 at 200FSB.

Pentium 4 @ 12x200

A close call between the two TWINX kits, but the ProSeries takes this one.

Pentium 4 @ 12x250 (TWINX4000 PS @ 2.5-4-3-6)

As we increase the clock speed, the performance scales accordingly. Make no mistake, if you want the best, the ProSeries makes a strong case.

Final Words

I think the benchmarks speak for themselves. Corsair managed to outdo themselves again with yet another high quality kit. The overclocking is the best we've seen thus far, and although 290FSB just wasn't working as well as I had hoped, it did get there. At 285FSB, nothing comes close to touching the performance of the ProSeries. Everything was rock stable to boot.

The LEDs are something that I have a hard time placing a tangible value on. As an eyecandy feature, I'll admit that more flashing lights is certainly attractive. If you got a case window, and neat case wiring, I guarantee that people will notice the ram and ask "WTF is that?" (in a good way). From a practical standpoint, heh, well, it isn't that useful. If the LEDs had troubleshooting indicators, the value of the LEDs would skyrocket immensely.

The heatspreaders are a major improvement, and although I'm still not convinced they help overclocking a whole lot, they do manage to handle the heat much better than past heat spreaders. If anything, this will improve stability, as well as extend the life of your ram since heat is such a major component killer.

All of these improvements; overclocking, LEDs, and improved heatspreaders comes at a cost though. Estimated costs for the Dual Channel kit should be about 347$ USD, with one stick running at 187$ USD. Should you chuck your current PC4000 ram out the window? Not necessarily, as the improvements in performance (and there is an improvement) isn't a huge leap forward. For others who live on the edge, and who buy top notch products, the ProSeries deserves to be on top of your shopping list.

Pros: Excellent performance, great overclocker, excellent construction quality and the LEDs are nice to look at.

Cons: Expensive, LEDs are just eyecandy.

Bottom Line: If it's looks you're after, this kit delivers. If performance and overclocking are more important, the ProSeries has you covered. Add to this, Corsair's reputation for support and quality assurance, and you won't find better ram than this.

If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.

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