Corsair
is certainly a name that virtually every computer enthusiast has
heard of. The new XPERT series I'm sure is going to be one of
their new staples. It wasn't too long ago that they got the idea
of putting LED's on their ram in order to show usage. Now with
this particular kit not only does it have the LED's to display
how much the sticks are getting used, but also other vital statistics
such as FSB clock speed, voltage, and temp that could tell the
user what is really going on.
The
Packaging
Clearly
Corsair
wanted people to see the way it all looks on the retail shelf,
however ever place that I have gone to that would even sell this
sort of ram would never let you handle it with your hands until
purchasing.
To
reiterate the packaging is very nice and clean, it shows off
the product very well. Inside it's very to the point.
It contains the ram, their displays, the software that allows
the usage of the displays, and a small booklet discussing general
usage and installation of the ram, including a basic overview
of the software. Notice that the sticks of RAM are larger than
standard units.
The
displays can be displayed facing either direction on the ram.
One major oversight that could be a problem is that the displays
take up two ram slots. So usually for the average user, if the
dual channel slots are next to each other, they could be faced
one each direction, and if they are split then their orientation
doesn't matter as much. However in the case that all 3-4
ram slots are populated, then only two of the displays would be
able to be used due to their proximity to one another. Another
unfortunate problem is that both of the sticks of ram cannot be
bound by a single display. I was thinking to myself how useful
that would be especially if 4 sticks of this ram were installed
on a motherboard. Sure it would take a little bit of ingenuity
to make the displays show the vital statistics of each stick of
ram, but the extra effort would have been appreciated.
Installation
Installation
for this ram was like any other, with the notable exception of
actually placing the LED's on the ram. As was said before
the displays can be placed either direction on the ram, but not
centered etc. I personally came into a few issues with installation
that I feel I should discuss. For those of you whom use large
heatsinks like me, installing the displays can be impossible.
For instance:
This
isn't necessarily the fault of the RAM, it just so happens
that the Zalman 7700Cu is very large, and even not considering
the ram at all, it blocks up two slots all on its own. With this
HSF on, I could only install one display. However moving to the
stock heatsink, or WC, or even other more extreme types of cooling
should not have this problem. However it should be noted that
clearance could be a problem in specific setups like SFF's
(where height could be a restriction) or in my case large heatsinks.
The
way it works
What
exactly is the purpose of all of those LED's on that display
anyway? Well in short Corsair has a hardware controller on the
RAM which collects data and then displays it. This doesn't
affect the speed of the ram at all as it is independent which
is why the DIMMs are so much taller than regular sticks of DDR
ram. This controller collects the data and then displays it across
the 10 digit alphanumeric display.
You'll
notice that my voltage reading is definitely off. I think the
particular hardware that detects the voltage on my particular
stick of ram is not functioning correctly (it is also displayed
incorrectly in the software). However this had no other effect
on the other hardware readings, or the performance of the RAM.
In the default settings without using the software, the Displays
cycle through the model number, the memory speed (in this case
PC3200), current FSB, voltage, and then temp in that order.
I didn't get good pictures of the model number and memory speed
however because those are actually scrolling marquees, which
my camera had a problem with picking up.
What
is nice about this display is that it can be used to display whatever
custom information the user desires, including custom messages.
These messages can even be independent of one another on the different
sticks of ram, like so:
It's
up to the user though if they like the rest of the way the displays
look. This includes the two blue corsairs on either side of the
ram, or how the rams' LED blocks look to begin with. I think
it would have been a nifty feature to be able to turn off the
Corsair ship lights and/or be able to change their color.
If
having bright lights doesn't fit the bill for the rest of
the case, or there is no window on the side of the case, Corsair's
nifty software can monitor everything from a tray icon. The same
software is what allows for the messages and/or data options to
be changed.
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