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Introduction:

On the test bench this week is the Kingston HyperX Genesis Special Edition Grey Series 2133MHz 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Kit (KHX2133C9AD3X2K2/4GX). A real mouthful of a nomenclature, so in the interest of brevity, X-Files fans might appreciate this reviews short name for them “The Greys.” These sticks might not be from “out there” but they do support blistering fast speeds and are designed for use with the second generation Sandy Bridge microprocessors. Dual XMP profiles capable of speeds up to 2133MHz at 9-11-9-27-2T timings with 1.65v provide the Sandy Bridge IMC with enough speed to support all of your memory needs.

*NOTE: Grey/Gray. Gray is the American spelling of the color grey in British English. When referring to the name, the spelling grey will be used. The two different spellings are merely regional differences and are not typos.

Super fast RAM is not always what a user needs, however, at times tighter timings suit the bill. The second XMP profile supports 1866 MHz (WAY slower) at the more standard timings of 9-9-9-27-2T. HyperX is designed for the enthusiast, so we will look at both XMP speeds timings and dig a little bit into the Sandy Bridge IMC as a result.

About Kingston:

Founded in 1987 with a single product offering, Kingston® now offers more than 2,000 memory products that support nearly every device that uses memory, from computers, servers and printers to MP3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones. In 2009, the company’s sales reached $4.1 billion.

With global headquarters in Fountain Valley, California, Kingston employs more than 4,000 people worldwide. Regarded as one of the “Best Companies to Work for in America” by Fortune magazine, Kingston’s tenets of respect, loyalty, flexibility and integrity create an exemplary corporate culture. Kingston believes that investing in its people is essential, and each employee is a vital part of Kingston’s success.

Kingston serves an international network of distributors, resellers, retailers and OEM customers on six continents. The company also provides contract manufacturing and supply chain management services for semiconductor manufacturers and system OEMs.

Kingston is the largest producer of Memory modules in the world and can be found anywhere including your local Staples Office supply store. A pioneer in the memory field they also brought USB sticks into popularity way back in the booming 90s. Kingston has expanded their role over the last few years to cater to the enthusiast market as well.

Quantity is nothing without quality and Kingston sticks pack a life time warranty. The customer service department is also extremely helpful. During a recent RMA experience with a set of Elpida Hyper based sticks (that are EOL obviously) the product was deemed not repairable and the status was changed to replacement. The product received however was not a suitable replacement, and a quick email to their customer service department had everything sorted out within a few hours. It is very nice to see a company that cares about its consumers.

First Look:

RAM only comes in one basic shape and size for DDR3 platforms, with the exception of elaborate heat spreaders like on the HyperX T1 series, and as such packaging is almost universally similar. A clam shell plastic case is enough to hold the pair of sticks, display the model number and hang nicely on an end cap at your local computer supply house.

The Greys use the same basic design as other HyperX memory modules except instead of Kingston Blue as a basic spreader color they use Reticulan Gray. Perforated around the top for better air flow, the heat spreaders work very well. Barely noticeable, but warmer than ambient, the spreaders were even in temperature without hot spots. The standard-height heatspreader design is enough to keep the memory at a comfortable temperature while easily fitting on a Sandy Bridge board with even large heatsinks like the Megahalem.

Kingston, like any memory company, will use a variety of memory ICs across their model range. HyperX will usually get the best available. The Elpida BASE Hypers were fantastic ICs, but unfortunately had a tendency to die, similar to the Micron D9 rage just a couple of years ago. Excellent speed and timings capability but not very long lasting. So memory manufacturers did what they had to do to push high speed RAM out onto the market.

They learned what many enthusiasts already knew. Relaxing TRCD and command rate allowed higher memory speeds with significantly less voltage. PSC ICs became prevalent on budget sticks, allowing them to market 1866 or 2000 MHz RAM and listing only the CAS rating of 8 or 9.

The only way to tell what makes a good set of sticks now is actually using it. Looking at the XMP profiles for The Greys, initial impressions were that this was RAM that was not going to perform well at all. Jaded maybe, having just RMAed a set of sticks that ran stock at 2000 8-8-8-1T, the thought of gaining 133MHZ with a lot of latency was not appealing. Sandy Bridge is a new platform however, and speculating too much will make you go blind. (Or is that something else?)

Many manufacturers have started gluing heat spreaders to the ICs so that any attempt to remove them with out proper tools leads to ripping the ICs right off of the PCB. As such, heat spreader removal was saved until all testing was completed. Kingston uses a standard thermal tape solution and pads to disperse heat, so heat spreader removal was actually quite simple. Having already spent a lot of time testing and tweaking the RAM, it was no surprise to see Elpida BDBG ICs on the PCB.

*NOTE: Removing the heat spreader may damage your memory and will definitely void your warranty. It is not recommended for the end user.

BDBG ICs first gained notice about 8 months ago when Benchzowner started posting results of his Kingston HyperX. They have been included on many models of Kingston sticks since that time with speeds at or above 2000MHz. The difference in speeds and timings comes from binning and marketing. As such, purchasing a cheaper set of sticks that use the same IC is no guarantee that it will perform like the more expensive kit.

Next: Testing & Analysis

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