With the DDR memory markets heating up and the amount of high speed memory modules increasing everyday, Corsair have had to one-up the rest to stay competitive. Since good low latency memory is highly prized by performance freaks, Corsair have released some of their own called XMS3200LL DDR.

Recently, we had a chance to test out a 512MB module of their XMS3200 LL (Low Latency) DDR which is rated to run at 200 MHz FSB with the timings of 2-2-2-6-1, at a voltage of 2.5V. Mightly impressive claims to be sure, but sometimes memory can fall a little short in the real world tests. In this case, the stick did match those settings with easy, underlining a sense of reliability Corsair seem to have earned for themselves.

Like all the previous XMS memory modules we have tested, the XMS3200 LL DIMM came wrapped in a set of black aluminum heat spreaders. Realistically, they are more of a packaging than an absolutely necessary cooling mechanism.

Overclocking the memory was the first priority, and to accomplish this we installed the single 512MB module of XMS3200 LL memory into an Epox 8RDA+ motherboard. The FSB was raised to 200 MHz while keeping the most aggressive memory timings available (2-2-2-5-1 at 2.5V) and there were no problems.

Not satisfied with this, the FSB was raised until it reached 207MHz. At that point we encountered a few stability problems. Increasing the DIMM voltage to 2.77V helped stabilize things however. Unfortunately, our overclocking adventure topped out at 210 MHz FSB.

For some strange reason if the memory was pushed above 207MHz FSB the system would freeze up while running PCMark, or drop back to desktop with 3DMark2001SE. Raising the voltage to 2.9V or lowering the memory timings didn't help, so I have a suspicion that the motherboard may have been holding things back.

pcstats test system specs:
computer hardware:
processor:	athlonxp 3000+
clock speed:	13 x 166 mhz = 2.17 ghz 11 x 200 mhz = 2.2 ghz
motherboards:	epox 8rda+
chipset:	nvidia nforce2 spp
videocard:	ati radeon 9700 pro
memory:	512mb twinmos pc3200 512mb corsair xms3200 ll
hard drive:	20gb maxtor diamondmax+
cdrom:	nec 52x cd-rom
floppy:	panasonic 1.44mb floppy drive
heatsink:	thermalright sk-6 w/40cfm ys tech
powersupply:	vantec 470w stealth psu
software setup	windowsxp build 2600 nforce 2.03 ati catalyst 3.1
benchmarks	sisoft sandra 2003 pro pcmark2002 3dmark2001 se quake iii arena ut2003

please keep in mind when viewing the benchmarks we were running single channel mode, not dual channel.