All Memory is Not Created Equal - HyperX 2133 CL12 versus Ripjaws 2133 CL11 versus Vengeance 2133 CL11

I already knew (or so I thought) that gains or losses from different memory speeds and timings made only a small difference in real-world performance, but the allure of something faster is a hard bug to shake. I grabbed some G.SKILL Ripjaws 2133 CL11 memory to replace my Kingston PnP 2133 CL12 fully expecting to see a very modest improvement in performance for my already insanely powerful M18xR2. Unfortunately, the opposite was true. There was a substantial decrease in performance... enough to be seen and felt.

I have used G.SKILL memory many times in the past and it has always been great. The Ripjaws was 100% compatible and rock-solid stable. It booted with no BIOS adjustments (all "auto" settings) and ran at advertised speed without any drama. The decline in performance was a disappointment, but NewEgg issued an RMA promptly. I am sharing the results so nobody else makes the same mistake. The images in the album below speak louder than words.

Tests were run repeatedly to confirm there was no anomaly. All BIOS settings were identical between the different brands. I alternated HyperX > Ripjaws > HyperX > Ripjaws and the differences were consistent in all tests.

Edit: I added results for Corsair Vengeance 2133 CL11 memory (2x8GB) to the photo album. The results are close to identical to the Kingston RAM with a very tiny edge in performance leaning toward Kingston.

View Imgur Album Here: http://imgur.com/a/baFxd#1

Following this testing I purchased 2 more 8GB sticks of Vengeance memory (32GB total) and the performance results are equal to two 8GB sticks. The only thing that changed was it moved from 1T to 2T automatically with 4 memory sticks, but the memory benchmark results are identical.

 

Thanks for the info mr fox,at least your memory runs at rated speed for some reason my Corsair Vengeance does not run at 2133Mhz as it is supposed to...best i can get is 1866Mhz 10-10-10-28 CR 1T

 

Thanks for letting us know brother Fox. It takes a lot to be the first adopter. Shame we can't endorse this RAM over the Kingstons.

 

This is surprising. I suppose Kingston is what I'll be sticking with for the foreseeable future.

 

I was really surprised as well as disappointed. Surprised at the difference in performance between the ram modules (far more difference than I ever expected) and disappointed that what I expected to be a fraction better was substantially less performance. It was not terrible, just not as good. If I set my Kingston 2133 manually for CL11 timings it's a tad faster and the gap between them widens even further. Not sure why that is, since the Ripjaws was super-stable and passed every memory stress test with flying colors, including the XTU test and Windows Memory Test, and Dell's ePSA test at boot.

 

I've ordered 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance 2133 CL11 to test against my 4x4GB Kingston HyperX PnP 2133 CL12. The tests in the opening post were done with 2 sticks removed to match the 2x4GB Ripjaws capacity.

For the sake of the comparison that will follow, here is 4x4GB of the Kingston. Will post results when the Vengeance arrives.

 

May I have your entire ram settings, so I may try them, the ones on the kingston please. and the ones on the g.skill. not just the cas->ras but the rest of the timings too. I'd like to put this to the test

 

The G.SKILL is gone. Sent it back to NewEgg already.

Here is the information from AIDA64 for the above benchmark with the Kingston @ 1066 MHz 12-12-12-36 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 48-171-6-16-8-8-27 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR-RTP-FAW)

Here are some custom timings as well...

 

I added results for Corsair Vengeance 2133 CL11 memory (2x8GB) to the photo album showing in the opening post. The results are very close to identical to the Kingston RAM with a very tiny edge in performance leaning toward Kingston. I will stick with the 16GB of Vengeance because it runs at lower voltage (1.500V) and CR1 versus my 16GB (4x4) Kingston 2133 CL12 (1.650V) running at CR2. I'm thinking it might free up some power for extreme CPU and GPU overclocking and might run a tad cooler.

The stock timings for the Vengeance 2133 CL11 @ 1066 MHz 11-11-11-31 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 42-278-7-16-9-9-33 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR-RTP-FAW) and I might play with those a bit to see if I can eek out a little more speed.

Also running good at 2133 CL10...

 

Reprogrammed from CL11 to CL10 with Thaiphoon Burner...

 

Thanks for the timings. I tried them on some Vengeance I had lying around. which was cas11 1866.... but I used your timings....and get much faster speeds.

 

Here is what I get with my quad 2133:



It's hard to get programs that deal with quad channel correctly.

EDIT: I get 57769MB/sec in the aida memory copy test.

 

Awesome... the quad channel with your X79 and 4930K looks delicious. +1 Rep for sharing that.

 

Not a problem, no options for higher ram multipliers sadly.

 

A couple of folks have commented that Corsair and NewEgg show the Vengeance 2133 to be 11-11-11-27. It runs at 11-11-11-31 by default on my system. I don't know why, but it is inconsequential.

With 11-11-11-27 (tRAS manually set to 27) it is stable. But, the performance is less than 10-11-11-31. Compare the results in these two images.

2133 @ 11-11-11-27

2133 @ 10-11-11-31

 

Timings wont really make a huge difference, unless they are REALLY out of whack.

Can you set any of the other ram timings? Like rRFC?

 

for the record, I used an m18x-r2 to get the 37,000mb/s not a desktop. It has a 3920mx at 6.2Ghz

 

If I had to guess, something else is the memory is either waiting for its time to refresh, out of perfect sync or its so fast, something else has to wait for the second pass to complete.
I would check the other settings in the RAM.

 

The screenshot did show a 3920xm Ram does not really run in sync with any buses any more. The imc automatically deals with that.

 

Question Mr.Fox have you tried the Vengeance in your Alienware 18? If so were you able to get it to run at 2133Mhz? By default mine only runs at 1866Mhz what am i doing wrong?

 

I couldnt get my veng to run at 2133 either

 

Mmm...so its not just me with this issue...i dont know enough about RAM to be able to fix it always played with desktops just enable XMP simple,not that simple with a laptop it seems.

 

Is this memory compatible with Alienware M18X R2?
CORSAIR Vengeance Performance 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 2133 Laptop Memory Model CMSX16GX3M2B2133C11
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance Performance 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 2133 Laptop Memory Model CMSX16GX3M2B2133C11

 

Yes is is. I am running two sets of the 4GB X2 2133MHz Corsair kits..

 

Depends on your cpu. Not every cpu can run me memory at 1866 or 2133. It's a silicon lottery type of thing. My 3940xm oem couldn't run 2133 on integrated without getting graphical glitches, but it ran 1866 fine. Some cpus work well and some done at higher then 1600. 1600 is the max endorsed by Intel. Anything higher may or may not work with the cpu memory controller, and the higher the Frequency past 1600 the most likely you'll have problems.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

4x4GB or 2x8GB whichone will be better setup?

 

The M18X R2 is a dual channel system, so either works the same for performance. However, the more sticks there are the more stress is put on the IMC (integrated memory controller) that is part of the CPU. So fewer sticks can be advantageous if the IMC is weak.

Also, dandan, have you tried setting the voltage for the RAM at 1.5V or 1.55V? I know when I went into BIOS to set the RAM up manually, even though my kits are 1.35 and 1.5V compatible, only 1.5V+ was shown. I have verified stability at 1.5 and 1.55V on my kits.

 

I have 4x8GB (32GB) of this Vengeance memory and it works flawlessly in the M18xR2 at 2133. It also works perfectly in the Alienware 18, but slows down to 1866 for some reason.

See the opening post for a comparison with HyperX and Ripjaws. This Vengeance memory is the best choice of the three, with Ripjaws being the slowest of the three.

 

Thx for reply,i would go with 4x4GB...................16GB is more than enough for gaming,I don't do Photoshop or video editing

 

I use it for caching and RAM drives. It's also good for anyone that runs a lot of virtual machine stuff. But, apart from caching and RAM drives, 32GB is way more than I need otherwise. There are a few benchmarks where having faster memory makes a minor difference, but for the most part 2133 is nice for bragging rights. Same can be said for having more that 16GB... not meaningful for average gamers and ordinary PC users.

 

2x8gb is better than 4x4 due to extra slots if you want more later and better latencies.

 

Bugger. I really wish I'd seen this thread before I shelled out on new ram.

I've just bought 2x 8gb G.SKILL Ripjaws 2133 CL11.

I bought them to replace 2x 4gb samsung basic 1600 CL11.

I was getting ~700 in XTU at stock speeds. I set the samsungs from 11-11-11-28 to 11-11-11-30 and bumped them up to 1866. XTU score went up to ~733.

A lot of people said XTU was very memory sensitive, so I was hoping the 2133 ripjaws would push me up to somewhere 750 - 800 but it turns out they haven't done anything. Maybe I'll put the old ones back in and note down all of the timings they were running at and see if I can work from there, bit disappointed really, but I was assigning up to 7-8gb when 3d modelling so I guess i needed 2x8gb.

£150 is a lot for just a bit of extra capacity though...

 

Well make sure your ram is actually running 2133 instead of being clocked down.

 

definitely is, I had a quick play going from 2133 cas 11, 1866 cas 10, 1600 cas 9 and it only got worse, they don't want to accept the settings on the front page of this thread, though I imagine I'm being a bit ham fisted.

At stock, the winsat memory test shows about 27,700 which is pretty close to the figures on the front page posted by Mr. Fox.

Maxxmem² however says otherwise, with read/write about 17,700 which is night and day from the transfer rates of 25,000 read, 22,600 write.


I fear the problem may be that, despite a reflash to a Prema unlocked bios, there seems to be no way of raising the voltage from 1.35v.

Or is that a Haswell thing? should I be increasing cache voltage in XTU ?!

Either way, that packaging for the Gskill got chucked by the other half whilst I was out so, I'll just have to make do with these and see what can be eaked out


They come with a shiny red sticker though, so it's not all bad

 

Keep in mind some cpus can handle 2133 and some can't. Mine could on Nvidia graphics but when I switched to integrated I got a bunch of graphics bugs.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

I tried pushing them up to 2400mhz but bios just reset back to 2133. maybe it was because I didn't relax the timings, maybe because I can't push the voltage. they seem totally stable at their rated settings though, just that they seem quite a bit slower than Mr. Fox's screens on the first page. That said, my CPU (4700MQ) is running standard voltage (-60mV) and standard multipliers, so maybe that's the bottleneck anyways.

Does anyone know/has anyone found a resource that lists all the subtimings and their relationship to eachother? I know the main four - CL + RCD + RP >= RAS other than that, I don't know any hard and fast rules for how to set the other ones, or whether they need to be fiddled with at all?

Perhaps the read/write values I get aren't so bad for a stock laptop?

 

1. Haswell will only give ram 1.35v and no more, which is why 1.5v ram should never be used in Haswell systems (not your case).
2. Yes typically you will need to relax timings when overclocking ram.
3. The 4700MQ tops out at around 2200 MHz ram speed due to slightly inferior memory controller -- even if the ram could handle 2400 themselves, the memory controller can't.

 

Hi everybody I am hoping you guys had good time on Mothers day?So finaly I have installed CORSAIR Vengeance Performance 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 2133 !I do have some question,should I leave everyrthing default in the Bios like AUTO or manualy change to 2133?I have BIOS A12 where didn't have option to change timing or Volts!!!Memory should running at 1.35Volt but didn't know how much Volts in the Bios ?

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance Performance 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 2133 Laptop Memory Model CMSX16GX3M2B2133C11

 

The RAM should should run at 2133 with the BIOS set to AUTO and stock voltage. No need to manually set anything. It should work perfectly as soon as you install it as long as you don't have it mixed with other RAM. (You should now have 2 empty RAM slots with 2x8GB of this new memory.)

Yes, it was a very nice Mother's Day.

Why are you using A12 for pity's sake, especially with an XM CPU? If you want a decent BIOS, drop back to A10 or older and use an svl7 unlocked version to make the 3920XM a fire breather.

Alienware started screwing everything up for the R2 after A10. That's why there is no A11/A12 unlocked BIOS. Might as well get a BIOS-crippled 18 if you're running A11 or A12.

 

Thx Mr.Fox you are always helpfull,should I change the timing?I already have unlocked A10 but didn't install yet!!!!!
+1 Rep

 

You should not need to manually set the memory. I have my BIOS set to default and Auto for memory and it works at the correct speed that way. Is it not functioning correctly for you with default values set in the BIOS?

 

Thx Mr.Fox

 

I'm running the stock ram with my AW 17. Is there any room for improvement in terms of OC? Sorry, I know I keep asking, I'm just trying to get the most out of this beast.

 

No, nothing remarkable. I tried reprogramming my stock RAM with Thaiphoon Burner and it runs at stock speeds no matter what. I also tried programming XMP profiles on the stock RAM and that would not work.

Even if you upgrade to 1866 or 2133 (which might drop to 1866 with your Haswell chipset) there is a negligible difference in performance over stock 1600. You can measure it in memory benchmarks, but the system will not be perceptibly faster in game or most graphics benchmarks and it will not feel faster.

 

Yeah 1866mhz at slightly tighter timings is an easy enough sweet spot to hit though.

 

Thank you very much for getting back to me. I guess I'll leave it be on the ram side of things then.

 

I can confirm this works on the corsair vengeance 1866 lovo ram to get it up to 2133 at those timings you have fox. I was able to do it without changing the voltage from stock. Runs and games fine with those settings

 

Awesome information to have. Thanks for confirming it. The 1866 is usually easier to find and cheaper. My Kingston 1866 also worked flawlessly at 2133 (using firmware for 2133 RAM flashed using Thaiphoon Burner).

Are you setting the manually in the BIOS or XTU, or did you flash the 2133 firmware on the Vengeance?

 

I just set those settings you have in the bios exactly, minus the voltage setting, I left that default, and it works fine at 2133 no issues after many bench marks and hours of gaming. I feel like it helped me get some more points in 3dmark11.

 

Of course every sample is different so some may not get to the same frequency.