Kingston HyperX "Impact" Notebook Memory

Found this memory on Amazon the other day. It wasn't there before. I did some searching, and it turns out this "Impact" memory was recently released by Kingston. They managed to overclock this memory up to 2666MHz and broke a world record or something (that's what the article said).

Kingston Technology HyperX Impact 16 GB Kit 2133MHz DDR3L CL11 SODIMM 1.35V HX321LS11IBK2/16 Black at Amazon.com

Spoiler

Has anyone tried this memory? I am considering purchasing some for my next laptop.

What's the difference between this memory and their conventional HyperX memory, except for its insane ability to overclock and price?

 

I think they simply renamed the HyperX line to Impact is all.

Also beware of the silicon lottery.

 

That Kingston RAM cost nearly $250 for 8 GB.

If you really want 8GB 2133 mhz C11, here's a cheaper product: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 2133 Laptop Memory Model F3-2133C11D-8GRSL - Newegg.com

$90 with free shipping.

(If you buy all of them that are available before I get a Kaveri laptop, I'm going to be annoyed)

 

The difference is that it is more expensive. And blue.

Don't bother with memory speeds. You can spend all the money in the world, over clock all you want, and you won't get any real-world benefit.

Zero. Zilch. Nada.

The only thing that faster memory is used for is bragging rights, and very specific memory speed benchmarks. But as far as anything you actually USE your computer for, you will not notice any difference. The only real-world impact of buying higher-rated memory is that you will be about $80-$150 poorer.

 

These GSkill sticks use rebranded Samsung SEC 340 HYKO K4B4G0846B ICs. I can't remember if these were the good overclockers or not, but if you get lucky, you can run these 2133 ram at 2400 MHz @ 11-11-11-28.

Helps in a few CPU benchmarks as well. Agreed to no real word benefit, but if you're trying to squeeze every last benchmark point out of your system, then you just have to pay to play.

 

I can't find any of the Samsung's stuff. Is there a link somewhere, preferably Amazon, Newegg or some other reputable seller?

On a side note, I read that Kaveri's IGP is quite limited by RAM speed.

 

FX-7600P will make good use of these! Let me know how that goes Loney111111.

 

It would be wrong to say that there is no real-world effect. There is a poor increase in performance vs cost that is true but high speed ram is far from un-noticeable.
I didn't notice a difference going from 1600mhz CL11 on my W110er to 2133mhz Cl12 then 1866 Cl10 thats true. I was definitely about $100 poorer

However, I've noticed subtle differences when going for the granddaddy of RAM upgrades, an exorbitant 2400mhz CL9 G.Skill TridentX 16gb(2x8) Kit. My 3570k couldn't handle 2400mhz so I've settled to 2200mhz CL9-11-10 1T. The performance boost is mostly related to multitasking, I can chain open 10-12 Windows, alt-tabbing between them etc with very minimal lag. The 1600mhz CL9 kit I had ever so slightly stutters. Additionally, CPU-Memory heavy games like Supreme Commander favor faster RAM.
My point is:
Was there a performance difference? Yes
Was it noticeable? Yes
Was it worth $200? God no
Why did I do it? I had to see what the difference was, it's too easy to pass judgement before experiencing the product.

Granted my observations are limited to the extreme end of the RAM performance scale. I doubt there will be that much of a speedup for SODIMM kits.

 

Yes going from 1600 to 1866 made everything feel a bit snappier, and "smoothed out the edges" as I would say. So going from 1600 to 2200 would definitely give a boost there.

Also, faster ram does help, but we're talking a difference of less than 5% in most cases going from 1600 to 2400.

 

With an IGP, you can enable more graphic features that require memory bandwidth, such as AA or higher resolution.

Intel's IGPs aren't as affected since they're slower (with the exception of the Iris Pro, but an i7 + dedicated GPU would be more cost efficient) and have a more efficient memory controller. The desktop Kaveri APUs' memory controller couldn't make use of all of the bandwidth while Intel's came close to the theoretical bandwidth.

I've noticed that the cheapest 8GB DDR3 RAM is around $60 to $70. I'll let you know if the $20 was worth going from 1333/1600mhz to 2133mhz, if I decide to buy a Kaveri laptop.

 

I have been contemplating the upgrade but only because I handle large raw files and at times in batches as well. I already have a SSD for workflow and my main delay is in image processing not image loading. While I would not expect huge gains I know faster memory would help somewhat.

 

when I went from cas L 8 1600 to cas L 9 1866 i could only see a slightly higher number in synthetic benchmarks but in the real world tasks felt executed at exactly the same speed as before. From what I've read AMD APU's are the chips most affected by ram speed. They will gobble up as much bandwidth as you can throw at them. So there is definitely merit in buying the very best possible ram for an amd apu and with intel cas L 8 + 1600Mhz is probably all that 99% of the population needs as you really don't feel the speed of faster ram well i know 1600 to 1866 with a sandy bridge extreme edition feel identical to one another.

 

I am at CAS 11 on 1600 and CR-2T. The 2T may not go down as it is 4 sticks. I could do CAS9 1600 SoDimm's but figured if there may as well do 1866 CAS10. If the system would do it I could do 2133 CAS11 but I am not sure it would do this. If I knew the SPD for the faster memory were actually also set as 1866 CAS10 I wouldn't mind dropping the extra dime on it. I know already ITU will not work here so XMP profiles are a bust for me.

 

You have an intel cpu so your ram speed really doesn;t matter. The only thing it will do is give you better scores on synthetic benchmarks in real world use intels behave almost identical 1600mhz vs 1866mhz so-dimms vs 2133mhz so-dimms


I got the 1866mhz cause they were the best at the time and I like wasting money on the best of the best even tho there are heavily diminishing returns. It wasn't a smart purchase by me so dont use that as an example

 

I would expect no real world benefit for every day to day use. I can work at times on 300 or more raw camera files at 25mb each. converting these to raw, general other batch conversions as well take time too. That is because it is a lot of data in and out of ram. This process can take a while too.

Now using the formulas from the AnadTech article I made a simple spread sheet. When moving large amounts of data in ram going from the Samsung 1600 to even the GSkill 1866 should make a good bit of difference. That is so long as the CPU can handle the heat from the increased processing load from the data getting in and out faster.

Code:

Memory	Speed	CL	tRCD	tRP	tRAS	tRC	CR	NSR	8WSR	Cycle	Bit
Gskill	1600	9	9	9	24			11.25	15.63	1.25	0.63
Gskill	1866	10	10	10	28			10.72	14.47	1.07	0.54
Gskill	2133	11	11	11	31			10.31	13.60	0.94	0.47
Samsung	1600	11	11	11	19			13.75	18.13	1.25	0.63

 

Looking at the numbers, and to be 100% compatible with my system, a SoDimm of 1600 and CAS8 would be an awesome combo. This especially if CR-T1 could be achieved. I can't find thogh a SoDimmm that will reach this, unless it is some XMP profile which then I couldn't use.

 

My HyperX 1600 CL9 ram can do CL8, though I can tell you from personal testing that 1866 even at CL11 beats 1600 CL8. And see this article:

Your 3820QM should be able to handle 1866 and maybe even 2133 without difficulty. If you get 2x8GB sticks you should be able to run CR=1. If I were you I would honestly buy some 2133 sticks from Amazon and test them out. Amazon's RMA policy when it comes to ram is unbeatable -- as long as you return it within 30 days of purchase, you'll get a full redund minus shipping. No restocking or penalty fee of any kind.

 

Don't bother with memory speeds. You can spend all the money in the world, over clock all you want, and you won't get any real-world benefit.