Maximum Fully Stable Overclocks

E8500

2x1GB Corsair 2133MHz kit @ 533x7.5 CAS 9-9-9-25 1N



The Samsung based version 4.1 kit from Corsair has a stock speed of 2133MHz @ CAS 9, providing a formidable challenge for the X48 boards. We managed to get a 1N command rate stable at DDR3-2133, albeit with a very high level of VMCH (1.85V) pushing the board beyond 24/7 settings. 2N operation proved a little easier at 1.7VMCH and scaled to 537FSB, equaling the raw MHz of the Cell Shock kit at CAS 9 1N instead of CAS 8 2N (Cell Shock). Unmodified P5E3 boards can hit a stable 550FSB and 2200MHz memory speeds with this kit, so the Black Ops is trailing by around 15FSB or so in this department.

Considering the stock rating, this impressive kit from Corsair is best used with the NVIDIA 790i chipset due to its asynchronous bus clocking capability, allowing the 2133 MHz speed to be obtained at a lower processor FSB speed. We will be pushing a few boards with this kit over the coming weeks to see just how far these modules can really go. The 2133MHz stable shot shown above came in at 1.95Vdimm so there is room for more speed; we just need a board that can really do it.

2x1GB Cell Shock 1866MHz @537x7 CAS 8-8-8-25 2N


Our 2x1GB Cell Shock kit managed an impressive 537FSB stable @ CAS8 2N, only a few MHz below what we managed on a modified ASUS P5E3 Premium. The chipset voltages required to run both of these kits fully stable are not recommended for 24/7 operation, but show that the Black Ops board certainly has a few aces up its sleeve. In fact, it trails only to a board that has been in the market for a while, certainly not a bad first attempt from Foxconn in the high-end market.

2x2GB Corsair 1600MHz kit @ 8.5x470FSB


This is quickly becoming our favorite memory kit for everyday use. Although CAS 9 does not appear immediately attractive, the chips used on these modules (similar to the Corsair 2x1GB kit above) provide an easy load for the MCH to drive. This allowed us to run at 1880MHz or so with our E8500. If you're looking for a 2x2GB kit to team with this board, we'd suggest you look no further at this time, although we have an interesting kit from Patriot in the labs.

QX9650

2x2GB Corsair 1600MHz kit @ 8.5x455FSB


The 2x2GB kit from Corsair received another outing this time with our QX9650. 455FSB was just about all the board could muster with 1.26VTT for stability. We were quite surprised that 4GB held up so well at this speed. In fact, using 2x1GB kits did not provide us with any advantage for stability so this 2x2GB kit is what we recommend for a 24/7 PC running 64-bit Vista.

Standard Performance Results Subzero Benchmarking Results
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  • ImmortalZ - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    You do realize these people are given QX9770s, GTX280s and assorted hardware for free, every generation?

    Do you know most of these people end up working for the very manufacturer's products they torture test?

    Do you know that you're a moron?
  • strikeback03 - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    Personally, I'd rather grow a mullet, buy a Mustang, and head for the local drag strip.
  • Berger - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    'Digital Freak' what a freaking handle.

    No need to be discriminative you narrow minded moron.

  • Nyarlathotep - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    I used to really like linux but the more posts I´ve read by linux users, the more I hate it. Linux nerds probably get paid by Microsoft for ruining linux chances. They are everywhere whining and crying. For every decent linux user there seem to be 5 obnoxious nerds.

    Yesterday I uninstalled Ubuntu from my laptop because it made me feel like if I supported obnoxious linux nerds. If it wasn´t for them linux would probably be the most popular OS right now, not windows.
  • TA152H - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    One thing I have been saying for 25 years, and has been validated by the years is that Unix will never be a popular operating system. Linux often mentioned by people that don't really use it that much, they want to whine about Microsoft and such, or at a higher level, whine about the establishment in general. Don't get me wrong, I despise Microsoft too, but I'm not so pathetic as to act like Unix is the answer. It's a horrible operating system that's a pain in the backside to work with. They can sugar coat that dung all they want, but it will always smell and will only be a niche product. GUIs help some by insulated the user from the miserable underpinnings, but, really, anyone that likes the word "grep", and thinks upper and lower case parameters should have different meanings, is generally going to be a maladjusted dickhead.

    I still think OS/2 was better than Windows, but it's very much a niche product now (in its new incarnation as Ecomstation) and is used about as often as rotary telephones. I whined for a while about Windows too, but mainly because all my work experience had been with OS/2, and I didn't want to be jobless :-P.

    No one really listens to the whining dorks that cry to the sky about foul play. Linux isn't popular because, basically, it sucks like all Unix varieties do. They'll exist in niches, but you can't expect the mainstream market to embrace it. Apple did a good job of hiding the difficulty of the underlying operating system, but it's still a niche product as well. Even if there were a good operating system it would be extremely difficult to break the software monopoly of Microsoft, so saying a Unix variety would be the dominant operating system were it not for some oft-ignored dweebs, is as silly as the whiners are.

    We've already gone from MVS, to DOS, to Windows NT as the dominating operating systems during the lifetime of Unix. It's always been a niche product. Outside of the Microsoft haters, do many people really want it to be anything more than that? It's a pity IBM still won't make OS/2 open source. It would at least have a chance as an open source competitor. Unix? Never. But, as has been the case for 30 years, you'll still hear them saying it's just about to take off. It never changes, and kind of gives one a sense of security in a world that changes too fast. Unix will take over soon! Just wait! It's even money if it will happen before the Sun eats the Earth.
  • swaaye - Friday, August 1, 2008 - link

    :)
  • yyrkoon - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    Look. You should be using your OS of choice for YOU, not anyone else.

    The whole idea is HAVING the ability to make that choice.

    I use Windows on my main machines here at home, but I like the option of being able to use which over OS I please on them, and yes, I have a couple of Linux boxen too, as well as an openSolaris machine. Hell, I would not be adverse to putting OSX on my own hardware, IF Steve Jobs and Apple will ever pull its head out of their backsides . . . In a general purpose computer world, proprietary systems are the 'bad guys' not the OS.
  • yyrkoon - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link

    http://ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org/showthread...

    Companies need to learn that business tactics as such will put you into a world of hurt in a hurry. Behold the wonderful internet at its finest.
  • swaaye - Friday, August 1, 2008 - link

    Just how much of an audience in the real world do you think slashdot gets? lol.
  • swaaye - Friday, August 1, 2008 - link

    or any site, for that matter.

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