Corsair, the makers of high quality memory products have announced and released the fastest DDR3 memory for desktop computers, the Über Dominator GTX 8GB dual-channel DDR3. This new member of the Dominator® GT family of memory is built using hand-picked chips. A 4 stage testing process is used to hand-pick the best 5% of parts and combine them into this exclusive hardware. Used by overclockers to set records this is not everyday memory but true Über RAM. Better buckle up this is quick stuff.

Memory in a computer system is responsible for shuffling data and instructions from the memory to the CPU where the processing is done. With 19.2GB per channel bandwidth this RAM ensures your CPU will be constantly fed with data and instructions. To achieve 19.2Gb bandwidth the GTX runs at 2400MHz – the operating frequency or number of times it can read/write a second-, this memory is 50% quicker than the current standard for desktop memory DDR3-1600 which delivers sustained bandwidth of 12.8GB. While some desktop motherboards are capable of using DDR3-2000 –16GB bandwidth– the new Dominator memory is the next level again with 19.2 GB of bandwidth per channel, a total bandwidth of 38.4GB.

From Corsairs press release “The purpose of these kits is to help overclockers explore the limits of memory performance,” said Giovanni Sena, Director of Memory Products at Corsair. “They’re the product of careful screening, selection, and testing, and we’re eager to see what enthusiasts will do with them. As long as our customers are obsessed with making computers faster and more powerful, we’ll continue producing extraordinary memory kits to help make that happen.”

As with most Über hardware you need other top end hardware to go along with this performance part. Your motherboard, CPU and power supply will need to be up to specification in order to get the most out of this Dominator, check the site for details. When overclocking your system the CPU will be capable of doing much more work, a 50% overclock can require up to 50% more data and instructions to keep it busy. That’s where the Dominator® GTX comes in, with extra speed and bandwidth this memory can cope with a 50% overclock without trouble. Expect new overclock records including this memory soon.

While overclockers and power users with systems capable of running this memory at it’s intended 2400MHz will get the most benefit don’t underestimate the power of Über memory. Because this is hand-picked high quality parts they will be capable of very good latency. Granted mid range memory could probably achieve similar latency – the amount of time it takes to read or write – the Dominator will do low latency and low power, making for a responsive and sharp feeling computer. Latency is a strange characteristic of memory, lower latency makes a system feel sharp and responsive, it won’t affect frame rates in games or benchmarks but it feels much quicker.

This memory does signal the end of the domination of the memory market by 2GB sticks of Ram and hopefully means the 4GB sticks are now the new standard. Up until recently all performance memory such as the Dominator memory was built using memory chips that allowed a 2GB stick of memory. The fact that Corsair has achieved these speeds with two 4GB sticks of ram is a good sign.

Not recommended for everyone, while it will work in all DDR3 desktop systems it will only be of advantage to a select group of users, overclockers and power users specifically. To those users though this memory, even at $500 USD, is well worth the investment.

Specifications from the products webpage:

• Warranty: Lifetime
• Size: 8GB Kit (2 x 4GB)
• Performance Profile: XMP
• Fan Included: Yes
• Heat Spreader: DHX+
• Memory Configuration: Dual Channel
• Memory Type: DDR3
• Package – Memory Pin: 240
• Package – Memory Format: DIMM
• Tested Voltage: 1.65
• SPD Voltage: 1.5
• Speed Rating: PC3-19200 (2400MHz)
• SPD Speed: 1333Mhz
• Tested Speed: 2400Mhz
• Tested Latency: 9-11-10-30
• SPD Latency: 9-9-9-24

Pictures Courtesy of Corsair
More information at: Pres Release, Dominator’s page

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