Review: ADATA XPG Xtreme 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3-2,133 memory

Testing methodology, overclocking

Notes

We've placed the ADATA XPG Xtreme memory alongside four other modules tested on the latest Core i7-3770K chip sat on top of a Gigabyte Z77 motherboard, which has memory ratios all the way up to 32x - 3,200MHz, at a default 100MHz base clock. The XMP settings are applied correctly, meaning the 16GB kit runs at 10-11-11-30-2T timings for the get-go.

You'll see two standout bars in the ensuing graphs. The white bar denotes the ADATA XPG performance when run to specification, that is, dual-channel DDR3-2,133. Just for kicks and explained on the first page, a dark-grey bar indicates the performance when a solitary stick is in the system, which is more a test of the CPU's memory-controller than the quality of the memory.

Overclocking

We run the overclocking test by inputting standard 9-9-9-24-2T timings and seeing just how well the test modules can scale. We'd normally increase the voltage from 1.50V to 1.65V, but seeing as this is the standard voltage for the XPG set, we left it alone. The modules would scale down to 9-9-9-24 at the specified 2,133MHz, which is rather impressive, but, as you would expect, wouldn't run any higher.

We've also overclocked them by relaxing the timings to 11-13-13-35-2T and seeing just how much frequency we could eke out of them, all the while staying at the default 1.65V juice. We managed to run 2,200MHz just fine - though the modules actually scored a little lower in three of our most memory-intensive benchmarks - and the pair of sticks also booted into Windows and ran benchmarks at 2,400MHz, which is better than other 2,133MHz-rated kits we've looked at recently. Upping the frequency to 2,666MHz caused POST failure, however.

They're tuned, and tuned well, to perform at the 2,000-2,400MHz sweetspot, according to our testing. Unlike others, they do have some frequency headroom above their stated frequencies, especially if you sacrifice some latency.