Corsair Launches Dominator GT Memory for Phenom II Processors

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Corsair®, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced the new Dominator GT line of ultra-high performance DDR3 memory modules, designed specifically for AMD Phenom™ II processor-based platforms using Socket AM3 motherboards.

The new 4GB (2 x 2GB) Dominator GT memory kit has been precision engineered to operate at a frequency of 1600MHz with ultra low-latency timings of 6-6-6-18 and a Command Rate of 1T. These settings are a perfect match for the latest, high-performance Socket AM3 AMD Phenom II processors, which feature an advanced, low-latency, integrated DDR3 memory controller.
 
Ummm my ram is ddr3 but defaults to 1066..will this ram run at teh TRUE 1600 speed? my mobo gigabyte ud3p is set to run at 1333 ...they fixed teh issues? it runs at true sppeds with NO voltage or overclocking to make it run right now be default?
 
In order for memory to be compatible with motherboards at the right timing, we have to use JEDEC-spec timings in the SPD of the memory module.

There's a small chip on each memory module that stores the settings that the memory will run at when the BIOS asks. The reason for this is to be compatible with the most motherboards. For example, we could change the SPD settings from the JEDEC spec of 1333 MHz @ 9-9-9 to something higher performance, say 1600 MHz @ 6-6-6, but in order to get there we might require a small voltage bump, say from 1.5V to 1.55V. The SPD doesn't allow for the modification of memory voltage through BIOS settings, meaning we'd have compatibility problems. We tried this back in the DDR1 days and that's what we saw.

If you plugged the module with the faster settings into a board that needed to provide more voltage, you wouldn't be able to boot to change the settings in the BIOS.

So now, we put a fairly common JEDEC spec on the modules so that it'll boot up almost universally, and then you can go into the BIOS and manually change the settings.

It's actually a pretty common practice. For example, when you install Windows XP for the first time, it doesn't know what graphics card you have installed so it defaults to a lower resolution than your monitor supports. Once you install the graphics drivers and windows identifies the monitor and graphics card and you've rebooted, usually Windows will adjust to your monitor's native resolution. (well, that's how it's supposed to work, at least).

There were a couple of attempts to automate this process. NVIDIA had SLI-Certified Memory that featured EPP and Intel had XMP certified memory. These both used un-used portions of the SPD in order to store the faster profile.

So you'd boot to the slower, JEDEC-standard profile, then go into the BIOS and select "EPP Profile 1" or whatever, and it would automatically adjust the timings AND voltage (since the motherboard manufacturer would typically read that info off the EPP/XMP portion of the SPD), and everything would be gravy.

That being said: Corsair guarantees all its modules to hit the speeds we claim, and if you have problems getting the memory to those speeds feel free to contact me here, or to hit us up on our forums or tech support address.

Hope that clears some things up.
 
fightingfi said:
Ummm my ram is ddr3 but defaults to 1066..will this ram run at teh TRUE 1600 speed? my mobo gigabyte ud3p is set to run at 1333 ...they fixed teh issues? it runs at true sppeds with NO voltage or overclocking to make it run right now be default?
Click to expand...

It's normal for that to happen so you don't end up with a no boot scenario, often SPD has multiple settings in it and the mobo defaults to the lowest. You can run cpu-z to see what SPD settings your ram supports. It's normal to have to bump up the memory voltage slightly over spec, some boards even do it by themselves. Still, I find it odd that they don't mention what voltage any of the Dominator GT modules need though, seems to be hidden on the website too. I don't trust stuff that makes you hunt and search for basic specs that should be splashed down right on the product page.
 
am I the only one who scratched their head and says WHY?
who's buying Phenom 2s for gaming?
 
Redbeard said:
The SPD doesn't allow for the modification of memory voltage through BIOS settings, meaning we'd have compatibility problems. We tried this back in the DDR1 days and that's what we saw.
Click to expand...

Yup, I remember having issues with some sweet low latency PC3200 Corsair memory back in the day.

It's unfortunate there's no easy way around it, but hey, if you're buying the high performance stuff, you should probably know how to set timings manually in the BIOS anyway.
 
Deviationer said:
am I the only one who scratched their head and says WHY?
who's buying Phenom 2s for gaming?
Click to expand...

I did. save a bundle and I can run anything I want just fine. I would rather spend money on a better graphic card any day of the week. (not that idea of seeing how far I can OC a i7 hasn't crossed my mind :D)
 
Corsair was not offering a DDR3 2 module matched pair kit for AM3 until now. I know because I checked a month ago and they confirmed. If you wanted to build a DDR3 AM3 system, you had to buy a 3 channel kit for intel and leave the 3rd one out if you wanted Corsair memory. I believe OCZ does offer an AMD kit as well They have just filled a hole in their product line. Obviously this is a small market right now as they are only offering it direct from their own store at the moment
 
Redbeard said:
That being said: Corsair guarantees all its modules to hit the speeds we claim, and if you have problems getting the memory to those speeds feel free to contact me here, or to hit us up on our forums or tech support address.
Click to expand...
Am I reading too far when I take this to mean that your testing revealed no problems getting AM3 memory controllers to run 1600mhz with those timings? Does this include all flavors of AM3 or just the top (945 955)? What about motherboard manufacturer support?
 
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