Kingston HyperX Genesis Quad Channel DDR3-1600 32GB Kit Memory Review by Kirk Spencer

Up for review today we have a 32GB kit of HyperX Genesis Quad Channel DDR3. That’s 32GB of pure DDR3 heaven. Kingston has had a strong presence with computer memory for several years so we’re definitely excited to see how their quad channel genesis line of memory performs. The HyperX line from Kingston is their high end enthusiast line of products. Kingston does an excellent job of making memory that can perform while being undervolted from the specifications of the chips. Anyone interested in the power profile of their machines will want to stay tuned.

Their Features and specs include:

SPECIFICATIONS

CL(IDD) 9 cycles

Row Cycle Time (tRCmin) 49.5ns (min.)

Refresh to Active/Refresh 160ns (min.)

Command Time (tRFCmin)

Row Active Time (tRASmin) 36ns (min.)

Power (Operating) 1.410 W* (per module)

UL Rating 94 V - 0

Operating Temperature: 0-85 degrees Celcius
Storage Temperature: -55 to 100 degrees Celcius

*Power will vary depending on the SDRAM used.

FEATURES

JEDEC standard 1.5V (1.425V ~ 1.575V) Power Supply

VDDQ = 1.5V (1.425V ~ 1.575V)

667MHz fCK for 1333Mb/sec/pin

8 independent internal bank

Programmable CAS Latency: 9, 8, 7, 6

Posted CAS

Programmable Additive Latency: 0, CL - 2, or CL - 1 clock

Programmable CAS Write Latency(CWL) = 7 (DDR3-1333)

8-bit pre-fetch

Burst Length: 8 (Interleave without any limit, sequential with

starting address “000” only), 4 with tCCD = 4 which does not

allow seamless read or write [either on the fly using A12 or MRS
Bi-directional Differential Data Strobe

Internal(self) calibration : Internal self calibration through ZQ pin (RZQ : 240 ohm ± 1%)
On Die Termination using ODT pin

Average Refresh Period 7.8us at lower than TCASE 85°C,
3.9us at 85°C < TCASE < 95°
Asynchronous Reset
PCB : Height 1.180” (30.00mm), double sided component

The memory comes with a very attractive blue heatsink which is the standard HyperX color we’re used to. I really like the silver diamond plate look they’ve used for the HyperX banding on the left. some might not care for the colors, but they certainly do it for me. The Genesis line does not have the larger heatsink. If that’s what you’re looking for you might check out their HyperX T1 line or their HyperX H2O line. If you’re CPU cooler is one of the larger coolers then the larger sized heatsinks could be a problem. The Genesis line is perfect for larger CPU coolers because it won’t have anything getting in the way and it won’t prevent you from using that awesome CPU cooler you have your eye on.

System Hardware

• Core i7-3820 Intel process
• 32GB quad channel HyperX memory from Kingston
• P9X79 Deluxe motherboard from ASUS
• Antec Kuhler h2o 920 liquid cooling
• Antec HCG-620M power supply

Voltage

This kit runs at 1600 MHz and has low latency timings of 9-9-9 at 1.65v. Right out of the box we know that the memory is supposed to run at 1.65v. We’re going to see how far we can undervolt the memory while maintaining a stable platform. We’ll throw everything we can at it to get it to crash till we find that sweet spot of low voltage and high performance. Our first stop was at 1.5v. As we had expected the memory held strong at 1.5v. We decided to bump it down even farther. This time we took it down to 1.4v. We ran a burn in test on the memory and it passed with flying colors. We would like to point out that any time you adjust hardware settings like voltage you should run extensive tests to make sure that your hardware is stable. We did not run any 24 hour long memory tests but anyone making these changes should do so to be sure that their setup is stable. We couldn’t boot at 1.3v so we brought it up to 1.35v and this time it booted and passed all of our burn in tests. Our final stable voltage was 1.35v. That’s an impressive 0.3v under the memory’s spec.

Overclocking

The next thing we wanted to do was see how much we could overclock the memory. Overclocking usually means voltages will need to be increased to attain those higher speeds. Our final stable speed was 1866 MHz with timings of 9-10-9-24-2T. We were hoping for higher speeds, but Kingston mentioned that quad channel memory does not overclock as easily as dual channel memory. Windows booted with higher speeds and looser timings, but we ran into several errors, and the system wasn’t very stable so we were forced to bump it back down to 1866 MHz. We also had to bump the voltage up to 1.55v to keep the system stable with the memory running at 1866 MHz and timings of 9-10-9-24-2T.

Conclusion

The HyperX line of Kingston products is always one that you can count on. These modules are no exception. The build quality of the memory is exceptional and does not get in the way of larger enthusiast CPU cooling setups. The design is a pleasure to look at. For those that are interested in the power profile of their system, this memory is extremely flexible in that area. If you’re looking to overclock the memory to higher speeds, you will need looser timings, more power and your end result is largely going to be dependent on your individual setup.  Based on it's design, features, quality, and performance, the Kingston HyperX Genesis DDR3-1600 kit has earned our Highly Recommended Award.  For more info and complete specs, check out their websire at www.kingston.com.