Corsair XMS XPERT TWINXP1024-3200XL

The overclocking world was shaken when Winbond announced that it would discontinue its entire line of RAM chips. Winbond BH-5 and BH-6 are the only RAM ICs (with some exceptions) that are able to handle extremely tight timings of 2-2-2-x while running at reasonably high speeds. The tighter the timings, the less time it takes between the moment that the CPU asks for the contents of a memory location to the moment it actually receives the information. The looser the timings, the longer it takes, hence less effective use of the memory bandwidth. Last year when BH-5/6 supplies had just dried up, enthusiasts looking to obtain the RAM had to hunt it down on various forums and eBay. Some companies, such as Mushkin, managed to salvage some BH-6 but of course, that supply didn't last long. Then along the road came Samsung TCCD. Samsung TCCD is capable of running 2-2-2-x at 200MHz. However, speeds like 250MHz at 2-2-2-x is next to impossible with TCCD chips. In addition, TCCD is very intolerant to higher voltages. While Winbond Ram would scale almost linearly with voltage up to about 3.8 volts. On the other hand, good TCCD on a good PCB is generally able to push beyond 300MHz with the timings of 2.5-4-4-7. These are not the tightest timings, but the effective memory bandwidth is quite a bit higher than the effective bandwidth of BH-5 at 250 2-2-2-x. Corsair's latest implementation of Samsung TCCD can be found in their newest line of XMS memory, the XPERT. The unique feature accompanying these new modules isn’t anything extraordinary to the modules themselves, but is the addition of a LED display to the top of the memory. Unlike the XMS PRO series that offered a small LED display to indicate the memory activity, the new XMS XPERT is able to visually display the memory's temperature, voltage, frequency, or your very own custom message. The two models currently in the XMS XPERT series are the TWINXP1024-3200XL and TWINXP1024-3200C2, with this review focusing on the 3200XL modules.