Corsair Dominator TwinX 8500 vs. Corsair NON-Dominator TwinX 8500??

[joshley]

OK. I reckon I'm alright usually with knowing what and what not to buy when it comes to electrical fun stuff, namely because whenever I do I spend hours relentlessly scouring the net reading reviews and articles trapsing around learning about whatever it is I need to learn about. Be it a new digital camera, sound card, CPU or plasma TV, I research my best! But sometimes, I just can't find any bloody info on some stuff! This is one of them:

Corsair Dominator TwinX 8500 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=462617)
Corsair TwinX 8500 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=402850)

Actually, RAM in general is a sour point. I am finding it difficult to find good info on what RAM to buy. After all, if I get 2GB of the aforementioned, it costs more than my planned CPU (E6600)! Anyone got any good pointers? There's millions of CPU comparisons and so on, but I really can't find much on RAM. I know it makes less of a difference these days, but I'd still like to have the best my money will allow!

Back to the point in hand! Now, simply based on name and looks (+ heat sink), I'd say the Dominator is the better, newer, shinier RAM. And I've found reviews on the Dominator stuff and the normal stuff, but it's difficult to discern which is purported to be better. The thing that stumps me here is the price - Dominator is cheaper, both from the same shop! Supply and demand? I doubt it. So now I think Dominator is not the better of the two? Someone please stop my brain hurting!!

[luxolex]

I asked a Corsair Rep which models use the Micron D9's and here is his quote:

As far as I know, we make any speed grade of PC8000 or faster with Micron D9s. So far, they are the only IC that will do it and meet our standards. The list is not complete but it is updated periodically;

CORSAIR IC THREAD http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44365

Thanks for choosing Corsair!
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I know that Micron D9's come in at least 3 different variations with 3 different price points. The difference in price could be for this reason since both of the RAM's you linked to have the same timings. So it comes down to which heatspreader you prefer and price.

[joshley]

Thanks luxolex, I guess I am after the best performance in that price range. So in that case, probably the more expensive 8500!

[luxolex]

IMO I would say that they would overclock just about the same since they are both D9's and the same timings. I would base it on looks since they are close in price. I read a lot of good reviews on the Dominators and I will buy some once they are back in stock again.

I did not bother reading any reviews on the Corsair TwinX 8500. How did they compare in your findings? Prolly close to the Dominators?

I have some OCZ Ti Alpha VX2 PC-8000 coming on Wednesday so I can compare the two.

[theelectic]

I would go with the Dominator if you're going to push higher voltages, if only because of the heatsink factor. The Dominator should be more expensive than the regular TwinX, that's probably just a recent pricing abnormality.

[joshley]

Thanks peeps that's what I originally thought. Seeing as the Dominators have a heatsink that is more suited to RAM than previous incarnations of RAM and heatsinks, where apparently not much benefit was being gained, it definately looks like a goodun for OC'ing.

luxolex, the reviews were good, but about 6 months old now, don't know how often the RAM world has serious "updates", so not sure if 6 months is that "old" :p

I did read somewhere that the Dominator series were good but not great, but can't dig the source out, have to check that out. I trust Corsair with my RAM though, as long as it's not Value Select - bad experience with that stuff!