Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB RAM Experiences @ [H]

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FrgMstr

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Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB RAM Experiences

Corsair is adding a huge 64GB RAM kit that many enthusiast High End Desk Top users might be interested in. We take the new Dominator Platinum RGB DIMMs for a ride on both Intel X299 and AMD X399 systems and see how the clocks shake out. And of course, enough Frag Harder Disco Lights to illuminate your house.
 
Dekar12 said:
Nice looking RAM.

They look really tight against each other, do these get pretty hot stacked that close together?
Click to expand...
No, not really. Never saw temps over ~43C reported by the module sensors. Under VERY heavy usage.
 
Wow that is really good temps! When do you think these will be available for sale?
 
AthlonXP said:
Thanks, sucks about X399 support. I was thinking of maybe moving to a similar setup to what you just moved to.
Click to expand...
I have an older Corsair LPX 3600 32GB (8x4) on my X399 system, and I it running at 3333MHz reliably. It is also B-die.
 
Yay! Disco RAM!


When approaching a modern Custom PC:

upload_2019-2-21_11-41-2.png
 
AthlonXP said:
Wow that is really good temps! When do you think these will be available for sale?
Click to expand...


Interesting. I've never paid attention to RAM temps before. I always thought of the heatsinks they put on those things as being more for show (and ESD protection) than for actual thermals.

Is there actually a benefit to the heatsinks on RAM these days over something like this?

KVR.jpg
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Interesting. I've never paid attention to RAM temps before. I always thought of the heatsinks they put on those things as being more for show (and ESD protection) than for actual thermals.

Is there actually a benefit to the heatsinks on RAM these days over something like this?

View attachment 143436
Click to expand...

The answer, as usual, is "it depends" when it comes to heat spreaders and heat sinks. The process node and density of the DRAM, the generation (DDR2/3/4 etc.), bus speed, voltage and ambiant temps all combine to determine this. You might be able to run a 8GB DDR4 stick at 2666 and stock voltage without any heat spreader or heat sink, but if you OC it to 3600 with overvoltage you'd need the heat spreader on for it to function.

DRAM can get REALLY hot in the right conditions. I've had some prototypes in a test fixture in the lab get hot enough that when I touched them I immediately stopped so I wouldn't get burned. Other engineers have had them get so hot they desoldered themselves and fallen off the DIMM PCB. In my case it was unintentional overclocking where tthe input clocks were 4x faster than they were supposed to be, not something you're going to be able to do on any production PC, my setup didn't have a CPU or chipset involved at all.

Great review! Hope the AMD 7nm parts enable faster DRAM timings to work, may require a new MB as well though, depending on what is limiting it now.
 
TroubleMagnet said:
The answer, as usual, is "it depends" when it comes to heat spreaders and heat sinks. The process node and density of the DRAM, the generation (DDR2/3/4 etc.), bus speed, voltage and ambiant temps all combine to determine this. You might be able to run a 8GB DDR4 stick at 2666 and stock voltage without any heat spreader or heat sink, but if you OC it to 3600 with overvoltage you'd need the heat spreader on for it to function.

DRAM can get REALLY hot in the right conditions. I've had some prototypes in a test fixture in the lab get hot enough that when I touched them I immediately stopped so I wouldn't get burned. Other engineers have had them get so hot they desoldered themselves and fallen off the DIMM PCB. In my case it was unintentional overclocking where tthe input clocks were 4x faster than they were supposed to be, not something you're going to be able to do on any production PC, my setup didn't have a CPU or chipset involved at all.

Great review! Hope the AMD 7nm parts enable faster DRAM timings to work, may require a new MB as well though, depending on what is limiting it now.
Click to expand...


Thanks for explaining.

Is it a DDR4 vs previous generations thing? Does new RAM get hotter?

As of yet the only DDR4 systems I've built are low power appliance builds, like my pfSense router.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Thanks for explaining.

Is it a DDR4 vs previous generations thing? Does new RAM get hotter?

As of yet the only DDR4 systems I've built are low power appliance builds, like my pfSense router.
Click to expand...

Power reduction is always a priority, but has tradeoffs. Going from DDR3 to DDR4 you would see lower power usage for a DDR4 DIMM vs. a DDR3 DIMM with the same bus speeds due to the signaling changes, in this case both lower voltage and different termination. In some cases this could be literally the same silicon, I know at least for DDR2 and DDR3 the same wafer could be either one, determined by the hard fuse settings and package they were put in.

I've been working with DRAM since 1996 as part of my job, starting with SDRAM running at I think 66 MHz. Going from SDRAM to DDR SDRAM actually increased the power draw, but was worth it as you got twice the bandwidth and still didn't need any kind of heat spreader or heat sink. I think it was all downhill power wise from there, but I'd have to check as it's been a while, I've slept since then. :)
 
TroubleMagnet said:
Power reduction is always a priority, but has tradeoffs. Going from DDR3 to DDR4 you would see lower power usage for a DDR4 DIMM vs. a DDR3 DIMM with the same bus speeds due to the signaling changes, in this case both lower voltage and different termination. In some cases this could be literally the same silicon, I know at least for DDR2 and DDR3 the same wafer could be either one, determined by the hard fuse settings and package they were put in.

I've been working with DRAM since 1996 as part of my job, starting with SDRAM running at I think 66 MHz. Going from SDRAM to DDR SDRAM actually increased the power draw, but was worth it as you got twice the bandwidth and still didn't need any kind of heat spreader or heat sink. I think it was all downhill power wise from there, but I'd have to check as it's been a while, I've slept since then. :)
Click to expand...


Good info, thanks. RAM has always been my weakest area in this hobby.
 
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PhoenixGenesys said:
The spec page: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/dominator-rgb-config/p/CMT64GX4M8X3600C18

...

Doesn't say if the modules are single or dual rank.

I love Corsair Dominator RAM. I managed to overclock a set of 4 x 16GB DDR4 2400 Dominator Platinum to 3000 @ 1.2V with a Threadripper 1950X overclocked to 4.0GHz. Maybe it doesn't seem like much, but I think that on X399 it kind of is.
Click to expand...


I haven't used Corsair Dominator RAM since I bought some crazy kits of Dominator GT DDR3-2000 that came with ram cooler fans back in early 2011.

TR3X6GmbS.jpg


I played around with them and found it difficult to get them stable at overclock speeds, and that my system didn't benefit much from faster speeds anyway (possibly due to being quad channel?) so I removed the RAM coolers (they were too loud for me, even with an inline fan resistor) and underclocked them. One thing which I learned from this experience was that they came with XMP profiles beyond what most memory controllers could handle, making XMP mostly useless for me.

Are people seeing much benefit from high RAM clocks on quad channel systems these days, or is this mostly a dual channel concern?
 
techguymaxc said:
Wow, only $880 for 64GB DDR4?

/s

I paid $200 for 32GB DDR4 2 years ago. These prices are insane, especially with recent price trends.
Click to expand...

These are their premium branded RAM. That always comes at a price premium.

You can get a 2x16GB kit of 2666Mhz Corsair Vengeance LPX for $179 right now.

Of course it is clocked lower....

....and lacks disco lights and the cool "DOMINATOR" name :p
 
jojo69 said:
das blinkemlights!
Click to expand...
Quoting our good friend AvE? :cool:


Zarathustra[H] said:
Interesting. I've never paid attention to RAM temps before. I always thought of the heatsinks they put on those things as being more for show (and ESD protection) than for actual thermals.

Is there actually a benefit to the heatsinks on RAM these days over something like this?

View attachment 143436
Click to expand...
Back with DDR3, everyone seemed to be equipping their RAM with heatsinks, and on all of my personal kits they were needed as the modules would indeed get warm, which I'm not even going to include my OCZ Reaper 1600 modules in that statement since they were 1.9V... lol (were probably DDR2 modules as TroubleMagnet pointed out later in the thread, something I didn't consider till learning that).

My Kingston Hyper-X Predator DDR3-2666 2x2GB modules have huge heatsinks and do get warm close to their rated speed, despite my only having them run at 1.5V (rated 1.65V at full speed). (Warm determined by both touch and their, I believe, on-die thermal sensor)
BUT... My favorite kit is actually a lesser known brand called KingMax Nano Gamer 2x2GB, and they're a DDR3-2200 1.4V kit, ENTIRELY passive! They actually have teal paint (? not a sticker that's for sure) covering every IC for that matter. Their claim as to why they didn't need heatsinks was due to having tons of "Tiny BGA™" solder points on the ICs which transferred their heat directly into the PCB, in turn acting as the heatsink (they dubbed this "nano thermal dissipation"). All I can tell you is that they DID run cool. Again, both in terms of the "finger meter" and their thermal sensor (90% certain theirs is just a chip on the PCB). They impressed me further by being capable of getting taken up to DDR3-2400 at, I believe 1.4V... yet again, cool to the touch! [For anyone interested, default timings were 10-11-10 1T, and at 2400 I believe all I needed was 11-12-11. I ran them at 8-9-8 at 2000, also.]

They also claimed to make their own ICs, which sounds rather plausible given their claim of the nano balls since that sounds like it'd be at least a custom packaging, if not a custom die as well. However, given their dies were covered, I could've actually look at the DRAM to confirm, and didn't want to scrape it off to void a potential warranty (they've ran perfect and still do).

[Disclaimer: The link claims 1.5V-1.8V, but I swore I ran it much lower on my AMD A8-3850... The modules also do not state a voltage on the sticker, so outside of cobbling together that A8 system quick to find out, I can't confirm my recollections. Temperature recollections are accurate though.]


TroubleMagnet said:
I've had some prototypes in a test fixture in the lab
I've been working with DRAM since 1996 as part of my job
Click to expand...
Anything you can weigh in on in regards to my KingMax statements above, regarding their means of "nano solder" points for cooling? If so, any clue why others don't utilize it (outside of no one wanting to license the patent) or if everyone does in some fashion, why theirs run so much cooler despite same voltages and high-speeds? (These DDR3 modules are circa 2012, for both the Predator and Nano Gamer kits; no clue on process size)
Also have you by chance ever had any of their stuff cross your bench? (I wouldn't be surprised if they don't even source their ICs to anyone outside of their own RAM modules...)
 
My G skill run the 3600 MHZ it is with ease on my X399 board, just 1 click of the mouse in the bios.

What i don't get with the disco RAM, not least my G Skill with its single block light dissipation, why don't they make it replaceable, so people could dremel what ever they liked in a piece of clear or opaque plastic.
The new clear "diamond" Royale cut are fine and all, but i would do my own if i was able to just snap something in there without taking my RAM modules apart.
 
Oldmodder said:
My G skill run the 3600 MHZ it is with ease on my X399 board, just 1 click of the mouse in the bios.

What i don't get with the disco RAM, not least my G Skill with its single block light dissipation, why don't they make it replaceable, so people could dremel what ever they liked in a piece of clear or opaque plastic.
The new clear "diamond" Royale cut are fine and all, but i would do my own if i was able to just snap something in there without taking my RAM modules apart.
Click to expand...
Awesome. Show me some screenshots please.
 
tumblr_pnblngDLTS1wxv8ejo1_1280.jpg

tumblr_pnbn9mmUew1wxv8ejo1_1280.jpg


The ram are the Trident Z / F4-3600C18D-16GTZRX

Dont know if its just due to me only having 2 of 8 slots populated, but i don't think so, will be getting a set more in a few months when RAM price have tanked a little.
 

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Ever since i build this PC i have looked thru the window in my Lian Li case at the meager 2 RAM blocks, and been very eager to go buy 2 more.
And if it wasent for my old GFX giving up 1 month after i build the machine and so forced me to go buy new GFX i think i would be on a quad system now.
But a Danish pension don't give room for the big arm movements, so i will have to chill a little, but then again if my ram ( currently at 1250 DKkr ) drop below 1000 i just got to do something.

I am monitoring RAM prices daily to see if a flash deal pop up. :)
 
Oldmodder said:
My G skill run the 3600 MHZ it is with ease on my X399 board, just 1 click of the mouse in the bios.
Click to expand...
As per your followup posts, the difference between your system ad Kyle's is that you are only running 2x16GB (Dual Chanel) and he is running 4x32GB (Quad Chanel). That's a substantially bigger load, exacerbated by their Dual-Rank nature (which yours probably are, too). That's why you're able to 'easily' get to 3666, where as he isn't.


What i don't get with the disco RAM, not least my G Skill with its single block light dissipation, why don't they make it replaceable, so people could dremel what ever they liked in a piece of clear or opaque plastic.
The new clear "diamond" Royale cut are fine and all, but i would do my own if i was able to just snap something in there without taking my RAM modules apart.
Click to expand...
If your G.Skill Trident Z look like this...
upload_2019-2-22_7-37-30.png


And you're referring to that plastic piece I circled... Then it just pops out with ease :)

The only kit left in stock back when I got my 2x8 3200 kit on sale before Ryzen came out ($125 heh) was Black with Yellow stripe. Definitely was ugly with a Silver motherboard. I eyeballed the module for a moment and I don't even think I needed to use a screwdriver to pry it, just being able to pop it out with my fingers; no heatsink disassembly required. The plastic is quite flexible as well.

Dremel to your hearts content!
(however, if you mess up the patterning, well... I'm not so sure getting new inserts would be that easy :( but you're welcome to have my ugly solid-yellow colored ones! lmao)
 
Nice.
though i don't think the heat spreader design allow for just anything to be crammed in there, but for sure when i get 2 more blocks i will investigate and see what my options are to be different than all,,,,, okay than most other guys.

Isent it "just" a 64Gb kit he run ?
4 X 32 GB,,,,,,, that would be so sweet :cool: and X399 should support that, though the range of usable models are probably a lot smaller on any given motherboard.

I am just running the lighting on my motherboard in a single fixed color, and that's still not a safe bet, for unknown reasons some times the MOBO use another ( green ) color here i have selected yellow, and some times the ram modules might start up with both or just one in the default rainbow mode ( other block dark ) other times both ram modules go multi color for a while, and then later on change to the fixed yellow i have chosen.
And its not like G-Skills own software are much better, that too seem to be conflicting with the motherborad and Gigabytes software.

I have decided to ditch LED fans for new case, but will add a little LED lighting aside for what the MOBO & RAM do or don't do depending on their mood.
 
Formula.350 said:
Quoting our good friend AvE? :cool:



Back with DDR3, everyone seemed to be equipping their RAM with heatsinks, and on all of my personal kits they were needed as the modules would indeed get warm, which I'm not even going to include my OCZ Reaper 1600 modules in that statement since they were 1.9V... lol (were probably DDR2 modules as TroubleMagnet pointed out later in the thread, something I didn't consider till learning that).

My Kingston Hyper-X Predator DDR3-2666 2x2GB modules have huge heatsinks and do get warm close to their rated speed, despite my only having them run at 1.5V (rated 1.65V at full speed). (Warm determined by both touch and their, I believe, on-die thermal sensor)
BUT... My favorite kit is actually a lesser known brand called KingMax Nano Gamer 2x2GB, and they're a DDR3-2200 1.4V kit, ENTIRELY passive! They actually have teal paint (? not a sticker that's for sure) covering every IC for that matter. Their claim as to why they didn't need heatsinks was due to having tons of "Tiny BGA™" solder points on the ICs which transferred their heat directly into the PCB, in turn acting as the heatsink (they dubbed this "nano thermal dissipation"). All I can tell you is that they DID run cool. Again, both in terms of the "finger meter" and their thermal sensor (90% certain theirs is just a chip on the PCB). They impressed me further by being capable of getting taken up to DDR3-2400 at, I believe 1.4V... yet again, cool to the touch! [For anyone interested, default timings were 10-11-10 1T, and at 2400 I believe all I needed was 11-12-11. I ran them at 8-9-8 at 2000, also.]

They also claimed to make their own ICs, which sounds rather plausible given their claim of the nano balls since that sounds like it'd be at least a custom packaging, if not a custom die as well. However, given their dies were covered, I could've actually look at the DRAM to confirm, and didn't want to scrape it off to void a potential warranty (they've ran perfect and still do).

[Disclaimer: The link claims 1.5V-1.8V, but I swore I ran it much lower on my AMD A8-3850... The modules also do not state a voltage on the sticker, so outside of cobbling together that A8 system quick to find out, I can't confirm my recollections. Temperature recollections are accurate though.]



Anything you can weigh in on in regards to my KingMax statements above, regarding their means of "nano solder" points for cooling? If so, any clue why others don't utilize it (outside of no one wanting to license the patent) or if everyone does in some fashion, why theirs run so much cooler despite same voltages and high-speeds? (These DDR3 modules are circa 2012, for both the Predator and Nano Gamer kits; no clue on process size)
Also have you by chance ever had any of their stuff cross your bench? (I wouldn't be surprised if they don't even source their ICs to anyone outside of their own RAM modules...)
Click to expand...

I only found a couple high level descriptions of the tech used on the KingMax Nano Gaming sticks, they have their own ASIC on them and some custom heat spreaders on top of the DRAM chips.

I bet if you peeled them off you'd find standard DRAM chips in fine pitch BGA packages just like what you find on any other DIMM. Small chance they got one or mode of the DRAM manufacturers to do a custom package but I doubt it as it would likely cost them a lot, and make them single sourced as well. Likely the sticker is thermally conductive similar to the pads between chips and heat sinks that are sometimes used instead of thermal paste. My guess is their ASIC is used for both the anti-counterfeiting and to do the thermal monitoring. The other thing they likely did is use PCB material with a higher themal conductivity than FR4, which is still the default PCB material for most DIMMs as far as I know. There are tons of other options out there that are primarily used for better electrical properties, or lower themal expansion, but they often have better themal conductivity as well. Some are more like a ceramic than fiberglass. I've been out of the PCB side of things for a while, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone has a process that uses carbon fiber instead of fiberglass too.
 
If heatspreaders on JEDEC spec RAM were essential, you'd see them on every Dell and HP server, and we don't.

Contrary, when I used to boost mine beyond 3600 and beyond 1.35volts...they got real warm, despite the heatspreader.

That's why some of those kits even have additional RAM coolers, for the never stopping overclocker.

So, it's a yes and no if you need heatspreaders. It depends
 
Maybe there are some underlying issues, though i am sure X399 should handle 8 X 8 GB with ease, even 8 X 16GB

I ran 4 X 8 GB on my DDR2 machine and DDR3 machine with ease, though on the DDR3 machine i never bothered with overclocking.

In regard to heat spreaders on RAM, then yeah at the speeds of RAM the CPU call for it should not really be needed, it was only when i jumped on the OC bandwagon that they was needed ( never really tried to OC on non heats spreader RAM )
The computers i have build for friends and family over the decades have rarely had RAM with heat spreader, mostly cuz they have not wanted to spend the money on such RAM, and they haven't really needed to.

Hell i have even deployed water cooled ( from factory ) OCZ ram on my DDR3 machine at first, though those died pretty fast and was replaced with dominator ram from corsair
 
techguymaxc said:
Wow, only $880 for 64GB DDR4?

/s

I paid $200 for 32GB DDR4 2 years ago. These prices are insane, especially with recent price trends.
Click to expand...

You are going to cry looking at the prices of 128 GB ECC server RAM if that price makes you “upset”.
 
Nice review.

I like the idea of using the lights as temperature gauges for the various components.
 
My PC back in 03 had an actual disco ball in it.

EDIT:
Just ordered 2 sticks of 16GB @ 3200 for my upcoming build. Hope it looks as pretty in person as it does in my head
 
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