Which DDR3-1600 is superior? G.SKILL PI 6GB CAS7 or Corsair Dominator 6GB?

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AcidicRage

Limp Gawd
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Hey everyone. I had asked this in another forum earlier, but wanted some more input again. I wanted to know which RAM is better for my situation:

G.SKILL PI Series 6GB F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI
Corsair Dominator 6GB TR3X6G1600C8D (<--- what I currently have right now)

I have an i7 930 + ASUS P6T SE mobo. I had already bought the Corsair series, but someone said that I might be better off with the G.SKILL. I had not seen the G.SKILL until it was recommended. Now I may be regretting my choice to go with the Corsair.

The Corsair series are about $8 more than the G.SKILL, however the G.SKILL is rated at a lower CAS + lower voltage. Lower voltage would mean less heat production, correct?

What I had in mind originally was: leave everything at stock with the exception of the RAM. I would most likely have to bump up RAM at either 1333 speeds or 1600 speeds. I would leave my i7 930 at 2.8 until later when I decide to add a CPU cooler and truly OC it. So I was not sure if the G.SKILL were superior in this case... It just seems like less cost + lower latency + less voltage = win-win situation?

It seems my motherboard can support both memories although the Corsair Dominator version is on its qualified memory list. G.SKILL may just be newer in that regards. I just was not sure if the lower voltage/lower latency RAM means anything. It seems like too good to be true kind of ordeal.
 
I guess it depends on whether you can return the Corsair for a full refund. If so, it is a no brainer to me (I'm a huge fan of G.Skill) but if you would take say, a 20% restocking hit then don't worry about it unless you have issues.
 
Thanks for the quick reply!

I think it's possible to return it. NewEgg lets me "refuse" the UPS delivery person, so that they can send it back to them for a full refund. I was just wondering if I should stick to the Corsairs I will be getting or go with the G.SKILL.

What I was trying to get out of, in a higher end gaming rig (I am not sure if I consider my system one) or under intensive applications, would the lower voltage and lower latency mean a sure difference?

Also, is it true that if you indeed have a lower voltage on your RAM, your CPU cores also runs cooler? I was under the assumption that this was the case. If this is, by how much cooler would you think changing the memory voltage from 1.65V to 1.5V gives?
 
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The timing difference will be unnoticeable in real life, but the lower voltage will reduce temps, and possibly allow for a better OC. I went from 1.65v to 1.5v modules and my temps did drop ~3-5°C under full load (I lowered my QPI voltage as well)
 
Ah, lowered temps on the CPU cores or lowered temps on the RAM? (or both)? That would be very nice... I should have went with the G.SKILLs then. 5 degrees would definitely make a difference if all I did was change a piece of hardware!
 
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Ah, so the difference in CPU core temps would be amazing for me...

Anyhow, if you were in my case, would you get the G.SKILLs instead? The Corsairs come tomorrow, but I am planning on returning them (refusing UPS) as NewEgg will give me a full 100% refund w/ no restocking fee. I tried looking on NewEgg for other RAM that was CAS7 running at less than 1.65V, and the only ones that came up were the G.SKILL PI series. I have only used G.SKILL once in my older Dell brand mobo, and they seemed to do the job. But I have used Corsair many many times.
 
His temperature drop came from being able to lower his QPI (vvt) voltage and not the voltage of the ram. Lower vDimm doesn't matter when it comes to cpu temperatures (given no changes in vvt or vcore).

FWIW, those ICs in the G.Skills are bbse. Either way, I would refuse the UPS man, pass up the PIs and get either the 2000Mhz CL9 Ripjaws or Trident with the Ripjaws being cheaper.

They both should be able to do 6-7-6-18 1T and 6-6-6-18 1T (Trident) at 1600Mhz. vDimm will be dependent on your cpu and how it likes the vvt and vdimm bus relation. Since the PIs can do their timings on 1.5 I wouldn't be surprised to see the Ripjaws do the same since they should be higher binned version of the PIs.
 
Just got off a conversation with a G.SKILL Tech on their forums. This is what they had to say about the RipJaws DDR3-1600 CL8 & CL9 vs PI CL7:

"The RipJaws are just slightly lower in spec, but they would work great as well. The CL8 for example is one notch lower, so it would be good for normal people that do not need max performance. The PI you are looking at is simply our 247 gamers kit. Really good performance spec, and as you already know, only 1.50V."

However, that was for all three models of DDR3-1600. Looking at another series, the Trident F3-16000CL9T-6GBTD that runs at DDR3-2000 is I believe what you are referring to...

If the PI & Trident were BOTH to run at DDR3-1600 speeds, what would their respective timings and voltage be? The specs for the PI would obviously be 7-8-7-24 @ 1.5V. What would it be for the Tridents?

Would it be the PI or Tridents that have the lowest voltage? What if I go EVEN lower speeds (i.e., DDR3-1333?) I believe the Tridents have the highest quality ICs...does that mean that it is "the best" in terms of RAM?
 
The PI are the top line for G.Skill. Since the 2000 Tridents have BBSE then I'd be pretty sure that the PI use hypers.

Why do you want to go 1333? The 2000 Trident or Ripjaws will be able to do CL6 at 1600. Might use a little more voltage then PIs but I wouldn't expect anything over 1.60. Since they can both do CL6 at 1600, anything else is a waste imo. My G.Skill PI with the silver and blue heat speaders will to 7-7-7-18 1T at 1600 all day long. Been mulling around the idea of getting the 2000 Ripjaws so I can do a little higher ram speed as mine don't like going much over 1700 without fits and voltage.

CL6 at 1600 and set uncore to 3600 with 200bclk with either 4.0 or 4.2Ghz core and you'll have read and copy over 20GB/s, writes around 18, and latency will close in on 40ns. It will feel very snappy.
 
I went with GSkill. Not sure why, but, that was my decision. Haven't built my system yet, but, hope to finish this week. Hope this helps.
 
My G. Skill F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI have been great. I am running 4 sticks of this in Z68MB and at 1.5v they are performing very well.

MSIGD65clockproblem.jpg
 
The best ddr3 1600mhz ram is the cheapest ram. You will never see any differences in timings or anything else. Lower voltage is always nice though. Wouldn't really pay extra for it though.
 
I picked up 8GB (2x4G) of GSkill 1600Mhz for $30 free shipping from Newegg. I am pleased with it.
 
hdgamer said:
The best ddr3 1600mhz ram is the cheapest ram. You will never see any differences in timings or anything else. Lower voltage is always nice though. Wouldn't really pay extra for it though.
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My experience is that when you over clock 1600mhz DDR3, tighter cas and lower voltage ram allows for higher CPU over clocks. If you don't over clock CPU then lower quality RAM works fine at stock CPU/memory speeds.
 
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