Page 10 - Overclocking and Conclusion
Ever since Intel's second generation Core processors hit the market, it really made a reviewer's job a lot easier. For the lazy bunch of us, overclocking memory used to involve fine tuning of the front side bus or base clock of the processor to precisely measure the maximum attainable RAM speed. Since Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge's base clock is practically locked down, and for practical purposes, capped voltage at 1.65V, the only practical way of testing this is to see if the tested modules can notch up an entire step. With the Kingston HyperX Predator KHX18C9T2K2/16X 2x8GB, surprisingly, it did. Seriously, I am very impressed. Usually, going from DDR3-1866 to DDR3-2133 is quite a bit of a stretch, especially with 2x8GB modules. I did this by loosening the latencies to 11-11-11-33, and maxed out the voltage to 1.65V. At stock speeds, you can't change the timings; 9-10-9-27 is as tight as it will go.
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The Kingston HyperX Predator KHX18C9T2K2/16X 2x8GB continues the tradition cutting edge enthusiast products associated with the brand. Words may change over time, and meanings may alter depending on how it is said -- but the very mentioning of 'HyperX' never fails to ring a high level of respect after all these years. Combining incredible 2x8GB capacity with speedy DDR3-1866 operation at aggressive 9-11-9-27 timings, there is a lot to like about this dual channel kit. Aptly named the HyperX Predator, the KHX18C9T2K2/16X is not just a symbol of power and authority -- it is, quite literally, a product of power and authority compared to the competition. And we are talking about being a predator that commands its position with dignity in a way [child] predators like Jimmy Savile will never understand. It easily kept up with the DDR3-2133 and DDR3-2400 kits on our overclocked Intel Ivy Bridge test platform (To be fair, it is not necessarily because these memory modules are really that fast, it is because third generation Intel Core processors can't really use all that extra bandwidth). Regardless of which, combined with its awesome overclocking potential, all these constitutes a real winner in my books. My only complaint? The uber high profile heatspreaders. If they can make it modular like the G.Skill TridentX series RAM, then it will be quite a challenge to find a fault with Kingston's latest and greatest.
Kingston provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH:Renewal Award
Since April 30, 2007, Number Ratings have been dropped for all CPUs, motherboards, RAM, SSD/HDDs, and graphics cards. This is to ensure the most appropriate ratings are reflected without the inherent limits of using numbers. Everything else will continue using the Number Rating System.
More information in our Review Focus.
The Kingston HyperX Predator KHX18C9T2K2/16X 2x8GB combines big capacity, competitive performance, and great overclocking potential all in one package.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look, Installation, Test System
3. Benchmark: AIDA64 CPU
4. Benchmark: AIDA64 FPU
5. Benchmark: AIDA64 Memory
6. Benchmark: PCMark 7
7. Benchmark: 3DMark 11
8. Benchmark: PassMark PerformanceTest 7.0
9. Benchmark: SuperPI 1M, Cinebench R11.5
10. Overclocking and Conclusion
