Corsair XMS2 DOMINATOR PC2-8888 Memory Review

Final Thoughts and Conclusions

If you have to ask how much this memory is then this isn’t the memory kit for you. This memory kit is reserved for those that want the fastest production memory kit that is actually being produced and shipping. Corsair knows how to make memory and they know how to do it right. For years they have been leading the way and even though their attention has been side tracked with water cooling and power supplies they have managed to maintain the industry lead when it comes to performance memory.

The DOMINATOR TWIN2X2048-8888C4DF memory kit that we have reviewed today is by far the fastest production memory available from any company. If anyone wants to disagree with that comment then feel free to send me a production kit that can top this! A number of companies have sent out press releases announcing new products to rival the DOMINATOR series, but they have yet to be seen.

The DOMINATOR modules feature Enhanced Performance Profiles (EPP), but the DFI LANParty UT NF590 SLI-M2R motherboard that we happened to use for the review doesn’t use EPP correctly with every processor. While these modules are a bit overkill on Intel based systems we tried it on the Intel D975XBX motherboard, which doesn’t have EPP support, and noticed a weird post screen that we have seen before when the SPD isn’t set to the liking of the BIOS. We had to manually set everything in the BIOS to get these modules to work correctly for our review, which shouldn’t be a big deal as these modules are aimed at enthusiasts. If you want to get the most out of your system it’s my belief that you will disable EPP and adjust the BIOS to your own liking. We just recently found out that the upcoming ATI RD600 LGA775 motherboards will have EPP support (although it’s not called that) built into the BIOS, so EPP support is starting to pick up. Corsair has also informed us that they have not been able to reproduce our EPP issues with our Intel board and are aware of the NF590 SLI-M2R issue and that it is something that DFI has to fix.

Corsair has raised the bar when it comes to performance memory. Not only did they increase the frequency of their flagship part they also lowered the timings and temperatures at which the modules operate. To make things better they have room to overclock. Being able to hit 1.2GHz at default voltages with C4 timings is very impressive.

If you want to have the ultimate memory kit for your dream machine the answer is simple – Corsair PC2-8888 modules are what you need.

Legit Bottom Line: The Corsair TWIN2X2048-8888C4DF will give enthusiasts wet dreams, make your friends envious and leave other memory companies scratching their heads on how to one up it.