Page 1: Intro, Packaging, Modules
Intro:
DDR3 is finally coming to a price where many mainstream system builders will be willing to pay. Manufacturers must provide mainstream DDR3 solutions to fill in the gap between the high end (and inexpensive) DDR2 and the very expensive, high speed DDR3 modules. While the HyperX line from Kingston may not be the mainstream product, the KHX12800D3K2/2G kit is described as the mainstream overclocking kit. It is far cheaper than speedier kits but lacks the tight timings as well. This could be the kit that kicks off DDR3.
Packaging:
Kingston hasn't changed its packaging is such a long time. It seems that memory manufactures stick with something is good and rarely change. Good for them. I haven't had a broken piece of memory yet (physically).
RMA Process:
I always love to test how a company handles returns and I had an opportunity to do a RMA since the first set of modules Kingston set were DOA. Yes, reviewers get bad parts from time to time, it happens in any industry. It shows you that these parts aren't being hand picked for reviewers, if it was... I'm sure I wouldn't have received a kit that failed memory testing left and right. That being said, DOA parts are expected and it is the RMA process that a company provides which should make up for it.
Kingston has an excellent RMA process. Their modules carry a lifetime warranty and once I had a RMA setup, a replacement set of modules were sent and I shipped the old ones back with a prepaid Fedex label. The turn around time was a couple of days which is very good for a RMA transaction. The new modules worked fine, but we will get to that later in the review. While I'm not glad that I received a bad part, I am glad that Kingston provides excellent warranty service.
Modules:
The kit contains the standard blue HyperX look since the original HyperX line was launched some time ago. These new heatspreaders certainly do look much better than the old style. The blue and silver look goes great with a blue lighted case... I would like to see a blue or black PCB in the future for that extra (and useless, but fun) style.
This kit is more along the lines of a mainstream kit so it has slower timings and slower rated speeds than the other modules in the HyperX DDR3 line. The kit is rated for DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) which is the sweet spot for DDR3. Most motherboards can now handle 1600MHz FSB with ease and all Core 2 CPUs can drop their multiplier to run at the speed with no problem. It is when you get higher modules that you may run into problems. The kit is designed to run at 9-9-9-27 timings with a voltage of 1.9V. The command rate is 2T due to the mainstream part being used.
These modules do not contain EPP or XMP style information, so you are stuck providing the information to the motherboard manually. I always recommend doing settings like this manually anyway, but I guess it would be a benefit for mainstream use to include the capability. Personally, I don't use it.
The heatspreaders are well attached to the chips on the modules. I still believe that heatspreaders add more looks than function to modules, but who companies need to brand their products and at least this does provide some additional benefit.
Kingston will hopefully move to bonding the heatspreaders to the chips and remove the clips altogether. It would make a nice a seemless look. I won't mention anything about the color, but red is my favorite.
Kinston needs to place a bit more information about their modules on the sticker. Crucial just started doing this, so it's really time for all manufactures to give the information needed on the stick itself. The information contained on the sticker should include the timings as well as the information currently written on it.
DDR3 is finally coming to a price where many mainstream system builders will be willing to pay. Manufacturers must provide mainstream DDR3 solutions to fill in the gap between the high end (and inexpensive) DDR2 and the very expensive, high speed DDR3 modules. While the HyperX line from Kingston may not be the mainstream product, the KHX12800D3K2/2G kit is described as the mainstream overclocking kit. It is far cheaper than speedier kits but lacks the tight timings as well. This could be the kit that kicks off DDR3.
Packaging:
Kingston hasn't changed its packaging is such a long time. It seems that memory manufactures stick with something is good and rarely change. Good for them. I haven't had a broken piece of memory yet (physically).
RMA Process:
I always love to test how a company handles returns and I had an opportunity to do a RMA since the first set of modules Kingston set were DOA. Yes, reviewers get bad parts from time to time, it happens in any industry. It shows you that these parts aren't being hand picked for reviewers, if it was... I'm sure I wouldn't have received a kit that failed memory testing left and right. That being said, DOA parts are expected and it is the RMA process that a company provides which should make up for it.
Kingston has an excellent RMA process. Their modules carry a lifetime warranty and once I had a RMA setup, a replacement set of modules were sent and I shipped the old ones back with a prepaid Fedex label. The turn around time was a couple of days which is very good for a RMA transaction. The new modules worked fine, but we will get to that later in the review. While I'm not glad that I received a bad part, I am glad that Kingston provides excellent warranty service.
Modules:
The kit contains the standard blue HyperX look since the original HyperX line was launched some time ago. These new heatspreaders certainly do look much better than the old style. The blue and silver look goes great with a blue lighted case... I would like to see a blue or black PCB in the future for that extra (and useless, but fun) style.
This kit is more along the lines of a mainstream kit so it has slower timings and slower rated speeds than the other modules in the HyperX DDR3 line. The kit is rated for DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) which is the sweet spot for DDR3. Most motherboards can now handle 1600MHz FSB with ease and all Core 2 CPUs can drop their multiplier to run at the speed with no problem. It is when you get higher modules that you may run into problems. The kit is designed to run at 9-9-9-27 timings with a voltage of 1.9V. The command rate is 2T due to the mainstream part being used.
These modules do not contain EPP or XMP style information, so you are stuck providing the information to the motherboard manually. I always recommend doing settings like this manually anyway, but I guess it would be a benefit for mainstream use to include the capability. Personally, I don't use it.
The heatspreaders are well attached to the chips on the modules. I still believe that heatspreaders add more looks than function to modules, but who companies need to brand their products and at least this does provide some additional benefit.
Kingston will hopefully move to bonding the heatspreaders to the chips and remove the clips altogether. It would make a nice a seemless look. I won't mention anything about the color, but red is my favorite.
Kinston needs to place a bit more information about their modules on the sticker. Crucial just started doing this, so it's really time for all manufactures to give the information needed on the stick itself. The information contained on the sticker should include the timings as well as the information currently written on it.