User Review Corsair Dominator Platinum CMD16GX3M4A2133C9

Hope everybody is doing good. I have been missing from TE since sometime now, but I am here to do what I have always liked. Share my findings about the hardware components..

Today's kit was an unusual request from Corsair India, considering I've been away from reviewing hardware and in general OverClocking for almost a year. Honestly when they said it was "Dominator Platinum" kit, I knew that I would say yes for reviewing it.

Now we all (most of us) know Corsair already but here is brief introduction from their website:

Corsair is a global company bringing innovative, high-performance components to the PC gaming market. Specializing in very high performance memory, ultra-efficient power supplies, and other key system components, our products are the choice of overclockers, enthusiasts, and gamers everywhere.
Founded as Corsair Microsystems in 1994, Corsair originally developed Level 2 cache modules for OEMs. After Intel incorporated the L2 cache in the processor with the release of its Pentium Pro processor family, Corsair changed its focus to DRAM modules, primarily in the server market. In 2002, Corsair began shipping DRAM modules that were specifically designed to appeal to computer overclocking enthusiasts. From its roots in high-performance memory, Corsair has expanded its award-winning product portfolio to include ultra-efficient power supplies, builder-friendly cases, ground-breaking CPU coolers, blazing-fast solid-state drives, and other key system components.

And here is something about the Dominator Platinum 2133C9:

The latest generation of the performance legend.
Corsair Dominator® Platinum builds on the legacy of the world’s most awarded high-performance memory, adding a striking new industrial design and LED lighting effects. Like all Dominator memory modules, they are built using only select memory ICs, highly-screened for performance and stability, and feature our patented DHX (Dual-path Heat eXchange) cooling technology, so you can push them to the limit.
Fanatical screening for phenomenal performance
Dominator Platinum memory modules are assembled using a “best of the best” IC screening process. Individual ICs are hand-screened to our highest performance threshold, and then the assembled modules undergo more rounds of rigorous screening and stability testing. The result is reliable performance under extreme pressure.

Here are some more pictures of the product:

Test setup:
Intel "Haswell" 4770K ES
Gigabyte Z87X-OC
Sapphire HD6570 1GB DDR3
Corsair Dominator Platinum CMD16GX3M4A2133C9
Samsung 840 Series 250GB
Antec TPQ 1200W
Dell 24"
Corsair H70 with Antec 120mm case fan

As usual apart from testing at mentioned-stock-speed, I have tried my best to overclock and find maximum out of these sticks.

**Note: For speed of 2800MHz and above I shifted to 4GBx2 setup.
I ran 3 benchmarks to test memory performance:

PCMark 7
Fritz Chess Benchmark
AIDA64 Memory & Cache Benchmark

Benchmark Results:
First up is PCMark 7, which is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 7 and Windows 8. It includes 7 tests combining more than 25 individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 7 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use.

Result with memory running DDR3-1333

Yes I know I haven't set the memory tab in CPU-Z but the benchmark was run at the 2133Mhz

Result with memory running DDR3-2400

Result with memory running DDR3-2600​

Despite using 4GBx2 setup I had no success with DDR3-2800 to get PCMark 7 Stable.

Next is Fritz Chess Benchmark, this little utility is used to test hardware's number-crunching speed:

Next up is Cache & Memory Benchmark from AIDA64:

DDR3-1333MHz

DDR3-2133

DDR3-2400

DDR3-2600

DDR3-2800​

Conclusion:
Absolute max I could hit on the kit was a Super Pi 1M stable DDR3-2933 @ 12-13-13-30-240-CR2 with 1.725v

Personally, I was shocked to see how much I could extract out of the kit when I started overclocking. This kit right here makes me very happy to achieve the frequency as well as the results that I did. Speaking of results, while there is a debate going on about if we actually need faster ram, I think having a kit like this can only add to your overall experience, it doesn't matter if you work with images or you do rendering or you like gaming.

With the MPR of INR 29500/- this kit is for sure on the higher side and (maybe) out of reach for most of us, but what it offers is also very special. A varied range of speeds+timings depending on your current setup. Too bad I didn't have a X79 board (other than in my main rig), else could have given this kit a proper workout and show its flexibility on both top performing Intel setups.

Thank you for reading