Kingston HyperX PC9600 DDR2-1200 Review

Kingston is one of the major PC memory makers and they’ve been catering to the enthusiast market for some time now with their HyperX lineup. Recently I received a pair of HyperX PC9600 (KHX9600D2K2/2G)sticks that Kingston claim are capable of running at 1.2Ghz.

It’s an overclocker’s dream to have such high-speed memory, especially given they’re meant to consume just 1.8 Volts. Let’s take a look at the detailed specs:

• Power supply : Vdd: 1.8V ± 0.1V, Vddq: 1.8V ± 0.1V
• Double-data-rate architecture; two data transfers per clock cycle
• Bidirectional data strobe(DQS)
• Differential clock inputs(CK and CK)
• DLL aligns DQ and DQS transition with CK transition
• Programmable Read latency 5 (clock)
• Burst Length: 4, 8 (Interleave/nibble sequential)
• Programmable Burst type (sequential & interleave)
• Timing Reference: 5-5-5-15 at 1.8V / 5-5-5-15 at 2.3 - 2.35V
• Edge aligned data output, center aligned data input Auto & Self refresh, 7.8us refresh interval (8K/64ms refresh)
• Serial presence detect with EEPROM
• High Performance Heat Spreader
• PCB : Height 1.180” (30.00mm), single sided component

Our setup consisted of two pieces of 1GB HyperX 9600, with SPD programmed according to JEDEC standard latency of 800Mhz with timing of 5-5-5-15.

We ran tests and overclocks with this memory without raising any voltage to see how much improvement you can get over standard RAM.

Our test Setup:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 6600
Motherboard: Abit AB9 Pro
Graphics Card: PNY 8800GTS 640MB
Hard Drive: Raptor 150GB 10K RPM
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12 SS-650HT / 650 Watts

Benchmark:

We tested the RAM with default clock speed at DDR2-800 (3-3-3-6) based on SPD against itself running at DDR2-1200 (5-5-5-15).

Conclusion:

Having RAM capable of reaching high speeds is one of the key factors when you want to reach the highest echelons of overclocking. Running the HyperX at 1200Mhz, we saw an increase in performance of roughly 18 percent.

While the 2GB kit retailed at $525 at its release back in December 2006, looking at retail pricing now I’m sure you could pick it up for much less. True, it’s still a premium price to pay for overclockers who want to push their system to the max, but if you do have the dough then this is the perfect RAM for you to hit the highest FSB.

Rating: