Kingston HyperX Genesis 16GB DDR3-1600 Memory Kit Review

Manufacturer: Kingston Technology
Product Name: HyperX Genesis DDR3-1600 Memory Kit
Model Number: KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX
Price As Tested: $89.99 (Newegg and Amazon)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Kingston Technology.

With the introduction of Intel's X79 Express chipset, enthusiasts must now consider quad-channel memory kits, and vendors like Kingston are rushing to assert themselves in this new market. This 1600MHz, 16GB kit runs fairly relaxed timings of 9-9-9-27 and at under $100 represents the lower end of Kingston's "HyperX" line of enthusiast memory. Benchmark Reviews tests it against lower-latency 1600MHz kits as well as Kingston's own ultra-high performance 2133MHz kit in this review.

High performance memory is one facet of a high performance system; a balanced approach to system performance considers processor speed, the amount of memory (as well as the speed), the GPU (for gamers), and the storage device (hard disk or SSD). Enthusiasts commonly concentrate on one or two of these items to the exclusion of others, which leads to systems that produce great benchmarks scores in some instances but drag in others.

HyperX Genesis Specifications

• CAS Latency (IDD) 9 cycles
• Row Cycle Time (tRCmin) 49.5ns (min.)
• Refresh to Active/Refresh Command Time 160ns (min.)
• Row Active Time (tRASmin) 36ns (min.)
• Power (Operating) 1.410 W* (per module)
• UL Rating 94 V - 0
• Operating Temperature 0 C to 85 C
• Storage Temperature -55 C to +100 C

HyperX DDR3-1600 Features

• JEDEC standard 1.5V (1.425V ~ 1.575V) Power Supply
• VDDQ = 1.5V (1.425V ~ 1.575V)
• 667MHz fCK for 1333Mb/sec/pin
• 8 independent internal banks
• Programmable CAS Latency: 9, 8, 7, 6
• Posted CAS
• Programmable Additive Latency: 0, CL - 2, or CL - 1 clock
• Programmable CAS Write Latency(CWL) = 7 (DDR3-1333)
• 8-bit pre-fetch
• Burst Length: 8 (Interleave without any limit, sequential with starting address "000" only), 4 with tCCD = 4
• Bi-directional Differential Data Strobe
• Internal(self) calibration : Internal self calibration through ZQ pin (RZQ : 240 ohm ± 1%)
• On Die Termination using ODT pin
• Average Refresh Period 7.8us at lower than TCASE 85°C, 3.9us at 85°C < TCASE < 95°C
• Asynchronous Reset
• PCB : Height 1.18" (30mm) w/ heat spreader, double sided component

Increasing CPU speed and on-chip cache memory has reduced the performance impact of high-speed system memory relative to older systems. Kingston's DDR3-1600 memory kit, at less than $100, represents a compromise between lower-end DDR3-1333 memory and more expensive DDR3-1866 and higher speed memory.

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