Corsair CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 XMS3 4 GB 1333MHz PC3-10666 240-pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Core i3 i5 i7 - 1.5V

Fast, stable, reliable, durable, you can't beat what you get in this ram. I have pushed this with hungry software and it stands up like a champ and screams "give me more!". Easy to install like any other memory card, just slide and clip them in. You just can't beat Corsair. Well worth the value!

Corsair XMS3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1333 MHz (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory 1.5V I ordered these to upgrade a Dell xps8300 desktop computer from 8G to 16G. The factory-installed memory was in the form of four 2GB modules (one in each of the available memory slots). This product consists of two 8GB modules, so there is still room to expand to 32GB total, although the system only recognizes 16G without some tweaking. Based on the instructions that came with the memory kit and the Dell users manual, the modules need to go into the slots marked 1 and 2 (not contiguous but easily identified by number '1' and '2' and also the fact that these two slots have white latches versus black for the other two). The last of the attached pictures shows the layout. Removing the old units was easy once they were exposed. The main detail is to move the spaghetti of power cables out of the way to get a clear handle on them. Just press down on the two latches per slot and the modules slipped out without requiring any force. Likewise the new modules slipped in easily and lifting up on the latches while holding the card down worked smoothly. After turning on the power, everything booted up as usual without issue. Checking the installed memory via System information, it showed 16GB installed memory. I also ran Dell diagnostics to check everything and everything passed. I've only had them installed for a couple of weeks so I can't rate the durability (other reviewers have noted failure after months of use) but for value and apparent quality, I gave it 5 stars. Did it make a difference? Well it didn't hurt :) The performance rating from the System dialog (for what it may be worth) didn't change much between before and after the upgrade. But I think I can say it did speed up loading Shadow of the Tomb Raider game on Steam slightly, though not much difference in actual game play. The biggest factor there is probably the graphics card, and that's another jump up in $$$. System: Dell xps8300 (Aug 2011) Intel Core i7-2600 @3.4 GHz 64 bit Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 Graphics card nVidia GEForce GT 530

I've preferred Kingston for years when it comes to memory, but lately I've been going with Corsair. Same, if not better specs, than similarly priced Kingston products, and the same warranty. Lifetime warranties are a must whenever you can get them in the electronics world, ESPECIALLY with memory. Will memory fail you? At some point, yes. I have about 1 stick of RAM die every 3 years, with constant use. The XMS lineup has performed extremely well with simple setups as well as heavily overclocked setups of mine, which run liquid cooling. For the price, you can't go wrong--seriously. This particular stick, 1x4GB, is in an HTPC system running XP3. I've used their other sticks as well, 2x4, 4x8, etc. AWesome stuff. PROS: * Price - excellent price point, the same or better than Kingston * Performance - For the price, it's outstanding * Longevity - This stuff is as strong as a horse * Warranty - It's lifetime, hands-down that's awesome TECH TIP: You can almost always buy memory which is rated for a higher speed than what your motherboard or CPU uses. For instance, if your motherboard/CPU says it uses 1333mhz DDR3, you can use 1600mhz in almost every single situation. It'll simply clock down to the lower speeds. There's a slight advantage to doing this also, it allows you to run more aggressive timing when doing extreme overclocking. Remember, your mileage may vary, and "almost always" doesn't mean "always".

Well there's not much I can say. umm it works and it's memory that works. If you are thinking of going with triple channel memory with the i7 series then this is what you want. Also the price is unbeatable. I've overclocked my CPU and these memory modules still run with insane speeds. I'm using a Asus Sabertooth X58. No problems found here. However if you aren't seeing all 6GBs of memory in the BIOS I suggest reseating the RAM sticks. I had to reset my RAM about 3 times and I'm never removing them again lol. I've been using this RAM for about a month in a half with no problems thus far. This RAM is very good for overlocking as well and very flexible for different BIOS settings. Also I'm loving the heat shields Corsair provided, that's just a big plus. The ram is so good and so reasonably priced I'm thinking about buying another set just so I can say I have 12GBs of RAM. Well honestly I use alot of RAM eating programs. Like music programs and video editing etc. If you are a casual user or a gamer you will only need one set of these RAM triple channel kits.

UPDATE, June 30, 2010 I keep amending this review, and the heck with those that give me consequence from doing it, I am going to tell my loyal Amazon readers the truth, and the rest I could care less about honestly. It's not that I hate this RAM, but it seems to be failing at every opportunity that I give it, and I have given it three (3) opportunities to perform for me in my OEM PC build, and dang, dang if it hasn't failed yet again. That is correct dear readers, don't despair, Wavey Davey is here to tell you the facts, and here we go again. Last month, once again I started getting random crashes and BSOD's (BlueScreenofDeaths) in PC No.2, where this RAM inhabits the DIMM receptacles, and I couldn't explain it so I just watched things closely for a couple days, which led into a couple weeks of adjusting, figuring out what was going on, and you know it wasn't anything to do with my CPU, my TIM placement and its sustainability, it had nothing to do with my CPU, nothing to do with my build or how things were going with my fans, nothing at all...it was this God Danged RAM AGAIN! When I backed things down to about 4Ghz instead of running @ 4210Mhz (4.2Ghz), turned the RAM off and out of the equation pretty much by adjusting the SODIMM Ratio to 2:6 instead of the normal 2:8 Ratio for 1600Mhz RAM like this stuff is supposed to be, well the long and short of it? I was still getting random crashes, BSOD's, and Dang It there could only be one cause, and that is failed RAM once again! Today I got another RMA handled from Corsair company, that is true, I recited all of the litany of things that I had done to try and "fix" my PC to work correctly, and when none of that worked I tried RAM tests, I used Memtest and Windows RAM tests both, and dang if this RAM didn't fail both tests miserably once again! Dang Dang Dang I was pissed about it, too! You have no idea how frustrating it can be to build a perfect little OEM PC, have it performing 100% at its peak of performance @ 4.2Ghz at a very respectable overclocking and at good temps too, just barely cresting 70-degrees Celsius during the hot day, and doing you right down to the 60's at night, well then...you know what I am writing? It is discouraging to do all of that and once again be faced with an RMA with the RAM that you had put your faith into, this being the 3rd Time that this RAM has failed! That is just 3 times too many for my taste, and I don't like it, and I am not going to just sit here and meekly send in my RAM to Corsair once again and not say anything about it! Listen I bought 12GB of G. Skill RAM at about the same time I bought this Corsair RAM last year, back last summer in June/July because they were both on sale, the G. Skill RAM being on sale at another retailer that you all know and love, and this Corsair being on sale here at Amazon.com. And guess which RAM has survived through thick and thin, through build after build, and heat, and hot, and hard times and good times, yessir, the G. Skill RAM has continued to work 100% all of the time, has never given me a single itty bitty bit of a problem. Meanwhile the Corsair RAM has failed 3 times, and guess what has gone into the PC with the failed Corsair RAM while the Corsair RAM gets RMA'd? Right, the G. Skill RAM, that is what goes into the poor little failed PC without any RAM while the Corsair RAM gets RMA'd again, while Corsair gives me yet another batch of this dang DDR3 "XMS3" RAM of theirs, and I once again try to get the PC to function 100% with it installed. The G. Skill RAM to me has no equal, it's the good stuff, while this Corsair RAM has been nothing but problems for me over and over again...go figure! That is what I am writing about tonight dear readers, and my update is simply this: FAILED AGAIN, the Corsair RAM is going back for yet another RMA to Corsair company, and they will replace it again for me, this being the 3rd time it has happened, and I will try once again with the new batch to keep my PC lit and functioning 100%, and Goodness Gracious people, let's hope that this time it works longer than 3 months, 6 months, let's just hope that it works 100% and I don't have to update this review yet again with another failure story! That is my update tonight, and for Corsair's sake, and for my PC's sake, let's hope that the 3rd time is the charm! Let's hope that the Corsair RAM functions like I paid for it to function, and that I don't have to repeat myself again about another failure down the road, that it just works this time, thank you for reading--my faith is like yours: I only have it because Corsair made this RAM with a Lifetime Warranty, and I hate to continue to have to use the Warranty, you know that? Wavey Davey - 6-30-2010 UPDATE, Dec 27, 2009 One or more of the DIMMs has failed, and they are going to Corsair on an RMA Ticket that was "instantly approved" yesterday, and I mean within 15 minutes of my submitting the trouble ticket, I got back an email with an RMA#...it was very, very fast! I am sorry to have to report this sad fact, but I suspected trouble 2 weeks ago when I started getting incomplete WU's in Folding@home, many in a row...so I tried a LinX 0.6.3 stability test, and couldn't get past 2 cycles, Red ERROR message three times in a row. Hmmm, I thought...try MemTest and see what happens. So that was next, and instantly the SDRAM started throwing error after error, the RAM would not complete a cycle at all...it failed MemTest, test after test. Bummer! Sadly this is the 2nd set of Corsair RAM I have had to RMA, both sets purchased here at Amazon.com. The replacement set on the Dominator RAM (12GB) was stellar, no issues with that...so here's hoping that when Corsair replaces this set that it will also be exceptional RAM, not something that fails in such a short time. After all, I was running this RAM for less than 3 months when it failed, albeit at a stout overclocking of 4210Mhz @ 1.65V VDIMM, 1.3V QPI PLL VCore, 1.3V IOH PLL VCore, nothing really stressful on the RAM, and BAM! Failure of at least one of the DIMMs, so back it all goes. I will report again here after the RMA is completed, and I check out what I get back.-Wavey Davey - 12-27-2009 UPDATE - 1/10/2010 Corsair RMA Dept sent me some super-nice XMS3 SDRAM in exchange for the 3 x 2GB set that I RMA'd to them on 12/26/2009. All 3 DIMMs have the identical coding on them: "09520481" which matches the coding on the box's part number sticker, so these have been individually matched as a set by Corsair, a very, very good thing! In addition the box has a special splash at the top where it is written, with a big check mark: "Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition"...which the previous set did not have on the box, another good thing from Corsair. I have had them installed since Tuesday Jan 5, and they are working great with my overclocked (4210Mhz 24/7) 2nd rig, which is principally a Folding@Home machine, though I'll use it for work if my No.1 rig is tied up with something important and can't be interrupted. I have the RAM set in BIOS at the identical settings as before--just like the 1st set, and the PC has been running smooth ever since I installed them, no crashes, no problems, just a fine running PC. I don't know how much better than the 1st set these are, but it's apparent that they are more stable and running strong. I'll report back here if anything changes in the long run, but so far so good. Corsair RMA Dept gets a big Thumb's Up for sending me this RAM, all matched and ready to rock straight out of the box! I have been running this Corsair DDR3 SDRAM for almost a 6 weeks in a new PC build I put together in October 2009, and so far so good. The timing is pretty relaxed @ 9-9-9-24 Clocks from the factory people at Corsair. I have it set, for my complete specs, @ 9-9-9-24-74 1T Clocks, @ 1.65V VDIMM in BIOS, with my QPI PLL VCore set @ 1.300V since I am over-volting the RAM somewhat. In addition I am running a 58% overclock on the CPU, up to 4210Mhz from 2.66Ghz OEM Box Stock, which is a sort of "normal overclock" for a good running Core i7 920 CPU like I have in the build... specifically it's a Batch# 3849B202 CPU, made in late April at the Costa Rica Intel CPU factory there! There, now you have all my secrets, hah-hah! Well, just kidding about the secrets, it's just that I have never disclosed this build's inner workings to anyone yet, so it's an Amazon.com 1st Run Production I guess, to be showcasing my Core i7 920 CPU build with this great Corsair SDRAM on board! More of the build, it's got an EVGA BL-132-x758-A1 motherboard, from here also, and it's running an ancient BIOS, I think it's all the way back to May, 2009, yes, it is! Anyway, it's stable for me, so go figure, and I'm not changing it for anyone at this point. The SDRAM is running great though @ that lofty 4210Mhz overclocking, and I am going no further there, so don't ask me about the BIOS settings, because I'm not telling anybody what *those are*! I haven't asked too much of the SDRAM yet, even though it's rated @ 1600Mhz you never know about those things until you push it, and the SDRAM is being pushed to the tune of 1608Mhz presently, a little tiny overclocking, running @ 2:8 to 1 Command Ratio, but so far SO GOOD! Sometimes RAM isn't even as good as its rating, but this stuff peaks well @ 1608Mhz, and has given me zero trouble so far. I haven't had to run any tests on the SDRAM yet, other than the normal stability tests of running LinX 0.6.3 for 10X iterations for starters, then a longer iteration of 20X so I could put the build into the EVGA Stability i7 Club, which is a good thing to do if you have an EVGA motherboard and are a good enough builder to run the rig @ 4Ghz or higher overclocking, as I have demonstrated that the rig is indeed stable there @ 4210Mhz...so into the Club it went, this humble Amazon.com parts pieces build. In fact, the only thing I didn't get for this build from Amazon.com is the video card, and that's a BFG GTX 285 OC 1GB Video Card, which I scored elsewhere...you really don't want to know that source, and Amazon.com would probably censor it anyway. That's the story on the nice Corsair SDRAM that I sourced here at Amazon.com, it's an excellent buy at less than $150 for a 3 x 2GB=6GB matched set...and it works great, honestly it does! I am not putting the build on the David Letterman Show, Tonight, am I? Nope, didn't think so...thus it has some bargain basement SDRAM from here that works a treat, yes it does! Wavey Davey - Dec.1, 2009

From the start I would like to point out that despite this products description (as being for core i5 cpu's), that it is completely compatible with other cpu's and motherboards that require DDR3 ram. I purchased this ram having allready owned an identical kit. I wanted to expand my pc's ram from 4gb to 8gb. I have built many pc's and have used corsair ram many times before. I had no doubt or hesitation in using it again. And having installed it a month or so ago, it has run flawlessly since. although my cpu (an AMD Phenom II X2, unlocked and overclocked - 4x cores running @ 3.7ghz) can only run 4x sticks (supposedly) of ram at a time at a reduced speed of 1333mhz (a limitation of my cpu, not the ram), I have been able to run 4x 2gb sticks at 1600mhz. This is not gauranteed to happen on all AMD cpu's, but if you run an Intel cpu you should have no problems. I want to make clear, so there is no confusion, that this kit comes with 2x2gb sticks of ram (a total of 4gb) and I have two of these kits (4x2gb). You will need a 64bit operating system to make the most of 4gb or more ram, allthough a 32bit OS will still run most of this ram (it will have access to about 3.1gb - 3.2gb out of the 4gb available). Again, these are limitations of the operating system, not the ram. The ram is fine, high quality, and exactly what it's advertised to be. I seriously doubt anyone who complains about it knows what they are talking about (or doing). The fact that even corsair is now selling ram so cheap is awesome. Why bother NOT running 8gb?

Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory 1.65V I had a set of old OCZ rams (3x2GB) installed on my Asus P6T motherboard. A few years back one of them went faulty and doesn't work. So, I figured that I can live with 4GB of ram. Recently, in the past year both OCZ rams started to go faulty. The memory sometimes would read only 2GB and even occasionally the PC would shut down because no memory could be read! It started to get on my nerves so I decided to buy new rams. After some research I decided to go with Corsair. They work out of the box and are great. I haven't been so much happy seeing 6GB again! I may get another set next time! EDIT I wanted to write this. Its been well over a year now, and the rams work great without any of the previous problems mentioned above. I wanted to buy another set, but the prices of rams seems to be up for almost a year, compared to when I bought it. EDIT SEP-2018 So I was able to buy a second set of these rams to as to get the maximum GB capacity the motherboard can handle which is 12GB The first time I have inserted the rams only 8GB out of the total 12GB was showing up I removed all of them and installed all once again and all 12GB is now showing up. There is a very minor but a bit noticeable improvement in performance. Good purchase.

I installed four (two pairs) of these DDR3 memory modules in one of my home-built computers (for a total of 8 GB). They have operated flawlessly for two years. For the 8 GB kit, see: Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x...