Corsair Dominator GT CMT8GX3M2B2133C9

  

 Over the years Corsair’s superior performance, extreme overclocking ability and tech support to back their product up, they’ve become one of the most well-known gaming and performance memory providers in the world. Recently I’ve picked up two pairs of the Corsair Dominator GT CMT8GX3M2B2133C9. They are rated at 2133MHz @ 9-11-9-27 with only 1.5v great for high performance builds.

As always, all the Dominator GT are suing the Dual-Path Heat eXchange Technology also known as the DHX. By extending the circuit board allows more surface area to have direct conduct with the heatsink, this in turn maximizes the heat transfer leading to better overclocking results.

Most all new Dominator memory kits come with an on board Corsair Link socket. Corsair Link is an integrated software system gives end users complete control of their fan speed, lighting and other features on select Corsair products.

Extra cooling fan – The Corsair AIRFLOW fan assembly comes with almost if not all Dual Channel and Triple Channel Kits. The Airflow fan unit contains two 60mm rated up to 3500RPM

Right out of the box, with exactly 1.5v I was able to run the memory at 2133MHz @ 9-11-9-27 with absolutely no problems.

The capability to run 2133MHz out of the box was fantastic, but how much headroom is there left for us overclockers? Since Corsair changes their IC with in the model, the only way to identify them is from the module versions.

We have here is ver.4.13, which is confirmed to be the Samsung K4B2G0846D-HCH9. Although ICs are somewhat important, it’s more based upon the each individual sticks, IC models just helps give overclockers some idea where to start.

After running it with stock settings I decided to take this test few notches higher.
Please note, it is NOT recommended to run above 1.75v on the memory for 24/7. It can permanently damage your CPU and/or memory. Do it at your own risk.

Although IC model is not a guarantee of the capability of its max clock, it does give us a fairly good idea of where to start in terms of voltages and average sub timings. In our case the Samsung HCH9 ICs are known for responding fairly well to voltages when pushing for high clocks.
For this particular set to reach 2400MHz with stability, I had to loosen the timings to 9-12-11-20 with 1.7 VDIMM. To get to 2600MHz it required me to up the voltage to 1.80v but I was very surprised that the timings remained the same.

With only 1.8v on the memory, was able to pass SuperPi 32m at 1300MHz @ 9-11-12-22-1T timing.

Pros
> 2133MHz 1.5v out of box
> Great low-timing to high-clock ratio
> Extra cooling options included in the package
> Excellent overclock on 1155/1156/1366


Cons
> Price


Final thoughts
Overall, the memory is very nicely built. The classic Dominator red and black heatsink keeps it cool during heavy overclocking sessions. Great performance right out of box without overclocking and it's fast enough for most if not all 24/7 tasks plus more.
Capable to be overclocked to 2400MHz with 1.75v and 2600MHz with only 1.8/1.85v with still relatively tight timings.
Very high Price-to-Clock ratio, most of the 2133MHz DDR3 memory are priced between $49.99 – $89.99 and Corsair Dominator GT CMT8GX3M2B2133C9 has a price tag of $109.99. But note, with that price it also includes an airflow fan, which can also be purchased separately between $25.99 and $29.99.