Corsair: Vengeance vs XMS

Medoway · 31 Mar 2011 at 13:18

Having decided on 2x4Gb of Corsair DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600Mhz I came across an interesting problem - what is the difference between Vengeance & XMS?
Vengeance is generally more expensive, but is this just due to overclock ability; or is there some specification I've missed...

Thanks in advance!
Medoway

chaparral · 1 Apr 2011 at 20:17

I bought 16gb of the Vengeance memory for my two PC's (8Gb in each system)
and now i very much wish i of bought the low profile XMS memory.
Due to now being very limited to what cpu coolers i can fit with the high profile of the Vengeance memory sticks..

tommytinkle · 1 Apr 2011 at 21:37

chaparral said:
I bought 16gb of the Vengeance memory for my two PC's (8Gb in each system)
and now i very much wish i of bought the low profile XMS memory.
Due to now being very limited to what cpu coolers i can fit with the high profile of the Vengeance memory sticks..

Hey mate,

Heed this guys advice, its far too space consuming and I wish I'd gone for xms!

Ripshod · 2 Apr 2011 at 09:55

tommytinkle said:
Hey mate,

Heed this guys advice, its far too space consuming and I wish I'd gone for xms!

+1. I originally bought the vengeance for a mates build and bought XMS3 for my setup. CPUs and mobos are the same, and I've noticed no performance difference, if there is a difference it's marginal. The only bonus with vengeance is bling, but the cooler clearance is an issue

GregI · 2 Apr 2011 at 15:50

Anyone know if the Vengeance has issues with a cooler such as the Megahalems on a P67A-UD4? I do want 8 GB and the xms3 is only in 2 GB pairs (4 total). Do I just buy two of these for 8 GB or will this cause me needing to reconfigure RAM timings to make them compatible?

Surveyor · 3 Apr 2011 at 01:57

GregI said:
Anyone know if the Vengeance has issues with a cooler such as the Megahalems on a P67A-UD4? I do want 8 GB and the xms3 is only in 2 GB pairs (4 total). Do I just buy two of these for 8 GB or will this cause me needing to reconfigure RAM timings to make them compatible?

XMS3 2x4GB here:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-290-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Br4d · 3 Apr 2011 at 02:11

GregI said:
Anyone know if the Vengeance has issues with a cooler such as the Megahalems on a P67A-UD4? I do want 8 GB and the xms3 is only in 2 GB pairs (4 total). Do I just buy two of these for 8 GB or will this cause me needing to reconfigure RAM timings to make them compatible?

Even a Artic Cooler pushing on the Vengeance ram in the 2 and 4th slot :O

They are a little bugger, but nice looking ram.

~Mike~ · 4 Apr 2011 at 08:32

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=18818765#post18818765

Mike306 said:
Dependig on which case you are getting the Thermalright Archon (link) is an option for the RAM you have chosen. It is designed for use with this type of ram and should leave all the ram slots clear.

It is a very tall cooler being 170.25mm tall so you will need a suitable case for it to fit. It has received some very good reviews as well.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-079-TR

Medoway · 4 Apr 2011 at 10:35

Update on this. After hunting around a bit I found the core difference: 1.5v (vengeance) vs 1.65v (xms3)
Although the xms3 is SandyBridge "compatible", it is not "recommended" due to the voltage. What this mean is that you should see OK usage with xms3 and improved performance with Vengeance. Obviously Vengenace comes with it's height issues, but that is the core reason why they are recommended for SB over xms3.
Note: On the price issue, you can find the two types at roughly comparable prices; Vengeance seems to be a bit more expensive due to demand (probably the SB recommendation rather than looks, but you never can tell!)

REDNINEAPB · 6 Apr 2011 at 07:05

I bought the XMS3 stuff and have it running at 1600mhz on 1.52v a lot of people seem to get it to 1.5v or below, as long as you are buying the latest xms3 double channel kit you should get the voltage down. Dont sweat it.

By the way I bought from OCuk and it was actually two sticks from a triple channel kit but works fine as double and with the low voltage too! ;-)

Steves1982 · 6 Apr 2011 at 08:41

I have my XMS3 running at 1600MHz on 1.5v.

I think Gibbo hinted that he thought the XMS3 used many of the same internal components as the Vengeance or Dominator RAM sticks.

Can't find the post now but saw it somewhere.

panyan · 6 Apr 2011 at 08:49

chaparral said:
I bought 16gb of the Vengeance memory for my two PC's (8Gb in each system)
and now i very much wish i of bought the low profile XMS memory.
Due to now being very limited to what cpu coolers i can fit with the high profile of the Vengeance memory sticks..

from what i have read, ram heatspreaders are all but useless and are only really for show becuase ram doesnt really get that hot that it needs its own little heatsinks

~Mike~ · 6 Apr 2011 at 08:54

maximusmi2 said:
I think Gibbo hinted that he thought the XMS3 used many of the same internal components as the Vengeance or Dominator RAM sticks.

Can't find the post now but saw it somewhere.

I would be very surprised if it was exactly the same.

Steves1982 · 6 Apr 2011 at 09:01

Mike306 said:
I would be very surprised if it was exactly the same.

It's not exactly the same but he mentioned some shared components which was why all the XMS3 would run happily at 1.5v or even 1.4v in some cases.

If I can find the post I will link to it.

Edit: Here it is : http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18227336

Gibbo:

"I've been testing the XMS3 today with sandybridge and Corsair need a good pat on the back.

Its prime stable and memtest stable at 1600MHz at 9-9-9-24-2N timings at just 1.40v, yes just 1.40v.

Now when you consider they rate this RAM at 1.65v, thats fantastic, but I've suspected Corsair have been using the vengeance IC's for a while for their generic XMS3 parts and this kinda proves it. For the money the XMS3 is unbeatable and an ideal companion to Sandybridge."

Secret_Window · 6 Apr 2011 at 10:24

I got my vengeance when it was on offer but couldn't use my thermalright ultra 120 cpu cooler because they were too tall. So, in the end I bought a Corsair H50 cooler which does the job, but it was quite a bit of hassle which I wasn't prepared for. Knowing all this now, if I were buying, I would get the XMS.

Yellowbeard · 8 Apr 2011 at 19:39

maximusmi2 said:
Gibbo:

"I've been testing the XMS3 today with sandybridge and Corsair need a good pat on the back.

Its prime stable and memtest stable at 1600MHz at 9-9-9-24-2N timings at just 1.40v, yes just 1.40v.

Now when you consider they rate this RAM at 1.65v, thats fantastic, but I've suspected Corsair have been using the vengeance IC's for a while for their generic XMS3 parts and this kinda proves it. For the money the XMS3 is unbeatable and an ideal companion to Sandybridge."

Very cool, literally and figuratively. :cool:

bhavv · 8 Apr 2011 at 23:29

I just found the 12 Gb Vengeance kit at £119!!!

I looked through the reviews and it seems to be able to get up to 1800 - 2000 Mhz at different timings.

I was weak and I ordered two lots to go with my new Antec Kuhler H2O, I have enough clearance with that cooler for the ram sticks, and my current 2 Gb sticks dont really overclock too well and just do 1600 Mhz @ Cas 6, or 1800 @ Cas 7.

Im not really too bothered if the vengeance ones dont manage much better,but I'm willing to take a gamble at the price they were at. Do I need that much ram? No, I'm just fed up with my current ones not really OCing too well.