Earlier this week, our CPU3D review team looked at the Asus P5K3 Deluxe motherboard. To test this motherboard we used a pair of HyperX DDR3 memory modules from Kingston. The performance was excellent to say the least, producing some of the fastest scores we've ever seen to date. Mind you, in order to get these scores, you have to use 1333FSB and select DRAM frequency of DDR3-1333.

In this review, we'll be taking a look at the exact same memory we used to test the Asus P5K3 Deluxe ... Kingston's HyperX DDR3-1375 PC3-11000 2Gb Kit. The HyperX DDR3 series are Kingston's high-end memory product range, and are aimed at the enthusiast market. It has a speed rating of PC3-11000 with CAS latency of 7-7-7-20. Yes, I th

        

The memory modules are double sided and comes with nice heatspreaders which help with dissipating excess heat. They use the same high quality Elpida memory chips as found on their Value Ram series. Only this time, these memory chips are clocked higher to support DDR3-1333 speeds ... that's 667Mhz.

In our previous test, we've shown that the performance difference between DDR2-1066 and DDR3-1066 was only marginal ... that's if you run at default 1066FSB speeds. But if you increase your FSB to 1333Mhz and match that with DDR3-1333 ram, then you'll see a significant increase in overall system performance. I guess DDR3 was really designed for 1333FSB processors. At present, there are no 1333FSB processors available on the market. So, the only way to achieve 1333FSB is to overclock current 1066FSB processors, by incresaing the FSB frequency from 266 to 333Mhz.

When I first heard about DDR3 memory, I was pretty confused how they class and labelled them. OK, I'll try and give you some DDR3 terminology ... More information can be found HERE

PC3-6400 : DDR3-800 : 200FSB : 400Mhz
PC3-8500 : DDR3-1066 : 266FSB : 533Mhz
PC3-10600 : DDR3-1333 : 333FSB : 667Mhz
PC3-11000 : DDR3-1375 : 343FSB : 688Mhz **
PC3-12800 : DDR3-1600 : 400FSB : 800Mhz

** Not official JEDEC spec

Notice that these HyperX DDR3-1375 modules do not follow offical JEDEC specifications. They are slightly faster than the offical DDR3-1333 specs. I guess, you could say they are designed especially for the enthusiasts in mind.

There have been lots of pros and cons when it comes to DDR3. The higher CAS latency and price are some of the bad points of DDR3, but then there's the higher clock speed and overclocking ability which are the good points. Some say that the performance of DDR3 ram does not justify the price you're paying for them. Others have described DDR3 as a way of getting consumers to pay more. Whatever the rumours, there's only one to find out ... and that is to test these modules ourselves.

OK, let's not waste any more time and see what if the Kingston HyperX DDR3-1375 2Gb kit can prove the critics wrong.