Difference between XMS2 Dominator DDR2 800 and XMS2 DDR2 800 Ram?

[Mistaman]

I was thinking of upgrading my ram currently. I as of now I have 2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034

I was thinking of upgrading to Corsair Dominator XMS2 DDR2 800 RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145168

BUT, I was looking at the specs and they are pretty much the same. I was wondering if there was any advantages of the dominator I'm not seeing? besides the name, heat sink and price. Thanks for any info that you can give me.

 

[gwolfman]

I don't keep up on the specific types of chips that are used in each type of module every company comes out with, but you should find out. Hopefully someone here can point that out for you. Basically if the chips are different, which I'm pretty sure they are, then one will overclock differently than the other; one better one worse. If you don't plan on overclocking at all, buy the cheaper one and save the money and spend that one better cpu/gfx card.

 

[GeoMan]

Far as i can track down on the Corsair website the only difference is the heat sink, so i reckon you'd see exactly zero benefit in buying it, what you got is plenty kick a** ram

 

[zdenton]

dominators use handpicked micron d9gmh ics. these are the same chips used in all high quality ram modules. in other words, they will OC much better than the xms2 chips, i think.

 

[Mistaman]

Ok, thanks for the info. I do plan to overclock sooner or later, but it's not worth spending 50 extra dollars for a minimal amount of performance. I was also looking to use liquid cooling soon, and the Dominator ram doesn't work with the system I plan on buying. if there is any other insight please let me know also, thanks again

 

[sailer]

Like zdenton wrote, the Dominator ram uses Micron D9 ics and will overclock better. But that's a maybe. I've had both XMS and Dominator ram and they ended up overclocking the same. It could simply have been that the XMS I bought was very good or I was very lucky. Can't give a for sure answer on that. If you have plenty of money and go for the very most in overclocking, then the Dominator is probably worth it over the XMS. Otherwise, get the XMS and be happy.

Not sure why the Dominator wouldn't work with your liquid cooling, unless it sticks up so high it interferes with something on the particular liquid cooler that you're looking at. Two other companies to look at for ram would be OCZ and Mushkin. OCZ even has a specific ram modual that provides for watercooling the ram. I've been thinking on that for my next build.

 

[Mistaman]

The system i was looking to get was a Koolance Exos-2 LT. The RAM coolers they provide have a note saying the dominator aren't compatible because the heat sinks are soldered(sp) on. I guess it wouldn't matter to much because i don't plan to overclock it so bad the ram will melt. maybe if the price drops by the end of the year I might pick them up, but as it seems right now it isn't worth it. Thanks all

 

[geofelt]

Are you adding 2gb, or are you replacing 2gb? If you are adding 2gb, then it is better to get the EXACT same memory. Differences in components can get a mobo very confused.

 

[Mistaman]

Just replacing, I was looking to see if my motherboard could handle a higher speed ram and saw it capped at DDR2 800, so I figured id get as much input as possible about upgrades

 

[zdenton]

best ddr-2 800 ram. as an added bonus, it has built in water blocks, and only cost 160$:

OCZ FlexXLC PC2-6400 CAS 3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227190

 

[sailer]

That's the OCZ I was refering to, the Flex ram with the water tubes. Looks great from everything I've read and is usable even if you don't watercool the system. Its fast, decent price, and overclockable. Not much more to be asked of it.