Team Xtreem LV DDR3 2800 MHz CL12 (2 X 4GB) - Performance Test



Introduction

Team Group Inc. has once again led the industry and released the dual-channel Xtreem LV DDR3 2800 MHz CL12. As it adopts strictly selected chips from original factories and has to pass through stringent tests and verification procedures, it is able to enhance even further its support capabilities after teaming up with the latest Intel XMP V1.3 version. In addition, it is also collocated with eight-layer PCB in order to increase its stability performance by up to 8 GB (4 GB X 2) large capacity. Its built-in ultra-high clock design is able to allow the computer operation to reach an unimpeded speed.

Can this Team Xtreem LV 2800 MHz CL12 memory kit compete in enthusiast class with enthusiast rivals such as G.Skill and Apacer? We are going to find out later in this review.


Product Link: http://www.teamgroup.com.tw/filterable_pro...600/zfKsFi.html

Suggested Retail Price: £ 179.99


Specifications



Full specifications can be found HERE


Unboxing


The memory modules were shipped in a red/ orange/ gold box with a blister pack that is very easy to open.


The information on the back shows its features and how Team Group’s company contact information.


The first thing you will notice about the Xtreem 2800C12 is the unique high-rise heatsink which should allow for effective heat dissipation. The heatspreaders are thick and tough enough to do their job. On one side of the heatspreader is Team Group and “EXTREEM” logos.


The other side of the heatspreader has a label sticker describing the stock speed, timing, voltage, model number, and serial number.


A memory module with the heatsink assembly installed on them stand at 52.3 mm height.


The Xtreem 2800C12 comes with single-sided and eight-layer PCB which is specially designed for reducing interference and noise produced by high-speed overclocking and effectively improves the signal quality and overclocking stability.


Dismantling the heatspreader reveals the Hynix-MFR ICs soldered on the PCB. The Hynix-MFR chip is the best IC for overclocking and currently holding the world record for the highest memory frequency.

Test Setup






Testing Methodology

All the memory kits were tested by simply enabling the Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) in the BIOS after clearing the CMOS. Maximus Tweak selected was Mode 2 to help overclocking and performance. The primary RAM timings used are as the following:
 
The Intel Core i7 4770K was overclocked to 4.6GHz except for the Apacer ARES 3000C12 kit which was running with the 4770K @ 4.605GHz.


The game benchmark settings are described in the table above.

Stability Tests

[LinX 0.6.4 w/ AVX - The main point of Linpack is to solve systems of linear equations of the given size (Problem Size). It is designed as a benchmark to test the performance of a system in GFlops - billions of floating point operation per second. But being highly optimized it is also the most stressful CPU testing program to date and is a great tool in determining stability/instability of a CPU, outperforming other CPU testing software at least time-wise. One and the same system of equations is solved repeatedly; if all results match each other - the CPU is stable, otherwise the instability is obvious, since the same equations system cannot produce different solutions.


We managed to stress the Xtreem 2800C12 @ 2800 MHz 12-14-14-35-2T @ 1.65V without any error in 30 minutes.

Synthetic Benchmarks

2133C8: G.Skill RipjawsX 2133 MHz C8 2 X 2GB @ XMP
2666C10: G.Skill TridentX 2666 MHz C10 2 X 4GB @ XMP
2800C11: G.Skill TridentX 2800MHz C11 2 X 4GB @ XMP
3000C12: Apacer ARES 3000 MHz C12 2 X 4GB @ XMP
2800C12: Team Xtreem LV 2800 MHz C12 2 X 4GB @ XMP
2800C12 (Tight): Team Xtreem LV 2800 MHz C12 2 X 4GB @ tighter timings but still 1.65v

This post has been edited by owikh84: Jan 3 2014, 09:33 PM

Game Benchmarks

2133C8: G.Skill RipjawsX 2133 MHz C8 2 X 2GB @ XMP
2666C10: G.Skill TridentX 2666 MHz C10 2 X 4GB @ XMP
2800C11: G.Skill TridentX 2800MHz C11 2 X 4GB @ XMP
3000C12: Apacer ARES 3000 MHz C12 2 X 4GB @ XMP
2800C12: Team Xtreem LV 2800 MHz C12 2 X 4GB @ XMP
2800C12 (Tight): Team Xtreem LV 2800 MHz C12 2 X 4GB @ tighter timings but still 1.65v










Memory Overclocking


With a supplied voltage of 1.85v, we managed to overclock the Xtreem 2800C12 to 3250 MHz 12-15-15-25-1T, which is a 16% increment over the stock clock. Impressive!


The highest achievement was 3300 MHz 12-15-15-25-1T at 1.9V before we stopped to avoid any damage on the memory modules and the CPU.

This post has been edited by owikh84: Jan 6 2014, 10:46 AM

Thoughts & Verdicts

Team Group is not a new brand in Malaysia. Their memory kits are not different from other enthusiast memory brands like Corsair and G.Skill as long as the ICs built on the modules are well picked.

The Team Xtreem LV 2800 MHz CL12 memory kit contains a pair of ultra-fast modules with plenty of overclocking headroom. This memory performed stably at the rated speed and timing. The performance of MFR-based memory is known to be very low. From our benchmark results, it is showed that the Xtreem 2800C12 is slower than a 2666C10 kit. I was a quite disappointed with the lack of performance at this high clock speed because of how loose the timings had to go, but once I tightened them back up and got the memory performed slightly better than what is offered by XMP profile.

The heatspreader looks stylish and the solid metal heatsink has a clear potential for rapidly conducting heat away from the memory chips. This high-performance heatsink design allows enthusiast overclockers to push the voltage to a higher level. Unfortunately you might have a clearance issue between the tall heatsink and some large aftermarket CPU coolers.

Overclocking performance is where the Xtreem LV modules will really shine. Being able to reach 3300 MHz with an acceptable loosening of the timings is very impressive.

With memory intensive applications and games these days, 8 GB seems to be a minimum for now. For instance, the recently released games, Call of Duty: Ghosts and Watch Dogs require a minimum 6 GB of RAM.

If you are in the market for a heavily overclockable set of memory, the Xtreem 2800C12 kit is worthy of consideration.

We would like to thank Team Group for sending this memory kit for review and Happy New Year!

Performance: 4/5
Materials: 5/5
Specifications: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Performance/Price Value: 4/5

Pros:
+ Stable at the rated speed/ timing (XMP)
+ Plenty of overclock headroom
+ 8GB capacity for today's memory hungry applications/ games
+ Stylish heatspreader and black PCB
+ Life-time warranty

Cons:
- Price could be lower
- Not “plug and play” on all motherboards
- Lower performance than some lower speed memory kits
- Tall heatsink might be too big for some aftermarket CPU coolers