Avexir Core Extreme 3000MHz 8GB Memory Kit Review

1. Introduction2. Avexir Core Extreme 3000MHz Memory3. Configuring the BIOS4. System Configuration5. SiSoft Sandra6. MaxxMem27. Cinebench R11.5 64 bit8. Super Pi9. Overclocking10. Closing Thoughts11. View All Pages

With Intel's fourth generation Core series processors and the Z87 platform still fresh on the market, memory manufacturers are taking the opportunity to release some high-speed kits built for the new hardware.

Featuring a frequency of 3000MHz and timings of 12-14-14-35-2T, Avexir has some of the fastest memory available to purchase in its Core Extreme Series. Featuring high performance, but unobtrusive heatspreaders, Avexir is targeting extreme users and dedicated benchmarkers with its 3,000MHz Core Extreme Series memory kit.

Can eight gigabytes of RAM at a 3GHz data rate prove a triumph in our set of tests? Of equal importance, will Avexir be the first memory manufacturer that allows us to surpass the 3GHz DRAM frequency barrier?

Specifications:

• PC3-24000 (3000MHz).
• Timings: 12-14-14-35-2T.
• Voltage: 1.65V.
• Dual Channel Kit: (2x4GB).
• 100% tested at 3000MHz in Intel Z87 Haswell based motherboards.
• 3000MHz+ possible ONLY on Z87 platform.
• Lifetime Warranty.

Avexir ships the memory in a simple clamshell package. The kit does not feature any kind of cooling fan as we have seen offered by competing sets from the likes of G.Skill.

The Avexir Core Extreme Series 3000MHz memory modules are covered by a low-profile black heatsink. Avexir has chosen to use a black PCB – a decision which we are very happy to see.

Giving a capacity of four gigabytes per DIMM, eight memory chips are situated on one side of the PCB, with a spacer occupying the other.

Note: Ignore the scratches on each memory stick. They are present as we got a review sample from the channel. Brand new modules will not feature any aesthetic imperfections.

An LED sits beneath the heatsink's upper edge and spans the DIMM's entire length. The available LED colours will be orange, red, yellow, green, and blue.

There is no denying that the Avexir Core Extreme Series memory modules look very attractive when installed in a largely-black motherboard.

With the modules' maximum height of 37mm (around 7mm taller than a ‘standard' DIMM), CPU cooler interference is unlikely to be an issue.

With eight cut-outs placed in a symmetrical orientation, as well as a gap for Avexir's logo, the pulsing orange (for this kit) light is able to shine through each heatsink with varying intensity. The display is very eye-catching, especially when partnered with the correct motherboard (think Gigabyte Z87X-OC).

On the other hand, for those who aren't fans of flashy lights, the LEDs will do little more than serve as an annoyance. There doesn't seem to be an option for a kit without LEDs, but we think Avexir would be wise to manufacture one in the future.

We are using the Asus Maximus VI Extreme Z87 motherboard to test today's memory kit. It supports RAM from many manufacturers and gives us a large amount of flexibility to tinker with memory multiplier, base clock and timings settings. It also features Asus' second generation T-Topology which may assist in reaching higher DRAM frequencies.

Our full review of the Asus Maximus VI Extreme motherboard can be read here.

With the Asus Maximus VI Extreme motherboard, the memory modules were a little reluctant to POST, at first. We installed one module at a time without problems, before inserting both memory sticks and achieving a POST without issues. From there onwards, configuration was as simple as clicking the XMP setting.

The fully-functioning XMP profile configured the memory kit for use at its 3,000MHz frequency and correct timings. The profile made use of a 102.3MHz base clock and the 100:133 BCLK:DRAM frequency ratio, as well as a memory divider of 22x.

Given that Haswell supports a maximum memory frequency of 2933MHz on the 100MHz base clock strap, Avexir had little choice but to overclock the BCLK to reach a 3000MHz DRAM speed. The company could have opted to use the 1.25x CPU strap, 100:133 BCLK:DRAM frequency ratio, and 18x memory multiplier, but this has the potential to cause a greater number of problems than a simple 2.3MHz increase in the base clock.

Windows and CPU-Z registered the memory's functioning settings as correct.

Our system's CPU-Z validation running at a 3000MHz DRAM frequency can be found here.

We are using an Intel Core i7 4770K processor with an Asus Maximus VI Extreme motherboard.

The Avexir Core Extreme 3000MHz memory kit's stock speed is: 3000MHz 12-14-14-35-2T @ 1.65V

Note: CPU and CPU Cache frequencies for the comparison configurations are different. This is due to the Patriot memory's use of a 100MHz BCLK, whereas the Avexir Core Extreme Series kit uses a base clock of 102.3MHz.

Z87 Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K.
• Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Extreme.
• Graphics Card: nVidia GTX 760 2GB.
• System Drive: 500GB Samsung 840 Series SSD.
• CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i.
• Case: NZXT Phantom 630.
• Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 1000W.
• Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

Comparison memory:

• 8GB Patriot Viper Xtreme Division 2 2133MHz (11-11-11-30).

Software:

• MaxxMem 2.
• SiSoft Sandra 2013.
• Super Pi.
• Cinebench R11.5 64 bit.

SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software.

Sandra is a (girl’s) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.

It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCI-X, PCIe (PCI Express), database, USB, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.

Native ports for all major operating systems are available:

• Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x86)
• Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x64)
• Windows 2003/R2, 2008/R2* (IA64)
• Windows Mobile 5.x (ARM CE 5.01)
• Windows Mobile 6.x (ARM CE 5.02)

All major technologies are supported and taken advantage of:

• SMP – Multi-Processor
• MC – Multi-Core
• SMT/HT – Hyper-Threading
• MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE 4.1, SSE 4.2, AVX, FMA – Multi-Media instructions
• GPGPU, DirectX, OpenGL – Graphics
• NUMA – Non-Uniform Memory Access
• AMD64/EM64T/x64 – 64-bit extensions to x86
• IA64 – Intel* Itanium 64-bit

As we observed with G.Skill's 2933MHz TridentX kit, the loose secondary timings used on sets of high-speed memory have a clear impact on bandwidth. Patriot's slower, but tighter, Viper Xtreme memory kit takes a clear performance lead in Sandra's memory bandwidth test.

The cache bandwidth test paints a similar picture with Patriot's 2133MHz memory kit offering around 8% greater performance.

Low latency is a strong characteristic of modern ultra-high frequency memory kits. Avexir's 3000MHz CL12 memory kit offers 8.6% better latency performance than Patriot's 2133MHz set.

MaxxMem2 PreView is a handy, free program to rate memory performance. It can be downloaded over here.

The 3000MHz kit from Avexir struggles to compete with Patriot's tighter 2133MHz set of memory in bandwidth performance. As we saw with Sandra's latency test, the Avexir 3000MHz kit takes a performance lead which is an almost-identical 8.5%.

CINEBENCH R11.5 64 Bit is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such as Spider-Man, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia and many more.

CINEBENCH is the perfect tool to compare CPU and graphics performance across various systems and platforms (Windows and Mac OS X). And best of all – it’s completely free.

Cinebench gives an indication that it prefers the faster memory kit, although this performance difference could be related to the 102.3MHz base clock, and hence higher CPU speed brought on by Avexir's XMP profile.

Super Pi is used by a huge audience, particularly to check stability when overclocking processors. If a system is able to calculate PI to the 2 millionth place after the decimal without mistake, it is considered to be stable in regards to RAM and CPU.

We used Super Pi’s ’16M’ benchmark setting.

A slim 1.8% performance lead is given to the system with Avexir's 3000MHz memory kit installed. As with the Cinebench test, the improved performance could be related to an increased CPU frequency.

With memory modules of this calibre, it is fair to assume that a large proportion of the user base will be looking for the kit's highest attainable frequency with good enough stability. That doesn't mean that the ability for the overclocked kit to run every benchmark with stability is crucial, but it does place an importance on being able to boot and run at least one test flawlessly.

We will be tweaking the base clock to fine-tune the memory overclock. Due to the above point, and the fact that the processor frequency will be different to when the RAM was running at stock speeds, there is little point in showing comparison benchmarks. Instead, we will use a single run of Super Pi 16M to verify stability.

  

We opted for the 1.25x CPU strap so that we could use a BCLK around the 125MHz-mark for our overclocking attempts. The 1.00x CPU strap would require the maximum Haswell multiplier and a high base clock to get us past 3150MHz DRAM frequency.

To eliminate base clock bottlenecks, we used a number of increased voltages for the CPU and system. The CPU multiplier was dropped to a near-stock level with each increase in the base clock.

To aid our memory overclocking efforts, we increased the CPU I/O Digital and Analogue voltages to 1.300V, DRAM voltage to 1.700V, VTDDR voltage to 0.825V, and System Agent voltage to 1.200V.

Timings were loosened to 14-15-15-40-2T and DRAM power settings were tweaked.

The highest Super Pi 16M-stable memory overclock that we achieved with the Avexir Core Extreme Series memory modules was 3192MHz. This consisted of a 133MHz base clock, 100:133 BCLK:DRAM frequency ratio, and an 18x memory divider.

We wouldn't call this a 24/7 stable overclock with our settings, although a little voltage tweaking (with better cooling, perhaps) would have garnered improved stability.

We did actually manage a maximum bootable memory frequency of 3240MHz using a 135MHz base clock. As confirmed by Super Pi rounding errors, this setting was clearly unstable though, and very reluctant to boot into Windows on times. 3240MHz using a 162MHz base clock was not possible, although this could be related to our 4770K chip's overclocking capacity.

Our validation running at a 3192MHz DRAM frequency can be viewed here.

With an out-of-the-box DRAM frequency of 3GHz, Avexir's 3000MHz Core Extreme Series 8GB memory kit is a good choice for extreme enthusiasts and serious overclockers.

As was the case with G.Skill's 2933MHz TridentX memory kit, don't expect to be able to plug these 3000MHz modules into your motherboard and instantly obtain excellent performance. With specific benchmarks, a 2133MHz set of memory will offer greater performance, in general. This is likely to be related to the very loose secondary timings set by a Z87 motherboard when the Avexir memory's XMP profile is enabled.

If you want the best performance out of this kit, there is no other way to obtain it than to manually configure a large number of timings. This is a long-winded procedure, but one that has the potential to reap excellent rewards. Users wanting a simple high value for money plug-and-play memory kit should save their cash and look elsewhere.

The Avexir Core Extreme Series 3000MHz memory kit's overclocking potential was good. We weren't expecting to be able to push the sticks past their already-high stock frequency by a great margin, but we did end up with a borderline-stable overclock of 3192MHz. This represents a 6.4% frequency boost which took us well past the 3GHz barrier.

With the same loosened timings and numerous voltage tweaks, we were able to boot all of the way up to a 3240MHz DRAM frequency. Super Pi and a number of reluctant boot attempts indicated that this configuration was not benchmark-stable. Obtaining stability at this level would require greater voltage settings, and possibly more extreme cooling.

On the topic of cooling, a memory fan would have been a welcomed addition to the bundle. Undoubtedly this would have increased the kit's cost by a small amount, but it would have made higher voltage levels safer in a chassis environment. On the other hand, the type of user purchasing this memory kit is likely to be using extreme cooling such as LN2 or DICE. Exactly how worthwhile a bundled memory fan would be depends on your own point of view and usage scenario.

Another thing to bear in mind is that this kit isn't your average set of DDR3. Motherboard compatibility is limited and Avexir only confirms support for the Z87 platform. To the enthusiast and overclocker target audience, this is unlikely to be an issue.

Priced at £399.95 from OverclockersUK, the Avexir Core Extreme 3000MHz 8GB memory kit is very expensive. But that doesn't mean that the kit isn't worth its price tag. If you're an extreme overclocker looking to break world records, or are an avid enthusiast who likes nothing but the fastest, the Avexir Core Extreme Series 3000MHz memory kit is a great choice, provided you have the time and knowledge to tweak the secondary timings, that is.

Pros:

• 3GHz out-of-the-box frequency.
• Solid overclocking potential.
• XMP support.
• Low profile heatsinks.
• Five LED colours.

Cons:

• Very expensive.
• Waste of money for plug-and-play users.
• Limited motherboard compatibility.
• Cooling fan would have been welcomed.

KitGuru says: With a 3GHz out-of-the-box frequency and solid overclocking headroom, Avexir's Core Extreme Series 3000MHz memory kit is worth buying if you're an extreme overclocker.

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