Review: AVEXIR Core Series DDR3 1600MHz C9 8GB Memory Kit

Having acquired the AVEXIR Blitz 1.1 Original 2400MHz C10 8GB memory kit not long ago, we are now turning our attention to another kit from the same company, namely the AVEXIR Core Series 1600MHz C9 8GB. Ideal Tech PC Sdn. Bhd. was kind enough to provide us with three different types of Core Series memory kits for review. These include the AVD3U16000904G-2CW (black heat spreader, blue LED), AVD3U16000904G-2CIR (black heat spreader, red LED), and AVD3U16000904G-2CAW (golden heat spreader, white LED).

For those who might not have heard of AVEXIR, it is a company that has been around for quite a while. Established in 2006, the Taiwanese company specialized in the manufacturing of high performance memory kits that are designed for gaming and overclocking enthusiasts as well as case modders. The milestones of AVEXIR have been interesting since then. In 2007, they developed the world’s fastest DDR3-1200 memory kit, followed by DDR3-2000 module. Four years later, they released the Core Series and world’s first DDR3-1600 8GB memory module. End of last year, they introduced their latest flagship memory modules, namely the Blitz 1.1 Series.

The AVEXIR Core Series features attractive LED lighting, Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) support, and highly selected ICs to ensure the best stability and high degree of reliability. The Core Series is consisted of a total of four variants which includes the Core Original, MPOWER, A Series, and E Series. There are a variety of frequencies and capacities to choose from, ranging from 4GB to 32BG, as well as from 1333MHz to 2666MHz.

Let’s take a look at what these memory kits have to offer.

Product Link: http://www.avexir.com/product/corespec-ddr3.html

Suggested Retail Price: RM 299

 

Specifications

 

 

Unboxing

The AVEXIR Core Series 1600MHz C9 8GB memory kit came well packaged in a transparent plastic blister pack, exposing the memory modules with grey and blue coloured background.

 

On the back of the retail packaging you will see some logos showing the features of the memory modules and some descriptions regarding the Core Series. Below the description you can find the address and contact numbers of AVEXIR. To the right we have a label showcasing the bar code and part number of the memory kit as well as its capacity, speed, timings, and voltage.

 

Removing the memory modules out from the plastic blister packaging we can see that the golden fingers of the modules are covered with translucent rubbery protectors. Then you will notice the low-profile aluminum heat spreaders with the AVEXIR logo on top of the heat spreader. The AVD3U16000904G-2CW and AVD3U16000904G-2CIR models feature black heat spreaders whereas the AVD3U16000904G-2CAW model features golden heat spreaders. The PCB comes in black colour which looks really nice.

 

Speaking of accessories, the scope of delivery is very simple. You get a piece of user’s manual describing AVEXIR’s warranty policy and installation of the memory modules.

 

There’s an LED light bar that pulsates on top of each memory module to give fantastic lightning effects when the computer is powered up. In our case, the AVD3U16000904G-2CW model comes with blue LED, the AVD3U16000904G-2CIR model features a red LED, and the AVD3U16000904G-2CAW model glows white.

Flipping over the memory module, we find a label sticker showing the part number of the module, its capacity, speed, timings, and voltage.

 

Each memory module is consisted of two heat spreaders which are held in contact with the memory chips by the adhesive pads. The procedure of removing the heat spreaders is quite simple, we used the hair dryer method and pry open the heat spreader.

 

Three different models of memory kits that we received use different memory ICs. The AVD3U16000904G-2CW model (black heat spreader, blue LED) uses Hynix H5TC4G83AFR chips, the AVD3U16000904G-2CIR model (black heat spreader, red LED) uses an unknown brand of DWLDDEXXXXX chips and the AVD3U16000904G-2CAW model (golden heat spreader, white LED) uses Elpida J420BBCBG chips.

One the other side of the PCBs of the AVD3U16000904G-2CW model (black heat spreader, blue LED) and AVD3U16000904G-2CIR model (black heat spreader, red LED), you won’t find any memory IC here because both of them have single-sided PCBs. As for the AVD3U16000904G-2CAW model (golden heat spreader, white LED), you will notice that its PCB is double-sided type.

 

Features

Series of Selection

AVEXIR Memory except the basic design black, we also release the special edition that can collocate with MSI, ECS and ASUS Motherboard.

XMP (Extreme Memory Profile)

XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) is developed by Intel for enhance memory performance. All of AVEXIR memory that speed higher than 1600MHz, with one XMP profile and three JEDEC profiles.

AVEXIR IC Sorting Technology

Every single chip of AVEXIR memory is prescreened by AIST (AVEXIR IC Sorting Technology), and then to test the compatibility for the diversity of motherboard with 8 hours reliability test. The DRAM IC and the memory module AVEXIR use, are been tests and validates for long time working, to ensure the best stability of the system and the memory can working for long time.

Golden Finger Protector

The environment is fulfilling with the Oxygen and the water vapor, AVEXIR prepares the protector of golden finger for your memory, to prevent them from oxidizing.

Colors of LED

AVEXIR memory has sparkly LED light; there are red, yellow, green, white and orange six colors.

 

Test Setup & Testing Methodology

Assuming that all of the three AVEXIR Core Series memory kits that we received perform similarly due to the fact that they have identical specifications (8GB capacity, 1600MHz speed, 9-9-9-24 timings, and 1.5V voltage), we decided to choose only one of the memory kits for our benchmark tests. The memory kit was the AVD3U16000904G-2CW model (black heat spreader, blue LED).

All 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. Aside from running the AVEXIR Core Series memory kit at its specified speed, we’ve also overclocked it to a frequency of 2600MHz with timings of 11-14-13-31-1T at a voltage of 1.65V. We’ll talk more about this later in the Overclocking chapter. Our liquid-cooled Intel Core i7-4790K processor was overclocked to a clock speed of 4.6GHz out of the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme motherboard. As for graphics department, we used our beloved ASUS ROG Matrix R9-290X Platinum graphics card to take care of the 3D benchmarks.

 

CPU-Z information of AVEXIR Core Series at 1600MHz 9-9-9-9-2T (XMP)

The game settings used.

Synthetic Benchmarks

In our synthetic benchmark tests as expected the low-profile AVEXIR Core Series was lag behind other higher clocked memory kits in the comparison. But when it comes to overclocking, the AVEXIR Core Series managed to reduce the performance gaps between the rests of the memory kits. In fact in some tests it even beat the higher clocked Apacer ARES 3000MHz C12 modules. Not bad at all for such a low-profile memory kit.

 

 

 

Game Benchmarks

In terms of gaming benchmarks, it must be noted that the game titles that we selected demand GPU power more than the CPU power therefore in each test the difference likely negligible. On stock frequency the AVEXIR Core Series’s performance was on par with other memory kits. We also didn’t notice any performance gain when the memory was overclocked.

 

 

 

OverClocking

Among the three memory kits that we received, we noticed that there’s only one kit that is capable of overclocking. The memory kit is no other than the AVD3U16000904G-2CW model which features black heat spreaders and blue LED lighting. It’s the same kit that we used for our benchmark tests and proven to have a great overclocking potential.

First of all, we run some Super Pi 32M benchmarks to investigate how high can we achieve with the voltage of 1.65V and to find out whether it’s stable for 24/7 usage. Below are some of the Super Pi 32M benchmark results:

1600MHz @ 9-9-9-24-2T (XMP) – voltage 1.5V:

 

1866MHz @ 9-10-9-21-1T – voltage 1.525V: 

 

2133MHz @ 10-12-11-21-1T – voltage 1.6V:

 

2400MHz 10-13-12-21-1T – voltage 1.65V 

 

2600MHz 11-14-13-31-1T – voltage 1.65V 

 

2666MHz 11-14-13-31-1T – voltage 1.675V

 

The end result was a memory frequency of 2600MHz and timings of 11-14-13-31-1T at a voltage of 1.65V. To ensure that it is suitable for 24/7 usage we’ve run AIDA64 Stability Test for around 30 minutes. The test run error-free so we can conclude that this overclock is suitable for daily use.

Here are the screenshots of the BIOS settings used for the overclocked AVEXIR Core Series memory kit at 2600MHz 11-14-13-31-1T:

 

Looking at the availability of overclocking headroom we then decided to do a suicide overclock at excessive voltage (of course). We managed to push low-profile memory kit to an impressive clock of 3214MHz with timings of 14-31-31-45-2T at 1.975V. A 100% overclock for a RM 299 memory kit is extremely appealing for sure.

AVEXIR Core Series OC @ 3214MHz at timings of 14-31-31-45-2T

Thoughts & Verdicts

AVEXIR has proven that their Core Series of memory modules has the highest level of quality. Featuring highly selected ICs and fantastic lighting effects, it is definitely a good memory kit for those who are into overclocking and case modding. Manufacturer’s lifetime warranty adds another strong point to considering this memory kit for your gaming build. The heat spreaders are easily removable and replaceable with your favourite custom coolers. This is surely a good news for extreme overclockers who want to put their LN2 heat spreaders on these memory modules and push them to the limit.

The AVEXIR Core Series AVD3U16000904G-2CW memory kit performed well in our tests. It passed all the tests without any problems at manufacturer’s specified speed and timings. On synthetic tests it’s lag behind other faster clocked memory kits but in reality the difference is negligible. In gaming environment for instance, it performed similarly with other higher clocked memory kits in the comparison.

Speaking of overclocking aspects, the Core Series showed that it has a great overclocking capability. In our overclocking process, we managed to push the AVD3U16000904G-2CW memory kit from 1600MHz all the way up to 3214MHz on air cooling. This is translated to a 100% overclock which is extremely impressive for such a low-profile memory kit. We believe that it could go higher with further tweaking and of course under extreme cooling like Liquid Nitrogen (LN2).

The AVEXIR Core Series 1600MHz C9 8GB memory kit is available in the market at RM 299. The price tag is definitely great for an 8GB kit. Given that the price, features and life-time warranty offered, we have no doubt to recommend this memory kit for your build.

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

Pros:
+ Good price
+ Soild build quality
+ Great overclocking potential
+ Attractive LED lighting effects
+ Lifetime warranty

Cons:
- Colour scheme of heat spreader and LED lighting might not be suitable for your rig’s theme
- No option to change LED lighting colour
- Some kits are based on Elpida or other inferior ICs, which overclock worse than Hynix ICs

 


AVEXIR Core Series 1600MHz C9 8GB Memory received Recommended Award from OCDrift.com

Disclaimer: OCDrift.com gives out our own award based on the Hardware Performance, OverClocking Ability, Innovation, and Value as determined by the reviewer

owikh84

owikh84

OverClocker, Reviewer at OCDrift.com
One of the most respected OverClockers here in Malaysia with vast knowledge in Motherboard, Graphics Card and Memory. The nick "owikh84" is not only well known in local tech sites but also international forums such as XtremeSystems.org, Overclock.net and so on.
owikh84