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Today we are looking at Corsair's XMS2-8000UL DDR2 1000 memory modules, and putting them through their paces. Currently, PC8000 modules are the highest performance DDR2 modules available on the market - and Corsair, Crucial, Geil, Patriot and PNY have all announced or shipped PC8000 modules.

These are high performance DDR2 memory modules rated up to 1000MHz and targetted to those who need a performance part. For us we immediately thought about pushing these to the limits so that's what we did for our review.

The transition to DDR2 is driven by the need for ever-higher data transfer rates, and it is easier to increase the clock speed of DDR2 memory than that of DDR memory. Unfortunately DDR2 generally requires slower timing for control funtions (RAS, CAS etc) and therefore only really shines at high clock rates.

The Corsair site tells us the modules are rated for 5-4-4-9 at 2.2V up to 1000Mhz

• 512 MB standard 240 pint DDR2 DIMM
• uses eight 64Mx8 DDR2 memory chips
• SPD programmed for 5-5-5-15 at DDR2-800
• 100% tested at 1000MHz in high performance DDR2 motherboards
• Lifetime warranty

Of course we will try to see how much performance we can squeeze out of these modules...