Performance Memory

At all times and measurements the system baseclock and multiplier will remain the same, meaning each and every difference you spot on performance is a direct results of changed memory frequency and timings.

Memory Read test

Okay so for the first round of tests, synthetic testing. Here we have the read performance of the dual-channel memory at that 1600 MHz frequency.

Now you need to compare to the light orange bar, the very same setup yet now with JEDEC timed triple channel memory at 1333 MHz.

The rest of the tests shown in the chart above are there for scaling purposes. Most of these setup all run either 1066 or 1333 MHz depending on their baseline settings. All Core i7 / X58 entries for example run triple channel memory configurations at either 1333 or 1066 MHz.

Intel's Nehalem architecture and specifically here the memory controller just hauls ass, even with a dual-channel memory setup.

Memory Write test

Write performance then -- A Phenom II processor will perform roughly in-between 6500 and 7000 MB/sec -- with sharp timings you'd take it to roughly 8000 MB/sec.

G.Skill in dual-channel mode reaches a astonishing 14400 MB/sec at 1600MHz. As you can see, that's as good as triple channel @ 1333/1066 MHz.