As we mentioned before, Corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5 memory kit has two targets. First, the regular user that has an Intel CPU running at 1,066 MHz externally and wants to have his/her memory modules also running at 1,066 MHz. The problem here is finding a motherboard that accepts DDR2-1066 memory modules. The new ASUS P5B is one of the few motherboards around supporting both Core 2 Duo CPUs and DDR2-1066 memories.

The second target is, of course, the overclocking community. With these modules Corsair ensures that you will reach at least 1,066 MHz with them – and we were able to push the memory frequency up to 1,116 MHz in our tests – even if your motherboard doesn’t support DDR2-1066. Of course you must use an overclocking-oriented motherboard such as ASUS M2N32-SLI De Luxe, or buying this memory kit won’t make any sense at all.

The main problem for this memory kit, in our opinion, is pricing. While it is quoted around USD 400 on Newegg.com and ZipZoomFly.com, there are some stores charging USD 500 or even more for it. Just to give you an idea, on Newegg.com a DDR2-800 2 GB kit with CL4 also from Corsair is quoted at USD 255, while a DDR2-800 2 GB kit with CL5 from OCZ is quoted at USD 200. Of course on both cases the manufacturer doesn’t guarantee any overclocking at all, but these prices are just for you to have an idea on what is going on at the market right now.

This huge price difference crushes the idea of having average Joe installing this memory kit on their new Core 2 Duo system: as the performance difference between using DDR2-800 and DDR2-1066 was only between 5% and 6% in Quake 4 (you may have a higher performance gain in other games, though), we don’t think paying twice to have such performance gain makes any sense at all – unless you are Richie Rich or a relative of his, of course.

Thus this memory kit is a terrific product for overclockers that can afford it, as Corsair guarantees the modules will ran at least at 1,066 MHz plus they offer a lifetime warranty (if you buy them on an authorized reseller), which is fantastic.

We have a couple of tips for you if decide buying this memory. If you leave the memory configuration on “auto” on the motherboard setup, your motherboard may recognize the modules as DDR2-800 even if it supports DDR2-1066. Also, you can achieve a better performance lowering the memory timings, so we’d suggest you to change the memory timings from “auto” to “manual” and configuring them as 4-4-4-12-T2 instead of the default configuration for a higher performance.