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Kingston adds speedy 8GB kits for Lynnfield
by Cyril Kowaliski — 2:12 PM on September 23, 2009

Last month, Kingston was one of the first memory vendors to announce 4GB DDR3 memory kits for Intel's new Core i5 and i7-800 processors. Kingston has now decided to top off that product line with a pair of 8GB HyperX kits that can run at up to 1,600MHz.

Both kits include four 2GB DDR3 modules, operate at 1.65V (the highest voltage recommended by Intel for Core i platforms), and support Intel's Extreme Memory Profiles, which should let you configure non-standard speeds and timings automatically.

Kingston rates the KHX1600C8D3K4/8GX bundle for operation at 1,600MHz with 8-8-8-24 timings, while the cheaper KHX1333C7D3K4/8GX kit should be able to hit 1,333MHz at 7-7-7-21. Suggested retail prices are $255 and $240, respectively, but Newegg already lists the latter for $209.99 before shipping. It's not in stock, though.

By the way, folks on tighter budgets may be just as happy grabbing a pair of slower 4GB kits like, say, Crucial's $74 DDR3-1333 bundle or even Kingston's own $88.49 ValueRAM DDR3-1333 pack. Both have lifetime warranty coverage, too, even if they lack the HyperX bundles' tight timings and fancy heat spreaders. (They've presumably not been tested to work in four-module configs, either.)