Conclusion:
Going into this review I had no idea of what to expect. I wasn't particularly familiar with
Aeneon and honestly didn't expect their memory to be able to outperform similar kits from the likes of Kingston and Crucial. With the ability to run at tight timings and overclock nicely, this kit made a solid impression and is definitely worth keeping your eyes out for.
The two negative aspects worth listing on the Aeneon XTUNE 2GB PC3-10600 DDR3 kit are related to a lack of information. The first issue is that I can not seem to find them available for sale in the US. While the introduction explained how Aeneon and Qimonda are global companies with a larger presence outside of the US, they really need to get some of their products into US outlets! The second issue is that while a lifetime warranty is great, not being able to find detailed information on it makes you question the value. Some pages that are referenced in regards to the warranty have data that is obviously wrong and outdated, and other referenced pages just don't exist. Without detailed, consistent information on things like what the warranty covers and how to file a claim, it isn't worth a whole lot.
It was already mentioned that US availability is an issue with this kit. While a search of
PriceGrabber does turn up
results for other Aeneon products, I could not find this PC3-10600 kit. Digging through the Internet with
Google didn't help either, and concrete information on price and availability in the US (and elsewhere really) remains a mystery. Aeneon is currently working on broader distribution in the US, and a likely location for these modules to turn up first is Amazon.com.
The
Aeneon XTUNE 2GB PC3-10600 DDR3 kit scores high marks across the board, and this is definitely a brand name I will be keeping an eye on in the future. If you are able to find this kit at a reasonable price, I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for serious DDR3 performance at stock or overclocked settings.
Pros:
» Solid performance, especially when overclocked or with the timings tweaked
» Capable of running at even tighter timings than specified
» Overclocked fairly well
» Lifetime warranty
» Attractive styling
Cons:
» US availability
» Details on lifetime warranty are difficult to find
Special thanks to
Aeneon for providing the Aeneon XTUNE 2GB PC3-10600 DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Kit to Bigbruin.com for review!
