Corsair halts sales of its Dominator GT lineup
Written by Jon Worrel
Wednesday, 08 July 2009 07:35

Elpida "Hyper" IC failing problems

Corsair, a current enthusiast favorite for selling the world record holding DDR3 memory modules, has stood up and announced that it will stop selling memory modules based on Elpida’s “Hyper” ICs. After several customer complaints were filed, the company has found some issues with the said ICs that are used in its top-model “Dominator GT” DDR3 lineup.

Apparently, the issue causes a relatively small number of DRAM modules to fail. “We have seen a number of reports across various forums about failures of modules (from Corsair as well as from other memory manufacturers) built with Elpida “Hyper” RAMs. Through lab testing, we have now been able to reproduce similar failures. We are continuing to test to determine the cause of these failures. Note that although a relatively small percentage of “Hyper” ICs appear to be affected, the rate of failure is not acceptable to Corsair or to our customers. Due to these failures, we will no longer sell Hyper-based modules until the issue can be resolved.”

The specific products affected include TW3X4G1600C6GTF (1600MHZ 6-6-6-18), TR3X6G1866C7GTF (1866MHz 7-8-7-20), TR3X6G2000C8GTF (2000MHz 8-8-8-24), TR3X3G2000C7GTF (2000MHz 7-8-7-20), and TR3X6G2000C7GTF (2000MHz 7-8-7-20).

Corsair will continue to support other modules on the market, but until the Hyper IC death issue is solved, they will be pulling the sticks from retail channels until the problem can be solved.
Fudzilla - Corsair halts sales of its Dominator GT lineup

OCZ Technology Also Halts Sales of Elpida Hyper DRAMs

Following earlier reports of failing memory modules with Elpida Hyper chips, first Corsair and now OCZ Technology is stopping sales of Elpida Hyper DRAMs. Although OCZ claims it has not yet seen extended failures in its Elpida Hyper equipped memory modules, because an earlier batches were used, it is also pulling out the presumably affected memory modules and memory kits. This is OCZ's official statement:

In regards to the potential issues relating to Elpida Hyper IC's, OCZ has not yet seen extended failures in the field, and the Elipda Hyper IC's we have used came from earlier batches so we do not yet know if this is the reason why we are not seeing field issues but as a proactive measure based on the latest information from media reviewers like AnandTech we have officially held the use of any Elpida Hyper IC's at this time. Any customers that are seeing issues are encouraged to contact us and we will absolutely take care of all customers with a no questions asked refund or exchange for another OCZ product of equal value, whichever the customer prefers. We want to make sure that our customers have peace of mind and the confidence that we will take care of any and all issues related to modules that utilize Elpida Hyper chips.
techPowerUp! News :: OCZ Technology Also Halts Sales of Elpida Hyper DRAMs

Corsair pulls Dominator GT modules amid concerns of faulty Elpida Hyper ICs

Published: Wednesday 8th July, 2009 | Author: Parm Mann

Contemplating picking up a high-end memory kit? You might want to think again as Corsair has revealed that a percentage of Elpida Hyper ICs are failing.

At present, just about all of the available ultra-high-end DDR3 memory kits utilise Elpida Hyper ICs, and following reported failures from forum users, Corsair took it upon itself to investigate and found it was able to reproduce similar failures in its labs.

Although the cause of the problem is still being determined, Corsair adds that the rate of failure is deemed to be unacceptable. The California-based memory specialist has consequently pulled all impacted modules, and asked retailers to return memory kits already in circulation.

We've spoken to Corsair and the message to existing users of impacted modules (that's TW3X4G1600C6GTF, TR3X6G1866C7GTF, TR3X6G2000C8GTF, TR3X3G2000C7GTF, and TR3X6G2000C7GTF kits) is to continue to use the memory as normal. Corsair states that the chances of failure are slim, and its modules will continue to be backed by its standard warranty.

Elpida's Hyper ICs are used by the majority of big-name memory providers, including the likes of Corsair, G.Skill and OCZ, and we'd expect them all to make their customers aware of the current problem.

Corsair has advised HEXUS that its engineers are currently working on enhancing its screening process to help identify and eliminate any failure-prone modules, but adds that it is currently unable to indicate when affected modules will return to retail.

Corsair's official statement reads as follows:

We have seen a number of reports across various forums about failures of modules (from Corsair as well as from other memory manufacturers) built with Elpida “Hyper” RAMs. Through lab testing, we have now been able to reproduce similar failures. We are continuing to test to determine the cause of these failures. Note that although a relatively small percentage of “Hyper” ICs appear to be affected, the rate of failure is not acceptable to Corsair or to our customers.

Due to these failures, we will no longer sell Hyper-based modules until the issue can be resolved. We have also have asked our retailers to return any modules they currently have on their shelves. Products impacted include TW3X4G1600C6GTF, TR3X6G1866C7GTF, TR3X6G2000C8GTF, TR3X3G2000C7GTF, and TR3X6G2000C7GTF. We are working on enhancing our manufacturing and testing process to be able to offer these parts again as soon as possible.

We continue to stand behind these modules 100% with our standard warranty, which can be found at
HEXUS.net - News :: Corsair pulls Dominator GT modules amid concerns of faulty Elpida Hyper ICs : Page - 1/1

Can say OCZ is top notch when it comes to warranty & customer service. Emails are answered in 2 days. Turnaround is about 1-2 weeks. I wouldn't hesitate to buy any OCZ products.