Spending $500 on a nice graphics card? OK, that's a reasonable enough splurge if you can afford it. But Corsair's new Dominator RAM kit? Not quite as reasonable.

This insane 24GB RAM kit is comprised of six 4GB memory modules rated at 1333MHz, loaded up with a fancy blue heatsink and a 60mm fan. It's designed for the latest top-of-the-line Core i7 processors on the Intel X58 platform, and yes, I'm sure it'll let you do seriously intensive tasks with much less hangtime.

But $1,300? For RAM? It's not the late 80's anymore, guys. That is fucking insane. [Corsair via SlipperyBrick]

Speed

I've been happy with a 16GB Patriot Xporter, which Ars mentioned in their 2009 test as one of the fastest. This Corsair is faster. On an informal test transferring 2.7 GB of MP3 files, the Corsair Flash Voyager 128GB was twice as fast in writes and a touch faster in reads.



Note: Since this measures megabytes per second, longer bars = better

I was very casual about this test. I did not shut down all my other apps during it, but I did run multiple trials. And I did not test random access or exceptionally large file sizes. Why didn't I take testing more seriously? Because I just don't think you'll really buy this thing when you can get multiple 32GB drives for $50 or so. This thing is impressive, but all freaks of nature are impressive.

It's Big

On top of its price and performance, it's bigger. No, not only in capacity. See?

Yeah, well, it still fits in my pocket. Like a giant pet beetle. The kind that crawled out of skulls and pyramid labyrinth walls in The Mummy Part 5 or whatever.

I'd recommend it only if you have so much money that if you lose one, you'll merely say "oops" and not cry over it like I would.

128GB is a lot of space

It's fast

Kind of big for a USB drive, but still doable

Expensive

The first 128GB USB flash drive we say, the Kingston Datatraveler 200, was mostly a proof of concept, with relatively slow read/write speeds of 20/10MB/s. It was also prohibitively expensive at nearly $550. Corsair's drive has the speed to be really enviable, and it comes in even cheaper than the Kingston drive. Note, however, that we didn't say it's affordable, at all—Newegg is selling it for $400. Still, it's pretty great to be able to carry around even a massive music collection in the change pocket of your jeans. [Corsair]

They're not the absolute fastest 2.5-inch laptop SSDs we've ever seen, but are definitely right up there at the top. WD's new line, for example, isn't even close to half that speed (100/80MB/s). You can expect them to be expensive, but we don't know exactly how much they'll cost, or when we can expect to see them in stores and laptops, but we'll keep you updated. [Corsair via Crunchgear]

Interestingly, the physically largest drives—the OCZ Throttle (which also has eSATA) and Patriot Xporter—are the absolute fastest, but Ars recommends Super Talent's Pico B in terms of bang-for-buck. (The Pico C is cheap too, 4GB for $12 and well-reviewed on Newegg). Kingston's DataTraveler seems like the pokiest of the bunch. But overall, the current gen of flash drives are good enough across the board, no matter what you get, it's gonna be decent.

It's worth poking through the entire rundown, if only to appreciate how much care went into the divining the best piece of something that's almost the definition of disposal tech. [Ars]

The test is by no means exhaustive, as there are many hundreds—if not thousands—of USB drives on the market today. The test did include popular sticks from recognizable brands, as well as some budget and novelty pieces that you might be likely to pick up. The results were somewhat predictable: sticks from reputable companies like OCZ, Lexar and Sandisk offer greater read/write speeds, and sticks in the 4GB range perform consistently well.

There were some surprises, namely the standout performance from OCZ units and the plodding, about-as-fast-as-it-would-be-if-it-stored-data-on-actual-wood Brando Wood drive. And results aside, I've derived some comfort from the fact that out there somewhere, there exists a man named Kristofer Brozio who is willing to actually run a dozen time-consuming benchmarks on over 20 USB keys. Check out the full results at the source link. [Test Freaks via Engadget]

For build-to-order you start at $1249 and a pre-fab $1299 edition comes with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 and dual NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB graphics cards with SLI technology. But the expansion possibilities in the standard ATX chassis include overclockable Corsair Dominator memory and Intel Extreme processors, up to three factory installed HDDs (with a fourth bay for your own tinkering) and an optional AGEIA PhysX accelerator.

In other words, reading the fine print, it sounds like no one is going to be satisfied with the base config—even though it will come with pretty LED lighting zones that synchronize with game play. [Dell]

Now we can tell you, for instance, that they are water-resistant to 200 meters, thanks to an ethylene propylene diene monomer seal. (You'll let me know if they made that one up, right?) We can also say that they are encased in Computer Numerical Control milled aluminum "as found in aircraft part production"—and perhaps even in the occasional aircraft part too.

As for zombie attacks, just show me a zombie with the motor skills to unscrew the lid, and the presence of mind to crack your data's 256-bit AES encryption (application included). You can't, can you? Didn't think so. The 4GB Flash Survivor costs $60, and the speedier 8GB Flash Survivor GT will set you back $130. – Wilson Rothman

Product Page [Corsair]

For the nonmodular units, they recommend Akasa Power80, Antec Trio 650, Seasonic S12 (three of them) and Silverstone ST40EF/ST50EF. For the modular units, they prefer Antec Neo HE, Corsair HX-620, Enermax Infinity, Nexus NX-8040, and Seasonic M12. For the fanless ones, since they only tested two, they'd recommend the better one—the Fortron Zen.

Head on over to their site if you're interested in reading all 105 reviews, or if you want to make a decision between the best. – Jason Chen

Reviews [Matbe]

Don't take these anywhere near an airport security checkpoint—they look too much like pipe bombs. Pricing and availability weren't announced. – Charlie White

Corsair introduces its new USB stick designs [Hexus]

CeBIT'07 new product avalanche is about to hit us like a hundred walkyries brandishing bratwursts, cellphones dipped in sauerkraut and RAM modules like the new Corsair XMS2 Dominator. This 2 Gbytes DDR2 module is now available in PC2-9136 and PC2-10000 speeds and they come with more acronyms than a NASA launch checklist: they have DHX (Dual-path Heat Xchange) with a dedicated heatsink for the PCB (printed circuit board). On top of that, they are NVIDIA SLI ready and feature EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles), which enhances SPD (Serial Presence Detect) and apparently is great for over-clocking. OK, Corsair. WE (whatever). I'll be waiting for the gold version myself. I don't care about overclocking, I just want the bling-bling. – Jesus Diaz

Product page [Corsair]

According to Corsair, the Flash Voyager GT is up to 5 times faster than a typical USB drive. Moving 20 office files (1.06 MB) MB takes an average USB drive 5 seconds and the GT less than 1 second. 60 pictures (279 MB) takes the GT 17 seconds as opposed to the average drive's 70 seconds and one movie (1.63GB) 82 seconds as opposed to 358 seconds.

Other features include all-rubber housing to withstand harsh conditions (i.e., being dropped in the toilet) and password protection using 256bit AES encryption. Available in 2GB ($29.99), 4GB ($59.99) and 8 GB ($119.99) capacities. –Dana Bushman

Flash Voyager USB 2.0 Drives [Corsair Memory via CrunchGear]

Dear Corsair,
Your ram rox0rs it hardcore porno style. With your ram I pwn n00bs left and right with the AWP. They claim hax and ban me from the server, but it is all because of your ram. Thx for the pwnage. I <3 you.

Kthx,
Travis Hudson

Contest Info (pdf) [Via CrunchGear]

Overclockers can rest easy knowing that both Dominators meet nVidia's Enhanced Performance Profiles, allowing easy, automatic overclocking. The DIMMs will go on sale next month for $600-$650 for the PC28888 version and $380-400 for the PC28500 version. That cooling fan will run you an additional $25. – Nicholas Deleon

Corsair to cool high-speed DDR 2 DIMMs with clip-on fan [The Register]

Gamers-on-the-go will also appreciate a quick method of installing the Nautilus500 without having to drain the water. LAN party hopping, the nerd's version of bar hopping.

You can grab the Nautilus500 for an MSRP of $159. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Corsair via Fareastgizmos.com]

Corsair Flash Readout USB [Via Gadget-Weblog]