thanks guys
these sticks are definitely great but comparing them to the PC3-16000's, there isn't much difference there. i am confident the PC3-16000's will scale at 8-9-8 the way these did with this W3540. the max 8-9-8 clocks are clearly limited by the IMC at this point, and this W3540 is a good bit stronger than my 920's IMC.
i might also try for max 8-9-8 clocks next time i have this CPU under LN2, perhaps another 30C ~ 40C lower will help the IMC out a bit.