=<em>F-A-S-T</em>= DDR Memory: 2-2-2 Roars on the Scene
by Wesley Fink on August 5, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Final Words
It looked like a review of several brands of memory based on mostly Samsung TCCD chips would be somewhat boring. The results, however, were anything but boring as performance tests show quite a bit about each company's prowess with binning for speed, PCB designs and SPD programming. There was also a much wider range of headroom and timings displayed in this DDR400 2-2-2 roundup than we really expected.All of the memories that we tested here will likely be Editor's Choices for sites that look at them in standalone reviews. All five of the DDR400 2-2-2 memories exhibited a wide range of effective, stable memory speeds from DDR400 to a little over DDR500. This is an incredibly wide range for memory modules that are rated at DDR400, and the performance is so good that we can only wonder why we worried so much about the death of BH5. We never tested, during the reign of Winbond BH5, any BH5 that could even come close to the range of memory speeds supported by the new DDR400 2-2-2 dimms. All of the memories that we tested also performed just fine at their rated speed of DDR400 at 2-2-2 timings and default 2.5V, much lower than most specified for their DDR400 voltage. All 5 memories could also handle DDR433 2-2-2 timings at 2.65V to 2.75V, which is outstanding performance. Based on these findings alone, you would agree that all the DDR400 2-2-2 memories are special and are worth a closer look.
From DDR433 up, some of the memories began to differentiate. Where the Samsung memories all went to around DDR500 with similar timings, the OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 kept going to the next level at DDR533, and then it still kept going to the remarkable stable overclock of DDR557. This is about 50MHz higher than the nearest Samsung rival, which certainly makes the OCZ stand head and shoulders above the DDR400 2-2-2 crowd.
At the other end of the spectrum, the only Micron entry, the Crucial Ballistix PC3200, showed the most incredible timings that we have ever seen for any memory, reaching all the way to DDR460 at 2-2-2 timings, and all the way to DDR514 at the slightly slower 2.5-2-2 timings. Needless to say, this generated the highest DDR466 and DDR500 test results that we have seen. In addition, the Crucial Ballistix was the only memory in this roundup that performed just as well on the Socket 939 platform as it did on the Intel 478.
Due to the standout performance of the Crucial Ballistix and OCZ Platinum Rev. 2, we could not choose just one of them as our Editor's Choice. They both excel in different areas, both valid from a performance standpoint, and they both stand out from a crowd of superb performers.
It is with great pleasure that we award the Gold Editors Choice to OCZ for the outstanding performance of OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 memory. This OCZ memory stands head and shoulders above the other memory tested in this roundup that are based on the same memory chips. OCZ PC3200 Platinum Revision 2 overclocked 10% higher than it's nearest rival, reaching an amazing 40% overclock on a memory rated at DDR400. Performance at DDR400 was outstanding and Platinum Rev. 2 reached the highest memory speeds achieved with any DDR400 2-2-2 memory tested in this roundup.
Crucial seems to be pleasing Enthusiasts in many areas these days, and we are honored to award Crucial Ballistix 3200 the Gold Editors Choice for Best Performance in the DDR400 2-2-2 roundup. Crucial Ballistix is the first memory that we have tested to achieve consistent, stable DDR timings of 2.5-2-2 at DDR500, in addition to the incredible range of usable timings at the most aggressive 2-2-2 timings. In the range from DDR400 to DDR514, Crucial Ballistix was clearly the fastest memory in the roundup. Crucial Ballistix was also a winner in being the only memory in the roundup that achieved the same impressive performance on the Socket 939 Athlon 64 as it achieved on the Intel 478 platform.All of these five incredible memories are winners in this roundup, and as a group, they open new choices for memory buyers. A couple of months ago, it seemed unlikely that you would ever have the option of DDR400 2-2-2 memory again. Not only do all these 5 memories bring you reliable 2-2-2 performance at DDR400, all 5 memories will also carry you to DDR500. That's an achievement far and beyond what any of the best DDR400 2-2-2 could achieve in the past. No matter which of these 5 you choose, you will be buying a winner.
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Wesley Fink - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
#12 and #13 - Both Crucial Ballistix PC3200 and OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 are available in the market. Crucial is a direct marketer as you have discovered.#14 - In your situation I would shop for price for DDR400 2-2-2. The XP boards respond best to Latency as low as you can feed them, but you are not likley to reach OC levels that will be a concern with any decent DDR400 2-2-2 memory. None of the DDR500 will have latencies like 2-2-2 at DDR400.
#15 - There is just one DDR400 Crucial Ballistix (PC3200) - but it is available as 256MB Single-Sided or 512MB Double-Sided dimms as mentioned in the review.
bigtoe33 - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Wesley comments the OCZ was the best from the TCCD modules tested with incredible headroom, so much so it was decided top homours would be shared.Also going by comments already seen here many feel the Crucial modules were very cherry picked.
I know on many forums the 3200 and 4000 is not doing quite so well as the samples seen here.
I do trust Wesleys's testing though, if his modules hit these speeds, they did hit it...
Its always best to get good reviews like this one and then go search for results on forums.
Potem - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
#11 - Thanks had not thought to go directt from Crucial. That is such a good price compared to the alternatives I am worried if is right stuff but description matches. Wesley did not give a part number. Crucial list part number BL6464Z402.bupkus - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
I have a 2500+ Barton on an epox 8RDA+ so I'm happy with a fsb frequency of 200. Is my best option to target some PC3200 with low timings or should I think about some hyperX PC4000 on sale?drewintheav - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Is it possible that you were sent a version of the Crucial Ballistix memory that is not indicative of what someone can really buy? Also, it seems like you said that Crucial Ballistix pc3200 was the best overall so why does OSZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 also get a gold editors choice?Potem - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
The question is what is the availablity of either of the Gold Editors Choice recommendations? The MSI K8N Neo2 was recommended over a month ago and is still not available in the US (though is fianlly expected to change any day or hour now). I have searched indivdual stores and done both price watch and PriceGrabber searches for both OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 and Crucial Ballistix 3200 and have come up empty. In the case of OCZ 3700EB it does sell but the stores often sell out and OCZ having troubles keeping up with demand.rjm55 - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
I was all set to buy the Corsair 3200XL and bitching about the high price when I saw this roundup. Thanks for making my life easier. The Crucial is $267 for 2x512MB direct from Crucial and the Corsair is $361 for the same thing at New Egg. Thanks for helping me save a cool $100.Is there any way to tell if the OCZ is the latest Rev. 2 stuff? I noticed the package in the picture is new. Do you look for the new package to be sure you're getting the latest stuff?
bigtoe33 - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Another GREAT review from the FINKSTER....;-)Commenting on G die micron, yield is VERY up and down so i do feel they were choice cut's, EB does pretty much the same speeds with 95%+ of all customers ram running well above rated timings and speed anyway.You guys with the 4000 balistix should have looked at the 3500 and 3700EB ;-)
Thanks again Wes.
Tony
ThePlagiarmaster - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Wesley, it sounds like you need to ask MSI for a new bios to get their board more compatible with these new samsung chips? Maybe all manufacturers will need to release a bios update to take full advantage of these new samsung chips?Just a thought.
Wesley Fink - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
#5 - We used the same benchmarks in our DDR2 roundup and tested the DDR2 to DDR2-686. That should give you a better idea of comparative performance between DDR and DDR2. We also compared DDR and DDR2 performance in that review, and fast DDR400 performs about like DDR2-533. Just dlick the 'Memory' tab at the top of the page and you will find the DDR2 roundup.#7 - It will be a few weeks, but we DO have some OCZ DDR2 EB modules with better timings that will be included in an upcoming DDR2-667 roundup. Many of the DDR2 modules in last month's roundup ran fine at 3-3-3 timings - much better than the rated timings.