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When we started our little overclocking adventure with these memory kits, we had to make choices. We made choices regarding the FSB settings and CPU multiplier, and we made a choice on what memory divider we were going to use. We also made a choice as far as voltages are concerned: we decided to keep all products within their warranted envelope. Were these the right choices? To avoid getting into a never ending argument, my belief is that yes, we did. It has become clear to me however that the choices we make do influence memory behavior hugely, and some memory kits like it one way, while other memory kits perform better under different circumstances. To make myself clear, I’ve added 2 screens here: one for the Mushkin PC8000 Redline, and one for the Team Group PC6400 “333”.   When we talked about Mushkin on page 2, we mentioned the fact that Mushkin warrants their memory up to 2.3V operation, while the other manufacturers all warrant 2.4V or 2.45V. It has been clear for a while now that Micron chips scale very well with additional voltage, so we decided to give the Mushkin some more juice to play with. And my oh my, have a look at the screen and the performance at 2.45V ! The redline has no trouble keeping up with the other memory kits now: it goes up to 1130Mhz, even surpassing the OCZ and Corsair performance… So if Mushkin had warranted…. You catch my drift. For the Team Group memory I tried something different: a different memory divider (1066 strap or 1:2), and consequently, a different, stock CPU multiplier (10). As you can see, the memory scales even higher now, reaching an astonishing 1248Mhz !! To pinpoint reasons for this increase in performance is not very simple: it’s probably a combination of the memory or motherboard “liking” the 1:2 divider better, together with the fact that lower multipliers (in combination with a higher multiplier CPU) seem to give the Asus P5B some trouble on very high FSB (this is actually one of the other “mysteries” Tony Bigtoe and some others are looking into). Conclusions How does one conclude a review with some of the best memory money can buy? First of all, let’s face it: these memory kits are expensive, VERY expensive. The OCZ, Teamgroup and Mushkin kits all sell for around $450-$500. The Dominator is even more expensive at a price of about $600-$650. Are these kits worth your money then? To answer that, let’s take a step back and look at it from a distance…  For those wanting to overclock their PC, which is probably why you’re reading this review, performance memory is a must. And unless you've got an unlocked processor like an Extreme Edition X6800, to overclock means increasing your FSB. As a basic memory kit will soon reach its limits, you'll need something better, certainly when you are in possession of an Asus P5B like we do. The Asus has no low memory strap available that puts your memory at a "negative" divider. The 533Mhz (1:1) is the lowest memory strap you can set, and from then things only go up (4:5, 2:3, 3:5, 1:2). What about the fortunate ones that do own an Extreme Edition CPU ? My feeling is that in this case it would be an absolute shame to get a top of the line setup, and then smother performance with an under grade memory kit. My point is, when you’ve got a top of the line PC setup, the last 2-5% of performance do matter, and that’s exactly what these memory kits will give you… To wrap things up, here’s my take on the different memory kits : Mushkin PC8000 Redline  Great looking "frostbite" heatspreader Performance scales extremely well with additional voltage good price/performance ratio in its class Limited voltage warranty Lower voltage means (slightly) lower performance than the other kitsOCZ PC8500 Platinum Heatspreader design still looking very good Honeycomb grille serves cooling very well Excellent performance on cas 4 EPP programming included, SLi certified Good price/performance ratio in its class cas 3/5 performance not scaling very well not much headroom left with (even) higher voltagesTeam Group PC6400 “3338” The absolute n°1 performing kit so far Scaling with additional voltage is exceptional EPP programming included (but not nVidia certified) Excellent price/performance ratio Basic heatspreader design means fanless operation is not recommended 2.45V warranty, or is it 2.35V ? too sober looking for someCorsair Dominator PC8888C4 Heatspreader design is ground braking Included, silent fan assembly Highest scaling kit on cas 3. Excellent performance on cas 4 EPP programming included, SLi certified cas 5 performance not scaling very well does not scale any further with (even) higher voltages expensive compared to the other 3 kits, even counting the fan assemblyFor me, the positives of all four kits significantly dominate the negatives. I’d like to recommend all four kits to you, because in my opinion, none of them is really falling behind when you look at the way the enthusiast community will probably use them… One thing is clear for now though: Team Group has delivered the fastest kit, whether this is by accident we cannot say. It is possible that this is a “one of a kind” memory kit, but I have no indication that it is: Team Group has convinced many enthusiasts already, as you can see on many forums. So for now, it’s one Team Group to rule them all… Now a big thank you is in place for our 4 manufacturers, which were kind enough to hand over their memory for testing, and which have had to be patient along the way, waiting for me to finish this review. So a big thanks goes out to Lee from Mushkin, Harry and Gerry from Team Group, Vivian and Fabien from Corsair and Tobias from OCZ. I hope you liked this review of our 4 memory kits, next up will be a performance check of some PC6400 “mid range” kits, and maybe something extra in between as well… Thank you for reading, and see you soon.  More reviews in this category can be found below: |
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Copyright © 2001-2010 Madshrimps / JMkeOC.com, All rights reserved.
Graphical Design by Dennis Kestelle, Programming by John Meys, Paul Meys and Frederik Colardyn, Overall Site design by John Meys
All information and graphics contained in Madshrimps are sole property of the Madshrimps crew and may not be reproduced or copied in any manner without written permission from us.
BTW-BE 0888919678
Graphical Design by Dennis Kestelle, Programming by John Meys, Paul Meys and Frederik Colardyn, Overall Site design by John Meys
All information and graphics contained in Madshrimps are sole property of the Madshrimps crew and may not be reproduced or copied in any manner without written permission from us.
BTW-BE 0888919678
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