G.Skill DDR Memory Roundup: 7 Extreme Kits Tested!

Memory by MarkElmer @ 2005-08-04

Welcome to our little endeavor to try and sort through the massive DDR1 line-up of the new upcoming enthusiast memory company, G.Skill. We will take a closer look at 7 Dual Channel kits from the Extreme Series and test their overclockability.

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Results @ CL2

Results @ CL2

Let's start with the tightest timings: CL2 2-2-5 1T

Madshrimps (c)


  • Memory Module – VDIMM – Memtest Screenshot – Windows Screenshot

  • PC3200GH 1GB #1 – 3.44V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC3200GH 1GB #2 – 3.56V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC3200ZX 1GB #1 – no boot
  • PC3200ZX 1GB #2 – no boot
  • PC4400FC 1GB – 3.03V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4400LE 1GB #1 – 2.96V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4400LE 1GB #2 – 3.03V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4800FF 1GB – 2.87V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4800FR 1GB #1 – 2.87V – no boot
  • PC4800FR 1GB #2 – 2.87V – no boot
  • PC4800LA 512Mb – 2.90V - Memtest - Windows

    As expected, we see that the modules with Winbond UTT chips win this round. DDR520 is the maximum of both sets PC3200GH, which isn't bad for 1GB.

    While we were overclocking, we tried to get every MHz out of each set. Some of the TCCD-kits prefer a higher voltage. Raising the vdimm from 2.90v to 3.06v can make a difference of 3MHz.

    Unfortunately, not all the kits were able to run CL2.0. As you can notice, the PC4800FR kit won't boot at this speed, in spite of the DDR600 rating. We also have to loose up the timings to get a successful boot out of the PC3200ZX.


    Madshrimps (c)


  • Memory Module – VDIMM – Memtest Screenshot – Windows Screenshot

  • PC3200GH 1GB #1 – 3.54V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC3200GH 1GB #2 – 3.56V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC3200ZX 1GB #1 – 2.76V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC3200ZX 1GB #2 – 2.62V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4400FC 1GB – 3.03V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4400LE 1GB #1 – 3.06V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4400LE 1GB #2 – 3.03V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4800FF 1GB – 2.90V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4800FR 1GB #1 – 3.06V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4800FR 1GB #2 – 3.06V - Memtest - Windows
  • PC4800LA 512Mb – 2.90V - Memtest - Windows


    Raising the Tras and Trcd to 3 bus clocks has a positive effect on the Samsung based modules. The impact on bandwidth is not big when we only change these timings. Sisoft memory benchmark will only lose about 20-25 MB/s, but the TCCD based chips can make a big jump in frequency now. All the kits, except PC3200ZX, were able to reach a frequency above DDR500. We didn’t expect to see that from PC4800FR. The PC4800FR modules let us down at 2.0-2-2-5 timings, but they recover quite well compared to the other TCCD-based modules (255-258MHz).

    The budget modules (PC3200ZX) perform about 17-20% above their specifications, but they’re not a real competitor in this race. The PC3200GH sticks don't seem to do any different here, just a little boost of 1 or 2 MHz compared to the previous timing.
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