=<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
OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2
Manufacturers have used well-known names from their BH5 product days for their latest PC3200 2-2-2 memory, and OCZ has done the same. One of our stock test memories for the past year has been OCZ PC3500 Platinum, which was based on Winbond BH5 chips. OCZ is calling their latest 2-2-2 PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2. OCZ offers the new Revision 2 as either 512MB single dimms or a 1GB (2x512MB) Dual-Channel kit.Test DIMMs were a matched pair of PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 with platinum-colored heatspreaders.
OCZ sports a lifetime warranty, like several other enthusiast memory manufacturers, but we also receive numerous emails from customers who are surprised and pleased with the responsiveness of OCZ customer support. Once a customer contacts OCZ customer service, they appear to get very quick resolution to their problems.
OCZ PC3200 Platinum Revision 2 Specifications
| OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev2 Memory Specifications | |
| Number of DIMMs & Banks | 2 DS |
| DIMM Size Total Memory |
512 MB 1 GB |
| Rated Timings | 2-2-2 at DDR400 |
| SPD (Auto) Timings | 2-2-2-6 |
| Rated Voltage | 2.75V |
As seen with the other low-latency DDR400 in this roundup, the 3200 Platinum Rev. 2 is specified with a higher than normal voltage at DDR400. 2.75V is higher than the 2.5V to 2.6V that is standard for memory on most motherboards, but it should be available on most of the high-end boards that would likely be used with this DDR400 memory. You should check your specifications to make sure that you can support the voltage needs of the new OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 modules. However, we had no problem with the PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 at stock voltage at DDR400, though we did need more voltage at higher speeds.
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Anemone - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Would love to see OCZ do further expansion on the EL or EB area of DDR2. I'm sure it's at lower limits (the timings of DDR2 stink really), but if anyone could push them as low as possible I'd expect OCZ to do it.Anemone - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Yeah OCZ seems to have their stuff where it counts.I'll note this highlights an issue that's caught my eye, and that is in the furor over the AMD64 chips, its less visible just sometimes how much "special stuff", ie choice memory modules, it takes to keep the AMD platforms running at top speed. On the Intel side of the fence you can plug just about anything in and get some speed, but in many cases that's still a guessing game for the AMD stuff. Given how that plays out a year or two down the line when you want to buy just an upgrade part or two, I'm kind of a fan of the "just buy the latest Superbytes mem module XXX and plug and go" kind of usefulness, which I see 'more' on the Intel side of things, and I do mean 'more' not 'only'.
Also want to mention that lately tending to see more enthusiasts aiming for as much as 2gb of memory, and when you get there, the AMD controllers seem to not fly as much as with lower amounts, losing as much as 10% of their performance.
Blah, no easy choices here imo.
ceefka - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Great review. For those of us who want to build a 939, we'd love to see the next article. We apparently have a lot of RAM to choose from.Now on the theoretical side: How would the best DDR2 perform? What would the differences be? Can these results justify AMD's choice to ignore DDR2?
Bozo Galora - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Another very timely review.You are now answering questions for me in advance - lol.
Color changes for reviewed items better, but as a nitpick, it might be cool to continue colors to the names of mem also, not just the bar??? Dark green needs to be a lighter color - like pink. 2 greens not friendly.
Anyway thanx fella.
cnq - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
Wesley,Can you comment on the 2.5-2-2 timings past DDR500 of the Crucial? It seems slightly fishy, considering that you used their PC3200, which is lower-binned than their PC4000...and even the 4000 is only rated at 2.5-3-3 at DDR500.
Is it possible that Crucial sent you a cherry-picked sample for review?
Anyone else out there own a set of the Ballistix care to comment?
JustAnAverageGuy - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
catchy title=F-A-S-T=
A bit unprofessional maybe, but catchy :)
shady06 - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link
OCZ = smokin