OCZ PC2-4200EB: Reaching for DDR2-800

Updated Components for New DDR2 Test Bed

Our first efforts to test DDR2 memory were limited by the 925X motherboard and 3.6E Prescott used for testing. That combination limited the maximum overclock to about DDR2-686 due to the 14X lowest multiplier available and the 925X overclocking capabilities. We took a close look at the new components available on the market and made several changes to our DDR2 memory test bed to allow more accurate testing of the full capabilities of DDR2 memory.

Processor

While the 3.46EE CPU is very expensive, it has several attributes that make it a much better choice for our memory test bed than the 3.6ES used in the past. First, it is the only current 1066 FSB CPU. We have been able to run the 3.6ES at 1066 as well, but the 14X multiplier combined with the overclocking limits of the 3.6 keeps FSB to 285 maximum. With the 3.46EE, both 13X and 12X multipliers are available. We found in testing that this 3.46EE is capable of reaching 324FSB at 12X multiplier on the Asus P5AD2-E motherboard. This provides a test bed range of 200 to 324, or 800FSB to 1300FSB, for memory testing.

Motherboard

The 925XE version of the P5AD2 series adds some capabilities to the DDR2 memory test bed. In addition to a 533 1:1 memory clock at 1066FSB, Asus also provides a 3:4 ratio of DDR2-711, at stock speed. Combined with the 324 clock of the 3.46EE at 12X multiplier, the P5AD2-e is capable of a maximum memory overclock of DDR2-864. This is a great improvement over the DDR686 limitation of the previous 925X motherboard used for DDR2 memory testing.

Power Supply

We continue with the remarkable OCZ PowerStream 520 power supply. The PowerStream 520 has individually powered rails like the Antec TruePower units. The rails are also individually adjustable with LED readouts for special tweaking needs. Powerstream features high wattage, beefed up connectors for video and hard drive, SATA connectors, and both the 24-pin ATX connector required for 925X/915.server and a 20-pin adapter for a standard 875/865/Athlon system. This may be overkill for an average end user, but these are excellent features for a memory test bed where overclocking, power hungry processors, and power-hungry video are the norm.

Heat Sink Fan

The Thermaltake Jungle512 (CL-P0037) is a third-party LGA 775 Heat Sink that does a decent job of cooling with the demands of the LGA 775 at overclocked speeds.

With the updates to the DDR2 memory test bed, we were confident that we could actually measure the performance of this OCZ PC2-4200EB as well as future fast DDR2 memory without the limitations of a CPU or motherboard wall. The range from DDR2-400 to DDR-864 should provide the latitude to truly test the capabilities of the best DDR2 memory.