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Geil PC3200 Ultra X: High Speed & Record Bandwidth

 by Wesley Fink on August 20, 2004 12:04 AM EST
19 Comments | Add A Comment
19 Comments

Performance Test Configuration


We tested the Geil PC3200 Ultra X in our standard Intel Pentium 4 Memory testbed. The hardware for evaluating the Ultra X memory is the same used in our earlier reviews of DDR400 and faster Memory.

All test conditions were as close as possible to those used in our earlier memory reviews. We have also eliminated from our charts any memory that has been discontinued, including Winbond BH5 and BH6 versions from several vendors and earlier versions of several current memory products.

INTEL 875P Performance Test Configuration
Processor(s): Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz (800MHz FSB)
RAM: 2 x 512MB Geil PC3200 Ultra X (DS)
2 x 512MB Crucial Ballistix PC3200 (DS)
2 x 512MB Kingston HyperX PC3200 L-L (DS)
2 x 512MB Mushkin PC3200 Level II V2 (DS)
2 x 512MB OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 (DS)
2 x 512MB Corsair 3200XL PRO (DS)
2 x 256MB Samsung PC4000 (SS)
2 x 512MB Buffalo FireStix PC4000 (DS)
2 x 512MB Shika XRAM PC4400 (DS)
2 x 512MB OCZ PC4400 EL Gold (DS)
2 x 512MB OCZ 3700EB (DS)
2 x 512MB OCZ 3500EB (DS)
2 x 512MB Mushkin 2-2-2 Special (DS)
2 x 512MB PMI4200 Gold (DDR533 DS)
4 x 256MB Samsung PC3700 (DDR466 SS)
2 x 512MB Kingmax DDR500 Hardcore Series (DS)
2 x 512MB Kingmax DDR466 Hardcore Series (DS)
2 x 512MB Corsair XMS4400v1.1 TwinX (DS)
2 x 512MB OCZ PC4400 DC Kit (DS)
2 x 512MB OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 (DS)
2 x 512MB OCZ 4200EL(DS)
2 x 512MB Mushkin PC4000 High Performance (DS)
2 x 512MB Corsair TwinX4000 PRO (DS)
2 x 256MB Adata DDR450 (SS)
2 x 512MB Adata PC4000 (DS)
2 x 512MB Corsair PC4000 (DS)
2 x 512MB Geil PC4000 (DS)
2 x 512MB OCZ PC4000 (DS)
Hard Drives: 2 Western Digital Raptor Serial ATA 36.7GB 10,000RPM drives in an Intel ICH5R RAID configuration
PCI/AGP Speed: Fixed at 33/66
Bus Master Drivers: 875P Intel INF Update v5.00.1012, SATA RAID drivers installed, but IAA not installed
Video Card(s): ATI 9800 PRO 128MB, 128MB aperture, 1024x768x32
Video Drivers: ATI Catalyst 4.7
Power Supply: Vantec Stealth 470Watt Aluminum
Operating System(s): Windows XP Professional SP1
Motherboards: Asus P4C800-E (875) with 1016 Release BIOS

We have found the fastest performance on Intel 865/875 to be achieved at Cycle Time or tRAS of 5, or the fastest tRAS setting that is stable with the tested memory. Intel platform benchmarks were therefore run with the fastest stable tRAS timings we could achieve with the Geil Ultra X.

Test Settings

We ran our standard suite of memory performance benchmarks. The following settings were tested with the Geil DDR400 2-2-2 memories:
  1. 800FSB/DDR400 - the highest stock speed supported on 875/865 and K8T800/nF3/SiS755 motherboards
  2. 866FSB/DDR433 - a speed rating we have used in testing other lo-latency DDR400 memory
  3. 933FSB/DDR466 - another speed rating we have used in testing low-latency memory
  4. 1000FSB/DDR500 - a standard memory speed used in testing other high-speed memory
  5. 1066FSB/DDR533 - only two DDR400 2-2-2 memories reached this memory speed and results from those tests are included for comparison
  6. Highest Stable Overclock - the highest settings we could achieve with this memory and other memory we have tested
These are the same general settings used in benchmarking other DDR memory in past year. DDR400, DDR500 and Highest Memory Speed have been used for all benchmarking. DDR433 and 466 were also used for testing other DDR400 2-2-2 modules so we also ran benchmarks at these timings for comparisons. We also included test results at DDR533 for the two DDR400 2-2-2 memories that reached that speed and beyond.
Geil PC3200 Ultra X Test Results: Geil PC3200 Ultra X
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  • xeoph - Wednesday, March 9, 2005 - link

    ISSUE:
    pricing at the top m-400-512x2gl1gb3200dc

    = misleading.

    you are looking for the m-400-512x2glx1gb3200dc model.

    notice the X that was missing before, the difference between Ultra X and Ultra Platinum...

    Stupid mistake I almost made.

  • Zebo - Sunday, August 22, 2004 - link

    #5,6,12

    This expensive ram, all expensive ram has a horrendous price to performance ratio and I think that's what you're asking. You're talking about 3-5% performance increases from the very best ram to the cheapest Kingston Value Ram.. It's amazing people readily spend 100-200% more money for 3-5% more performance. In fact I can't think of a poorer cost/benefit ratio of parts inside computers than in expensive ram, though SCSI, EE's, FX's come close.

    Anyway check out toms, he did such a review last year.

  • Aelius - Friday, August 20, 2004 - link

    It seems RAM is still the Achilles heel of the A64.

    Do you guys plan to review the OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev 3 and OCZ EL PC4000 Gold Rev 2?

    It might not bring anything to the table for A64 but from talking to OCZ and some minor early review leaks by them I get the impression that they think the new Hynix chips will perform much better then previous chips on A64.

    Worth reviewing anyway. Especially since it includes the first PC4000 RAM that can run 2.5,3,3,6 at only 2.6 volt at stock speed.

  • Wesley Fink - Friday, August 20, 2004 - link

    #11 - To keep results as consistent as possible we have always set BIOS on the P4C800-E with Performance Mode on Auto and Performance Acceleration on Auto. We do not test memory or overclocks with either of these options enabled.

    #14 - The manufacturers tell us heatspreaders cool memory, but I am not a believer. I find memory is often cooler without heatspreaders, but I have no objective proof for this claim. Heatspreaders do a good job of hiding the name of the memory chip maker. A high output heatsink fan nearby or a fan over the memory modules cools memory better than any heatspreader I have seen.

  • Wesley Fink - Friday, August 20, 2004 - link

    #13 - We did Doom 3 week with Doom 3 benches on every CPU and video card we could find. We have no plans of using Doom 3 for memory testing. You will see Doom 3 benchmarks in future video card tests at AT. We are also considering using Doom 3 in future motherboard tests.

  • Visual - Friday, August 20, 2004 - link

    Wesley, thank you for your response.
    It seems then that anyone not about to overclock the ram much is better off saving some bucks going with value RAM, or getting larger capacity modules instead of lower-latency ones...
    Due to lack of money I've already decided against the low-latency modules, I'd be looking forward to a possible Value RAM shootout at this site :)

    Another question popped in my mind seeing comment #12... Do RAM heatspreaders actually help the cooling, when overvolting or not, or are they just for decoration?

    Thanks a bunch!
    Visual

  • manno - Friday, August 20, 2004 - link

    why does Anandtech refuse to post Doom 3 benches? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! :)

  • PrinceGaz - Friday, August 20, 2004 - link

    #5 and #6- you must have read my mind as I considered asking exactly the same having read the article this morning. We get to see how all these premium sticks perform at various speeds but I'd be very interested to know how the cheap ones compare.

    Wesley- although its possible to guesstimate the performance of various brand-name PC3200 ValueRAM / CAS3 or CAS2.5 modules, actually testing them is the only way to get a reliable figure. More importantly it should give some guide as to whether they are able to overclock to any useful extent, and at what timings and reasonable voltage increases. I don't think any of us would want to stick 3V into a stick of cheapo (but brand-name) PC3200 without a heat-speader if we wanted it to last for an extended period, but upping the voltage to 2.7 or even 2.75 isn't going to harm any module.

    I'm sure a lot, maybe even the majority of AnandTech readers use budget or intermediate RAM for price/performance reasons rather than the premium sticks which are usually reviewed, so it would make sense including at least a few of the major brands.

  • TRDACH - Friday, August 20, 2004 - link

    Wesley,

    The Asus P4C800-E is the motherboard you have been using in recent memory reviews.

    Can you please tell me what bios setting you are using for the "Turbo" option under the JumperFree Configuration Menu and what setting is being used for the "Performance Acceleration Mode" option under the Advanced Chipset settings Menu.

  • Wesley Fink - Friday, August 20, 2004 - link

    #5 & #6 -
    The info you are looking for is already in the charts but it takes a little digging. The Samsung PC3700 (DDR466) performed at 2.5-3-3-5 timings at DDR400 in our tests. Comparing the Samsung 3700 results at DDR400 to any of the DDR400 2-2-2 results should give you a very good idea of the performance impact of 2.5-3-3 timings compared to 2-2-2.

    All of the memory reviews have a Performance page that lists timings at each speed, and the Samsung performance chart is at http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=199... We used 4x256MB modules in testing the Samsung, but we have already shown in past memory articles that 4SS performs the same as 2DS dimms. The performance penalty comes with 2SS modules on an Intel platform.

    We are planning a Value RAM shootout in the future which should directly address your question.
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