Athlon 64 Memory: Rewriting the Rules
by Wesley Fink on October 1, 2004 12:45 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Geil PC3200 Ultra X
Geil PC3200 Ultra X reached the highest memory speeds that we have reached with a new DDR400 2-2-2 memory in Geil PC3200 Ultra X: High Speed & Record Bandwidth. After reaching DDR561 on the Intel platform, we were very interested in finding where the Ultra X could go on the A64 Socket 939.Geil produces an extensive line of memory from value-priced memory to some of the fastest enthusiast memory that you can find the market. Geil produces both standard and enthusiast DDR, DDR2, and so-DIMMs.
Ultra X is a new line for Geil, basically a high-performance extension to the Ultra series of DDR. The current Ultra line extends from Ultra PC3200 all the way to an Ultra Platinum DDR550. The Ultra X 3200 modules are available in individual 256MB and 512MB DIMMs, as well as in matched pairs as a 512MB kit (2x256) and 1GB kit (2x512). Test DIMMs were a pair of Geil PC3200 Ultra X in a 1GB kit (2x512MB modules).
The Ultra X DIMMs use platinum-colored heat-spreaders that have a copper core for heat dissipation.
As seen in the 2-2-2 roundup, most DDR400 2-2-2 memory uses Samsung TCCD memory chips. Since our earlier review of the Geil Ultra X, we have determined that Geil uses Samsung TCCD memory chips in the Ultra X memory. The blanks are labeled as Geil chips with a speed rating of 3.5ns. Geil describes the chips as hand-selected for performance from 5ns chips.
Geil PC3200 Ultra X Specifications
| Geil PC3200 Ultra X Memory Specifications | |
| Number of DIMMs & Banks | 2 DS |
| DIMM Size Total Memory |
512 Mb 1 GB |
| Rated Timings | 2-2-2-5 at DDR400 |
| SPD (Auto) Timings | 2.5-2-2-5 |
| Rated Voltage | 2.55V - 2.95V |
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Zebo - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=328636mkruer - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
If you get the chance, can you please test with 2GB of PC3200? I’m sure most would love to see what type of performance hit there will be with the larger modules vs. the smaller ones. Looking at the benches so far, it looks like even buying the cheap 1GB PC3200 modules will have negligible impact on the performance as long as the times are kept relatively low (under 3cls.) And one more big IF you could test 4x512 PC3200 with lower clock timings (2-2-2-5) vs 2x1024 PC 3200 with timings of (3-3-3-8) I’m sure that for the average user they would rather blow $400 for 2GB of slow memory then $400 for 1GB of fast memory.Zebo - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
spensive!:(p/p is horrendous for this stuff. It's too bad you don't include micron/crucial 8t in there which can also clock to 260 for half the price.
Kishkumen - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
I've loved all of these recent memory articles. For a while now, the current state of memory in general has been the fuzziest for me. Now I'm starting to get a clearer picture of where things are at and which direction to go. I'm still nursing along my old P4 Northwood, but the A64 plunge is imminent. Nice to see that memory development is keeping up at a strong pace what with 600 MHz speeds now a strong reality.RaistlinZ - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
Thank you for the great article! From your tests it looks like the OCZ 3200 Rev.2 is the best of the best. It performed near the top in every test and edged out the Crucial Ballistix at the highest speeds.I guess my choice for a memory upgrade is clear now. :)
klah - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
Seems you cut something off at the end of page 9"We have asked AMD to provide some insight into why we are "...
skiboysteve - Friday, October 1, 2004 - link
excellent article, ill keep this in mind when I upgrade... im still pluggin on a TbredB @ 2.2 w/ a modded 9500nonpro