PQI & G. Skill: New Choices in 2-2-2 Memory
by Wesley Fink on October 9, 2004 11:35 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Intel Performance Test Configuration
The G. Skill TCCD and the PQI 3200 Turbo were tested in our standard Intel Pentium 4 Memory testbed. The hardware 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 any memory from our charts 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 G. Skill TCCD (DS) 2 x 512MB PQI 3200 Turbo (DS) 2 x 512MB OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev 3 (DS) 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 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 4.9 |
| 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 that we could achieve with PQI or G. Skill memory.
Test Settings
We ran our standard suite of memory performance benchmarks. The following settings were tested with both memories:- 800FSB/DDR400 - the highest stock speed supported on 875/865 and K8T800/nF3/SiS755 motherboards, and the rated speed of both G. Skill TCCD and PQI 3200 Turbo.
- 866FSB/DDR433 - a speed rating that we have used in testing other low-latency DDR400 memory.
- 933FSB/DDR466 - a standard memory speed also specified as PC3700.
- 1000FSB/DDR500 - a standard memory speed used in testing other high-speed memory and the rated speed of OCZ PC4000 Gold Rev. 2
- 1066FSB/DDR533 - a standard memory speed included for comparison.
- Highest Stable Overclock - the highest settings we could achieve with this memory and other memory that we have tested.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
10 Comments
View All Comments
adamofwales - Thursday, November 11, 2004 - link
I am considering purchasing a matched pair 1024MB total, of the PQI Turbo 2700, 2-2-2-5 timings, (PQI2700-1024DAL) and I was wondering, do you think that it will overclock as well as the 3200 with the same timings? I read somewhere that the PQI 2700 Turbo 2-2-2-5 512x2 will run at 2-3-2-5 at 3200 speeds.What do you think?
Wesley Fink - Saturday, October 16, 2004 - link
#3 - We have NEVER implied you need an FX53 to review memory. We have , however, stated the need for a standardized memory test bed and the FX53 is the CPU we have chosen. The trends over spped would apply to any Athlon CPU since they are all unlocked below the stock speed.Others - We are planning a Value RAM roundup in the near future - after the huge number of new equipment launches for the rest of October. Since every memory vendor now has a Samsung TCCD memory it should be clear that TCCD is now at the top in almost everyone's mind. Samsung TCCD chips are also expensive, which is why we have reviewed alternative brands based on those chips.
MadAd - Thursday, October 14, 2004 - link
yup, i have to agreeIts difficult to complain at the tremendous quality of memory reviews here at AT but I too believe it would be useful to have a catchup on how the other half of the memory market is shaping up.
If it was a case of 'this months exculsive is next months mainstream is a 6 months time bargain' like gpu/cpu/etc then it wouldnt matter so much, but its not, leaving a gap in the product review landscape.
Infact, what is value ram at all these days? Lower speed binned chips from a recent stepping silicon (like gpu) or seperatly RND'ed low cost engineering or even lower purity processes?
You see, theres an article in the making already :)
CalvinHobbes - Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - link
I'd love to see a comparison of cheaper memory as well. I'm in the market for some new ram and I just want to know if I can spend $170 for 1GB or is it really worth while to spend the $245+ for the 2-2-2 stuff.Zebo - Monday, October 11, 2004 - link
Sup Concillian;):PIt's almost like AT only reviewing FX's and EE's on the processor side.
I really feel AT is doing a diservice to the community by continually pimping this overpriced RAM in every review. Even for overclcokers this holds true, since much budget ram scales the same as the boutique ram when pushed..albeit with mybe a little looser timings and a little slower.
But sure as heck ain't 100% slower to justify boutiques ram 100% price premium. Especially when most users are on fixed budget and thier money is better spent on a better video card, more HD space or something else.
But comming to AT, as a builder, you'd think this overpriced RAM is your only choice since that's all they like present and are getting your budget jammed on the front end for almost nothing in return.:(
Zebo - Monday, October 11, 2004 - link
Would you guys *PLEASE* test some budget ram like crucial 8T to show what a ripoff this boutique stuff is price/performance wise?Concillian - Monday, October 11, 2004 - link
It is very interesting to see the very high performance results of the best memory out there. However, I feel it would be useful to compare this to some of the common forms of value memory.As a consumer about to go spend hard earned dollars on a new motherboard/CPU/RAM, the question I ask myself is:
Is it worth it to spend the bucks on super fast memory, or do I spend about HALF and get decent PC3200 CAS 2.5 value memory from the likes of OCZ, Mushkin, or Corsair and use a memory divider when overclocking an A64.
In reality, the typical memory showcased here on Anandtech is very expensive, roughly twice the price of typical value memory.
When you can get an A64 2800+ and motherboard for around $200, I can't be the only one questioning whether $250-$300 just on a gig of memory to overclock a $200 mobo/CPU combo, when closer to $150 may work almost as well. I can't help but wonder if the extra ~$150 (or a nearly 40% increase in cost of the total package mobo + CPU + 1gig RAM in this case) is really worth the system performance.
Uff - Monday, October 11, 2004 - link
This is the second memory test that claims that you need an FX-53 to test memory speed because it's completely multiplier unlocked. I don't see you going above the multiplier 12 anywhere in these tests, thus you could do the exact same thing with 3400+ (2.4GHz version), 3700+ or 3800+, as all the AMD CPUs are multiplier unlocked downwards.Secondly, do you have any further information on the Corsair 2-2-2 sticks? My own tests have shown they can barely run at 3-4-4-10@218MHz fsb and fail to reach 240MHz at any timings :(
Wesley Fink - Sunday, October 10, 2004 - link
The timings used at each speed are included in the Test Results tables on pages 6 and 7.There is only so much information you can include in a chart before it gets too confusing, but we always include timings and voltages for each speed in the Test Results tables.
AkumaX - Sunday, October 10, 2004 - link
nice article! were all different memory speeds (actual: 200, 233, 250, 275) at 2-2-2-5|10 also?