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  • Hasse - Friday, November 26, 2004 - link

    Hi!

    I'm rather confused when I check my bios for all the abreviations.. TRC, TRAS.... it would be nice to know what to set them all to, I've got the Asus A8V Deluxe board.. and probably ain't the same bios view or settings that msi or others have. I've tried to overclock but the dang thing just hangs and creates not so funny looking bios boot images... Anyway thanx for a nice review. I've made my choice on memory based on it...
  • adamofwales - Thursday, November 11, 2004 - link

    Quite easily, I must say,

    this is the BEST article about memory I have ever read.

    Well done.
  • googles - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 - link

    i cant find a crucial ballistix pc3200 @ 2-2-2-5 timings.

    according to their website,

    http://www.crucial.com/ballistix/store/listmodule....

    BL6464Z402 DDR PC3200 • 2-3-2-6 • Non-parity • DDR400 • 2.8V • 64Meg x 64

    they only have a ddr400 ballistix @ 2-3-2-6, is this the ram that AT evaluated?

  • somekid617 - Thursday, September 23, 2004 - link

    i got the ocz 3200 rev.2 and its great!
  • somekid617 - Thursday, September 23, 2004 - link

  • mbor - Thursday, August 26, 2004 - link

    #32
    3Suns, 2-2-2-5 doesn't mean it takes 5 cycles every 4th fetch. The paramenters are:
    CAS Latency-RAS to CAS Delay-RAS Precharge-Cycle Time (Tras).
    The names actually vary depending on the source. I quote the names used in CPU-Z, as I think they're well establisheed. You should easily find the description of each of these in online references.
  • fritz64 - Monday, August 16, 2004 - link

    babyelf
    Please let us know your Optimum latency, memory speed and Voltage setting. I should receive mine today.
  • babyelf - Saturday, August 14, 2004 - link

    Got my 3200 ballistix.. ran 2.65 at DDR410 at 2-2-2-11 and primed blend for 15 hours
    now running DDR420 at 2-2-2-11 at 2.7V
    i'll try to go more later after i burn in at this speed
  • fritz64 - Friday, August 13, 2004 - link

    #37 and #38
    I just ordered my 512MB x2 Crucial ballistix memory for my A64 3500+. I'm hoping to get [email protected] for at least 220MHz on Abit AV8 socket 939. I will let you guys know what I have later once I get my hands on those sticks. This will be an acid test for the information that we receive on Anandtech.
  • Fleabit - Thursday, August 12, 2004 - link

    Wasn't so happy with my 2 * 512MB Ballistix either. couldn't get them to run dual channel stable at DDR 400 at 2-2-2-8 on an NF7-S v2.0 using the rated voltage.

    Memtested each of the dimms individually, at 2-2-2-8 @2.8v they max'd at 212 and 205.

    At least crucial have a good RMA service :)

    Has anyone had good experiences?


  • leguman - Thursday, August 12, 2004 - link

    I got 3 Ballistix 512 MB PC3200 dimms.
    I have a chaintech VNF-250 board (socket 754), and according to Anandtech's test, it is the only mobo to be able to run 3 DIMMS flawlessly at the most aggressive timings.

    At 2.8V, 2-2-2 timings, max stable frequencies :
    - one does 223 Mhz
    - one does 218 Mhz
    - one does 212 Mhz. This one is not even stable at 200 Mhz @ 2.6V and is not stable at 220 Mhz even with 2.9V !!!

    I'm not very happy with these resuls as only 1 dimm is stable at 220 Mhz :(
  • Wesley Fink - Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - link

    #35 - Yes it is the same memory. Most SPD are programmed to work on the widest possible range of systems. The best timings for Intel are 2-2-2-5, while the best timings for AMD are 2-2-2-10. OCZ picked a number in the middle for tRAS at 2-2-2-8, but you can easily set 2-2-2-5 on Intel or 2-2-2-10 on AMD.
  • Resh - Monday, August 9, 2004 - link

    Just looked at the OCZ site and they now have PC3200 Platinum Rev 2 at 2-2-2-8!

    Is this the same stuff?

    http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/OCZ_E...
  • tomati - Monday, August 9, 2004 - link

    Astonished crucial ,

    Didn't you make a mistake with the crucial reference module ?

    Is that really the pc 3200 you have tested ?, because I have seen on their european web site a pc 4000 ballistix module [url]http://www.crucial.com/eu/store/MPartspecs.Asp?mtb...[/url],then I wonder what's better choice pc 3200 or pc 4000?,

    So on thank for these kind of article ,

    kind regards ,

    tomati
  • Zebo - Friday, August 6, 2004 - link

    I don't understand these memory reviews or peoples comments. Never have.Obviously bandwidth is king (look at the benchmarks) and it's cheaper to get than LL.

    Get some super cheap hynix found on A-data or even value ram crank to 275 or 550DDR and it devistates these expensive modules.
  • 3Suns - Friday, August 6, 2004 - link

    Why do people equate 2-2-2-5 ratings with "2-2-2" ratings? Wouldn't real 2-2-2 memory run at CAS 2 for every single fetch? Isn't that vastly different from 2-2-2-5 which takes 5 cycles every 4th fetch?
  • eva2000 - Friday, August 6, 2004 - link

    would love to see Buffalo's PC3700 Micron 46v32m8 5B-C memory included in a part 2 review as well..
  • opuntia - Friday, August 6, 2004 - link

    I don't think the review mentions this, but the OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev.2 is from OCZ's "Enhanced Latency Series" (1 of 5 different series) memory chips.

    I'm going to built my own PC and I just started looking at various sites like anandtech in order to gain some insight (which I have), but I get real confused sometimes when reviewed products are not named exactly like they would be on the manufacturers website, and when the review doesn't post a manufacturer's model/part number.

    Anyway, thanks for the great website. Now I just need to learn what exactly is latency and why 2-2-2 is so good.
  • pookie69 - Friday, August 6, 2004 - link

    A REALLY GOOD article.

    >>> much food for thought.

    I still cannot get over just how well these new PC3200 modules o/c! Why bother with any higher grades of mmeory at all?!

    Thanks Mister Wesley Fink for bringing yet another great comprehensive review our way. Your efforts, as always, are greatly appreciated!!! And your timing always seems to be spot on!! LOL. :)
  • CrimsonDeath - Friday, August 6, 2004 - link

    Hmm, no stock on crucial Ballistix in their european site. Darn good memory.
  • Wesley Fink - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    #26 - DDR460 2-2-2 at 2.75V according to my review notes
  • babyelf - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    Hi

    It's said that the crucial did 2-2-2 up till DDR460. At what voltage is that?
  • DreamInBlue - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    crucial has always been highly overclockable. my regular cas3 ddr400 crucial does cas 2.5 at 250fsb.
  • bigtoe33 - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    vie2233hil

    You quoting performance series and not Platinum rev2

    Platinum rev2 uses TCCD and was used for this roundup.
  • vie2233hil - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    OCZ would like to to announce a revision change in our PC-3200 Performance Series line of memory. PC-3200 Revision 2 has been discontinued and replaced by OCZ PC-3200 Revision 3 DDR.

    OCZ PC-3200 Revision 3 DDR is specified for CL2-3-3-6 timings o­n Intel-based systems and CL2.5-3-3-6 timings o­n AMD based systems. The lifetime warranty of existing PC-3200 Revision 2 modules will not be invalidated by this change.
  • Pumpkinierre - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    Nice article, nice charts and nice memory. With all the extra work from the new components let's hope you're still having fun, Wesley. Keep the i875 going. I'm not sure about the nf3 if the tRAS has to be set to >10. Any chance OCZ might be releasing a CAS2 DDR500 in the near future with that new batch of Samsung chips?

  • Potem - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    #19 - From page 9: "We have seen reports of some variability in the performance of the Ballistix memory, and overclocking results are never guaranteed. However, our results with another pair of Ballistix DIMMs were very similar."
  • JustAnAverageGuy - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    #18

    As long as it is a reputable vender, quantity is often better than quality. :)

    i.e. 256MB of 3500 level 2 mushkin extreme blah blah is probably going to perform worse than 1GB of corsair value ram.
  • Lazzydog - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    Wesley you have still yet to comment on the question of whether or not the crucial sticks were cherry picked or not. I know in a lot of reviews you try and get your products as anonymously as possible is this true with the crucial ram or not? If not these could hardly be indicative of ram that the rest of us could get and should be known for people who plan on purchasing ballistix ram.
  • GabeyD - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link


    Is there a comparison anywhare of "Value" memory against this high end, high $ stuff. For example, I cag get 1G of Coorsair Value for $180 and the lest expensive high end memory is about $280, a $100 difference. How much real performance is this $100 getting me?
  • Wesley Fink - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    #12 and #13 - Both Crucial Ballistix PC3200 and OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 are available in the market. Crucial is a direct marketer as you have discovered.

    #14 - In your situation I would shop for price for DDR400 2-2-2. The XP boards respond best to Latency as low as you can feed them, but you are not likley to reach OC levels that will be a concern with any decent DDR400 2-2-2 memory. None of the DDR500 will have latencies like 2-2-2 at DDR400.

    #15 - There is just one DDR400 Crucial Ballistix (PC3200) - but it is available as 256MB Single-Sided or 512MB Double-Sided dimms as mentioned in the review.
  • bigtoe33 - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    Wesley comments the OCZ was the best from the TCCD modules tested with incredible headroom, so much so it was decided top homours would be shared.

    Also going by comments already seen here many feel the Crucial modules were very cherry picked.
    I know on many forums the 3200 and 4000 is not doing quite so well as the samples seen here.

    I do trust Wesleys's testing though, if his modules hit these speeds, they did hit it...

    Its always best to get good reviews like this one and then go search for results on forums.
  • Potem - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    #11 - Thanks had not thought to go directt from Crucial. That is such a good price compared to the alternatives I am worried if is right stuff but description matches. Wesley did not give a part number. Crucial list part number BL6464Z402.
  • bupkus - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    I have a 2500+ Barton on an epox 8RDA+ so I'm happy with a fsb frequency of 200. Is my best option to target some PC3200 with low timings or should I think about some hyperX PC4000 on sale?
  • drewintheav - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    Is it possible that you were sent a version of the Crucial Ballistix memory that is not indicative of what someone can really buy? Also, it seems like you said that Crucial Ballistix pc3200 was the best overall so why does OSZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 also get a gold editors choice?
  • Potem - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    The question is what is the availablity of either of the Gold Editors Choice recommendations? The MSI K8N Neo2 was recommended over a month ago and is still not available in the US (though is fianlly expected to change any day or hour now). I have searched indivdual stores and done both price watch and PriceGrabber searches for both OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 and Crucial Ballistix 3200 and have come up empty. In the case of OCZ 3700EB it does sell but the stores often sell out and OCZ having troubles keeping up with demand.
  • rjm55 - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    I was all set to buy the Corsair 3200XL and bitching about the high price when I saw this roundup. Thanks for making my life easier. The Crucial is $267 for 2x512MB direct from Crucial and the Corsair is $361 for the same thing at New Egg. Thanks for helping me save a cool $100.

    Is there any way to tell if the OCZ is the latest Rev. 2 stuff? I noticed the package in the picture is new. Do you look for the new package to be sure you're getting the latest stuff?
  • bigtoe33 - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    Another GREAT review from the FINKSTER....;-)

    Commenting on G die micron, yield is VERY up and down so i do feel they were choice cut's, EB does pretty much the same speeds with 95%+ of all customers ram running well above rated timings and speed anyway.You guys with the 4000 balistix should have looked at the 3500 and 3700EB ;-)

    Thanks again Wes.

    Tony
  • ThePlagiarmaster - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    Wesley, it sounds like you need to ask MSI for a new bios to get their board more compatible with these new samsung chips? Maybe all manufacturers will need to release a bios update to take full advantage of these new samsung chips?

    Just a thought.
  • Wesley Fink - Thursday, August 5, 2004 - link

    #5 - We used the same benchmarks in our DDR2 roundup and tested the DDR2 to DDR2-686. That should give you a better idea of comparative performance between DDR and DDR2. We also compared DDR and DDR2 performance in that review, and fast DDR400 performs about like DDR2-533. Just dlick the 'Memory' tab at the top of the page and you will find the DDR2 roundup.

    #7 - It will be a few weeks, but we DO have some OCZ DDR2 EB modules with better timings that will be included in an upcoming DDR2-667 roundup. Many of the DDR2 modules in last month's roundup ran fine at 3-3-3 timings - much better than the rated timings.
  • 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

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