OCZ had been strangely absent from the last round of our memory reviews. They did not have a product that was really quite the same as the excellent “Universal” Corsair 4000 PRO or Mushkin 4000 High Performance. That did not, however, mean they were not working on products in the same category. We heard OCZ would release a DDR533 “Universal” memory, and today, OCZ announces that new product — OCZ 4200EL.

We had seen a late Beta sample of the new 4200EL, and AnandTech was told these were identical to the release version. A few days ago, the release DIMMs and information showed up announcing that they would be released on October 14^th. We also had a chance to compare them to late beta samples, and we did, in fact, find the performance virtually identical. This means that you should find performance of your Retail chips almost the same as we found in our retail samples.

PC4200 means an official rating of DDR533 and the rated timings are 2.5-4-4-7 at 2.7V. Like other recent high-end OCZ memory, the DIMMs are warranted up to 3.0V for overclocking. OCZ also tells us that this new memory will run at CAS2 at DDR400, which would make the OCZ the 3^rdand fastest “Universal” memory.

Our testing confirms that OCZ 4200EL is another Universal High-Speed DIMM like the Mushkin 4000 High Performance and Corsair XMS4000PRO we recently tested. What we mean by Universal High-Speed is that the memory is very competitive at DDR500, but that it also performs at DDR400 with aggressive CAS2 timings. Early DDR500 does well at the high end, but at DDR400, you are often stuck with CAS2.5 or CAS3 timings, which perform poorly compared to the fast DDR400 modules.

What's more, the OCZ 4200EL is the Highest Speed Rated DIMMs that we have tested at AnandTech, and easily surpasses the performance of the best performing memory tested so far.

This is the first DIMM pair that we have received from OCZ in their new packaging. The new package is certainly easier to identify than the generic DIMM boxes that OCZ has used in the past. It also looks almost the same as Corsair's new packaging.

You can see that OCZ uses the Copper Heat-Spreader on 4200EL. We did remove the Heat-Spreader to find the chips are labeled OCZ. They are apparently blanks that are purchased by OCZ and labeled as OCZ chips. Performance behavior makes us believe they are a variant of Hynix Rev. B chips, except they clock higher than we have yet seen with Hynix Rev. B memory chips. It also appears that OCZ may be using a new PCB with this memory, since it is a bit different from PCB's recently seen on OCZ DIMMs.

OCZ also includes a Case Badge for those who want to advertise that they are using top OCZ memory in their computer.

OCZ 4200EL Specifications

OCZ 4200EL Memory Specifications
Number of DIMMs & Banks	2 DS
DIMM Size Total Memory	512 Mb 1 GB
Rated Timings	2.5-4-4-7 at DDR533
Rated Voltage	2.7V Maximum Voltage 3.0V

OCZ tests performance of OCZ 4200EL on Asus and Abit Intel 865/875 motherboards. While compatibility tests are run on other motherboards, these popular boards are used for Production Line testing. OCZ states that Memory is tested at DDR400, 433, 466, 500 and 533.

Performance Test Configuration

The Memory testbed for evaluating the OCZ 4200EL is the same used in our earlier reviews of DDR500 and other High-Speed Memory.

Mushkin PC4000 High Performance: DDR500 PLUS
Corsair TwinX1024-4000 PRO: Improving DDR500 Performance
Mushkin & Adata: 2 for the Fast-Timings Lane
Searching for the Memory Holy Grail — Part 2

All test conditions were as close as possible to those in our earlier memory reviews.

INTEL 875P Performance Test Configuration
Processor(s):	Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz (800MHz FSB)
RAM:	2 x 512MB OCZ 4200EL(DS) 2 x 512MB Mushkin PC4000 High Performance (DS) 2 x 512MB Corsair TwinX4000 PRO (DS) 2 x 512MB Mushkin Level II PC3500 (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) 4 x 256MB Kingston PC4000 (SS) 2 x 256MB Kingston PC4000 (SS) 2 x 512MB OCZ PC4000 (DS) 4 x 256MB OCZ PC3700 GOLD (DS)
Hard Drives	2 Western Digital Raptor Serial ATA 36.7GB 10,000 rpm 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 3.7
Power Supply:	Vantec Stealth 470Watt Aluminum
Operating System(s):	Windows XP Professional SP1
Motherboards:	Asus P4C800-E (875) with 1011 Release BIOS

OCZ targets their 4200EL at the Intel 875/865 enthusiast. Since 4200EL is not targeted at Athlon, performance on an Athlon64 or nForce2 Ultra 400 was not tested.

Test Settings

The following settings were tested with OCZ 4200EL:

1. 800FSB/DDR400 — the highest stock speed supported on 875/865 motherboards.
2. 1000FSB/DDR500 — the specified rating of the majority of recent memory modules that we have tested.
3. 1066FSB/DDR533 — the specified rating of OCZ 4200EL.
4. Highest Stable Overclock — the highest settings that we could achieve with this memory and other memory that we have tested.

These are the same settings used in benchmarking other memory in the above list of memory tests, except for the addition of a 533 value for 4200EL.

Test Results

To test overclocked stability, we used the very demanding Gun Metal 2 - Benchmark 2, which pushes systems with its DX9 routines. To be considered stable for test purposes, Gun Metal, our Quake3 benchmark, UT2003 Demo, and Super PI had to complete without incident. Any of these 4, and in particular Super PI and Gun Metal, will crash a less-than stable memory configuration.

OCZ 4200EL - 2 x 512Mb Double-Bank
Speed	Memory Timings & Voltage	Quake3 fps	Sandra UNBuffered	Sandra Standard Buffered	Super PI 2M places (time in sec)
400DDR 800FSB	2-3-3-5 2.55V	325.3	INT 2815 FLT 2857	INT 4805 FLT 4764	129
500DDR 1000FSB	2.5-3-4-6 2.65V	401.3	INT 3376 FLT 3366	INT 5876 FLT5964	106
533DDR 1066FSB	2.5-3-4-6 2.75V	422.3	INT 3610 FLT 3562	INT 6380 FLT 6345	98
560DDR 1160FSB	3-3-4-7 2.85V	437.4	INT 3716 FLT 3741	INT 6655 FLT 6681	93

The latest revision of OCZ 4200EL performed better than its rated 2.5-4-4-7 specification. In fact, at DDR400, like Corsair XMS4000PRO and Mushkin, it allowed some of the fastest timings that we have seen with any high-speed memory. The top speed of DDR560 is also the highest stable overclock that we have yet seen on any DDR memory.

Performance Comparisons

Performance of the OCZ 4200EL was compared to all of the memory recently tested in:

Mushkin PC4000 High Performance: DDR500 PLUS
Corsair TwinX1024-4000 PRO: Improving DDR500 Performance
Mushkin & Adata: 2 for the Fast-Timings Lane
Searching for the Memory Holy Grail — Part 2

Memory performance was compared at DDR400, DDR500 — the rated speed for most of the modules, and the highest achievable stable overclock that would run Gun Metal 2 Benchmark 2, Quake 3, UT2003, and Super PI to 2MM places. Since OCZ 4200EL is the first memory we have tested to be rated at 533, we included two values for OCZ 4200EL in our DDR500 charts: one at DDR500, and one clearly marked 533 and representing performance at 533.

Results are compared for Quake 3, Sandra UNBufferred Memory Test, and Super PI. The SiSoft Sandra reports 2 results for each memory test, an Integer value and a Float value. Results reported in our charts are the result of averaging the INT and FLOAT scores, which are normally close in value. INT and FLOAT scores were added and divided by 2 for our reported score.

DDR400 Test Results

DDR500 Test Results

Highest Memory Test Results

Final Words

Without a doubt, OCZ has produced the fastest DDR memory ever tested at AnandTech. It is rated at DDR533 and performs at that speed using better than rated timings. The highest stable overclock of the 4200EL was an astounding 280FSB at 1:1 or synchronous settings. At the other end of the scale, OCZ 4200EL performs at the Intel chipset rated DDR400 using fast CAS 2 timings.

OCZ joins Corsair and Mushkin in producing memory that is outstanding for high 1:1 overclocks, but will also perform with fast timings at DDR400. However, OCZ goes even further, creating the fastest memory we have ever tested. We like the recent trends that we are seeing in high-end memory. While we could argue all day whether anyone really needs such fast memory, and whether synchronous or asynchronous operation gives the best performance for the dollar, it is hard to dispute that the latest DDR500+ memory gives it all to the buyer. You can run at fast speed at DDR400, which early DDR500 could not do. Or you can run at the highest synchronous (1:1) settings that your CPU can likely handle. And you can do them both with the same memory — albeit expensive memory.

We stated in our review of Mushkin 400 High Performance and Corsair XMS4000 PRO, that if your goal is the highest 1:1 overclock that you can achieve, then OCZ PC4000 or Geil 4000Platinum should be your choice. We would now add that there is a new chanpion of the highest overclock, and that is OCZ 4200EL. It soundly outperforms both OCZ4000 and Geil 4000. If you want the fastest DDR400 memory performance that you can get and a reasonable overclock, then Mushkin 3500 Level2 or OCZ 3700 GOLD are still the fastest choices for DDR400.

However, if you want great timings at DDR400, top performance at DDR533, and the top overclock you can achieve above DDR500, then OCZ 4200EL should be your choice. If you can settle for a little less top-end overclocking, then Corsair 4000 PRO or Mushkin 4000 High Performance are great choices built on the same “Universal High-Speed” philosophy.

We don't know how OCZ managed to do it all with 4200EL, but they did. Until we start seeing CAS 2 DDR500+ memory, we can say with assurance that OCZ 4200EL is the fastest DDR memory that you can buy.