High-End DDR2 is extremely hard to make

IF YOU WANT TO build a high-end gaming machine relying either on Socket AM2 or Socket 775 processors and want to arm these with 800MHz memory, you'll be in an difficult position if you do not want to pay a price premium for top modules.

The problem with DDR2 right now is the number of modules which work at 800MHz - most of the memory chips work at 667MHz, and it is not unusual that even high-end systems ship with slower memory clock.

Corsair recently introduced the Dominator series of modules, which are capable of working at 1.11GHz at CAS4 latencies. However, building those modules is extremely hard and it takes a lot of time, which is offset in its current market price and limited availability.

The reps told us that the Dominator series is made after an array of testing. Currently, the modules are produced after the company tests all of the received Micron chips at 800MHz and a CAS3 latency, which is only achieved by 10 per cent of all chips.

After that, the chips are tested at 1.111MHz and only five per cent of those validated chips will be able to make it into the highest-clocked modules which Corsair offers. So, we're talking about a little less than 0.5 per cent of overall chips that Corsair puts into production.

Also, the number of tested memory chips does not equate to the number of memory modules produced, as chips have to be paired together and then match the clock and targeted latency.

Right now, there just over 100 or so Dominator modules available world-wide, which only speaks of how difficult, is to build a premium memory. For the best memory-clocked scores, Corsair recommends AMD's Socket AM2 platform just as GeIL and OCZ do. Intel's platform still awaits the magical chipset (memory controller, that is) which will propel Conroes into the stratosphere of system bandwidth. µ