DDR3 is OK if you can spare an arm and a leg

Product: OCZ DDR3 PC3-10666 Platinum Edition 2GB (2x1024MB) Kit ? OCZ3P13332GK
Website: Product details
System Requirements: DDR3 memory support
Price: Approx. £117.762 per 1GB stick

OCZ HAS SUPPLIED the INQ with some of its latest DDR3 memory, which we immediately stuck into our test system to have a play with.

The memory runs at 1333MHz/PC3-10666 with latencies rated at 7-7-7-20 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS).

Though the memory is set to use 1.8V, OCZ supplies a guarantee (EVP - Extended Voltage Protection) that the memory can run up to 1.95V without invalidating your warranty.

As usual with OCZ memory, the sticks come with the OCZ branded 'XTC (Xtreme Thermal Convection) heatspreaders', which further ensure the memory more effectively dissipates heat.

We immediately had some problems with the MSI board within our test system, booting the memory at the correct speed. We had to seriously downclock the memory and increase the memory voltage before the system would boot properly.

Fortunately, a recent BIOS update resolved these problems, and the board has since recognized the memory properly, without any alteration needed. Our previous Samsung samples, supplied byMSI, worked without a hitch on the previous BIOS.

Test system specifications:
MSI P35 Diamond Motherboard
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 CPU
BFG Nvidia 8800GT graphics card
Creative X-Fi PCIe sound card
OCZ/PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W PSU

We don't have a plethora of DDR3 samples to compare benchmark scores with, but these OCZ samples will continue to form the basis of benchmarking in the future. For now here are some performance ratings from the usual suspects from the benchmarking world.

The over-clocking potential of the memory seems enourmous. We were running the sticks at 1500MHz quite happily for some time, and have since hit them to run at 1600MHz - still at the 1.8v native voltage - again with no problems, as you can see below.

We suspect there's much more head-room and hope to provide an update with any improvements we can muster out of this system.

In Short
The usual quality, high performance product we've come to expect from OCZ.

Massive over-clocking potential.

The lifetime warranty and EVP guarantee make the memory stand out even further from the crowd.

Next up - a review of the new PC Power & Cooling 750W PSU (now owned by OCZ) used within the test system for this review.

The Good
Top performers, high quality build with solid heat-spreaders.

The Bad
Check your motherboard specifically supports the memory before you buy.

The Ugly
The current cost of DDR3.

Bartender's Report

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