X-bit labs

DDR500 Memory Roundup: Corsair, GeiL, Kingston, SimpleTech and Transcend (page 6)

Category: Memory

by Kirill "ALT-F13" Balalin

[ 04/09/2004 | 01:10 PM ]

Hynix PC4300U

Our today’s review includes three module kits on Hynix chips, from Corsair, Kingston and Transcend. Now we add to them the original Hynix DDR500 sticks that come directly from the chip manufacturer.

2x256Mb Hynix PC4300U-30440

These modules are “value” DDR500 as they cost just a little more than ordinary DDR400 SDRAM. The inexpensiveness of the product explains why they come in the OEM version, without any package. The origin of the sticks is indicated by the sticker on the chips. They have ordinary timings and ordinary voltage and there is only one strange thing: Hynix marked its DDR500 (PC4000) memory as PC4300 – this is a non-existent standard, roughly corresponding to DDR540.

A green printed circuit board carries eight chips marked as D5 (meaning DDR500 chips from Hynix).

Alas, there is no hope for 270 (540DDR) MHz: like the Kingston HyperX KHX4000/256 memory, the D5-based modules from Hynix reached their peak at 255 (510DDR) MHz with 2.9V Vdimm. Moreover, it was very hard for the Hynix product to overcome DDR540 in our second testbed, with a higher voltage. 274 (548DDR) MHz was the maximum point the value DDR500 managed to reach.