X-bit labs

OCZ Advances DDR SDRAM to 600MHz.

Category: Memory

by Anton Shilov

[ 05/11/2004 | 01:42 AM ]

As reported before, OCZ Technology has unveiled its new DDR SDRAM memory modules at speed-bin far beyond than the successor for the technology – DDR2 – is capable to reach right now.

To make the 600MHz possible on conventional DDR DRAMs, OCZ had to increase memory voltage to 2.85V, which limits the target market for the products because not a lot of mainboards on the market are capable of delivering 2.85V to RAM. OCZ recommends using P4C800 and P4C800-E mainboards with its new set of dual-channel PC4800 Limited Edition Gold EL DDR memory modules. Furthermore, OCZ had to stretch the latencies on its OCZ PC4800 EL DDR kits to CL3 4-4-8, which is not very aggressive, to maintain robust stability.

In order to ensure the stability of OCZ PC4800 EL DDR Dual Channel kits, the company claims it performs hand-test of every kit using the ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe mainboard before the products are shipped.

At this point OCZ is not very optimistic about DDR2 technology in overall, just like some other manufacturers, because DDR2 chips are expensive and not really overclockable at this point. OCZ will surely bring out DDR2 memory modules when the market demands, but currently the company is considering some higher-speed DDR-based products, e.g. at 650MHz or beyond.

GeIL, another producer of high-speed memory modules, said recently that its 667MHz DDR2 products demonstrated at CeBIT 2004 are not in production yet. Given that no memory maker manufactures such high-speed memory components at this point, OCZ’s 600MHz DDR is probably the fastest offering on the market today available for enthusiasts. OCZ also showcased its 600MHz modules at CeBIT 2004 in Hannover, Germany (click here for photos).

OCZ PC4800 EL DDR 512MB and 1GB dual-channel kits will begin shipping soon, pricing is unconfirmed.