X-bit labs

OCZ to Release 667MHz, 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM.

Category: Memory

by Anton Shilov

[ 05/25/2004 | 04:56 PM ]

OCZ Technology Tuesday unveiled plans to release DDR2 memory modules at unbelievably high speeds to satisfy the demands of hardcore computer enthusiasts and start ramping up the technology that has chances to go mainstream only next year.

Unbelievable Speeds Achieved Now

The Sunnyvale, California-based memory maker said that it would shortly release DDR2 memory modules PC2-4300, PC2-5300 and PC2-6400 at the speeds of 533MHz, 667MHz and 800MHz respectively, leaving all the competitors in the field of advanced memory modules behind.

“We believe that DDR2 modules at 667MHz and 800MHz will eventually become viable replacements for current DDR modules” said Dr. Michael Schuette, director of technology development with OCZ Technology Group.

“While there may not be an immediate benefit from the transition towards DDR2, OCZ, true to their reputation as market leader, is allocating resources towards the refinement of the DDR2 standard to develop the new EB DDR2 line of memory modules,” Mr. Schuette said.

Even though initial DDR2 platforms are not likely to benefit from DDR2 memory at 667MHz and 800MHz, such memory modules will be demanded by overclockers, who tend to squeeze all juices out of their personal computer systems. Furthermore, Silicon Integrated Systems, ATI Technologies and even ULi may release their core-logic products supporting DDR2 memory at 667MHz later this year.

DDR2 Gets the Help of OCZ’s EB

OCZ will be testing all its Enhanced Bandwidth DDR2 modules and dual-channel kits to ensure maximum stability and functionality at specified clock frequencies and latency settings.

Enhanced Bandwidth (EB) technology is a set of means of increasing memory bandwidth through the optimization of memory latencies for the best possible interaction between the system memory and the chipset and memory controller. Through thorough analysis of memory traffic and benchmark results under various operating conditions as defined by different memory latency settings in the CMOS setup of the BIOS, OCZ has pinpointed the bottlenecks relevant for performance. Some conventional wisdom regarding some memory latencies were also found to no longer hold true. Using those findings, OCZ redesigned its memory products to be optimized for delivering the highest possible bandwidth to any computer system.

OCZ’ Enhanced Bandwidth (EB) technology challenges conventional wisdom that implicates increased CAS latency as the main factor causing reduced effective bandwidth. OCZ engineers have shown that by reducing the latency cycles associated with the precharge-to-activate delay and the RAS-to-CAS delay along with the use of the Variable Early Read Command feature of DDR, higher effective data bandwidth is possible. With DDR2 latencies rising tangibly beyond what DDR offers, it becomes crucially important to tweak memory settings in order to achieve maximum efficiency.

OCZ Enhanced Bandwidth DDR2 modules exceed current JEDEC specifications with respect to both frequency and latency settings to offer the customers the fastest DDR2 modules on the market, the company said, but did not reveal any actual settings.

Dates, Prices Unclear

OCZ Technology did not announce exact availability timeframes as well as pricing of its Enhanced Bandwidth PC2-4300, PC2-5300 and PC2-6400 memory modules.