by Anton Shilov
02/05/2004 | 05:16 PM
OCZ Technology Group, one of the most successful manufacturers of memory modules tailored for enthusiasts and overclockers, announced availability of 433MHz DDR SDRAM sticks for AMD Athlon 64 FX processor-based systems.
<%BANNER[article]%>OCZ’s PC3200 ECC Registered EL DDR modules have been very popular among enthusiasts, who had chosen AMD’s high-end Athlon 64 FX-51 processors. Unfortunately, because AMD Athlon 64 FX CPUs are based on the AMD Opteron technology, they require registered memory modules that are not really good for overclocking. Nevertheless, an enthusiast managed to set OCZ’s PC3200 ECC Registered EL DDR modules working at astonishing 524MHz, a truly extreme result for this kind of memory modules.
The soon-to-be-available OCZ “PC3500” ECC Registered EL DDR will be shipping in 512MB and 1GB Dual Channel Kits. Each module features an integrated copper heat-spreader and is rated for CL 2-3-2-6 timings at 2.6V.
A rival of OCZ Technology, Corsair Memory, recently also began supplying its registered DDR SDRAM memory modules with ECC rated to function at 433MHz with 2-3-2-6 timings, pretty aggressive settings for overclocked memory designed for server components.
While high-speed registered DDR SDRAM memory modules may be an interesting option to consider for AMD Athlon 64 FX systems now, the market of such products as well as the lifespan of current offerings is pretty limited. In the second quarter of the year AMD delivers its new Athlon 64 FX-53 processor available for both Socket 940 and Socket 939 platforms. The latter are not expected to require registered RAM, therefore, users of premium AMD processors will be able to use all possible memory modules available on the market, including those at 550MHz. 940-pin desktop processors will not be strongly promoted by AMD, therefore, the actual market of registered memory modules for enthusiasts will be shrinking.