Cell Shock, Corsair, and Kingston Introduce Ultra Speed DDR3
by Wesley Fink on October 11, 2007 10:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Memory Test Configuration
In the OCZ DDR3-1800 review we launched a new memory test methodology that used a standard 3.0GHz test speed driven by a processor that can deliver multipliers to at least 9X and FSB speeds to 550+. This allows DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, and DDR3-1333 to be tested at 3.0GHz at 9x333 settings. DDR3-1600 and DDR3-2000 can be tested at 3.0GHz at 6x500 (assuming we can reach the requisite FSB).
The requirements for a 9x or higher multiplier combined with the ability to run with stability at a 550+ FSB proved more difficult than it appeared. A very early Intel X6800 had unlocked multipliers but would not even boot above about 450 FSB. A very recent Q6600 met the 9X requirement but topped out in FSB at about 470 stable. Tests by other AnandTech editors confirmed that most quad-core processors have a difficult time operating at 500 FSB, let alone the higher 550 requirements for overclocks above DDR3-2000. We finally located a recent E6600 that could do both the 9X multiplier and the 550 FSB requirements. This became our new processor for the memory test bed. Other components remained the same as the earlier DDR3 test bed.
It should be pointed out that the new test bed does use the same processor speed at all tested CPU speeds, but that different FSB speeds are used at low and high memory timings. Testing at the same processor speed does allow a better comparison of isolated memory performance, but it is not an exact apples-to-apples comparison. The variation in FSB speed at the same processor speed does affect the performance of the memory at the higher FSB speeds. This varies from negligible in some tests to measurable in other benchmarks. For more information on the impact of FSB speed on performance you can refer to Intel P35 Memory Performance: A Closer Look.
A true apples-to-apples comparison of memory performance will only be possible when the additional ratios of 1600 and 2000 are available in BIOS at a base 1333 FSB speed. While not perfect, the comparison of all memory speeds at 3.0GHz processor speed is much closer to our testing ideal than the previous test methodology.
Performance tests of DDR2 memory on the Intel P965 and P35-DDR2 platforms were explored in past memory reviews. If you are interested in how the fastest DDR2 compares to DDR3 in the memory overlap speeds please refer to the DDR2/DDR3 Overlap Speeds test in the OCZ Introduces DDR3-1800 review.
All current memory tests use the Intel P35-DDR3 test bed (ASUS P5K3 Deluxe) with the DDR3 memory under evaluation. The DDR3 full performance pages include results at 3.0GHz for 2000 (if reachable), 1600, 1333, 1066 and 800 memory speeds at a 3.0GHz CPU speed.
The CPU listed above in our table is a 1066 FSB processor, but it performs fine at 1333 FSB at the default multiplier and default voltage. New 1333 bus quad core processors may be substituted on our memory test bed in the future, providing they meet the requirements of 9X or greater multiplier and stable operation at 6X multiplier at 550FSB.
In the OCZ DDR3-1800 review we launched a new memory test methodology that used a standard 3.0GHz test speed driven by a processor that can deliver multipliers to at least 9X and FSB speeds to 550+. This allows DDR3-800, DDR3-1066, and DDR3-1333 to be tested at 3.0GHz at 9x333 settings. DDR3-1600 and DDR3-2000 can be tested at 3.0GHz at 6x500 (assuming we can reach the requisite FSB).
The requirements for a 9x or higher multiplier combined with the ability to run with stability at a 550+ FSB proved more difficult than it appeared. A very early Intel X6800 had unlocked multipliers but would not even boot above about 450 FSB. A very recent Q6600 met the 9X requirement but topped out in FSB at about 470 stable. Tests by other AnandTech editors confirmed that most quad-core processors have a difficult time operating at 500 FSB, let alone the higher 550 requirements for overclocks above DDR3-2000. We finally located a recent E6600 that could do both the 9X multiplier and the 550 FSB requirements. This became our new processor for the memory test bed. Other components remained the same as the earlier DDR3 test bed.
It should be pointed out that the new test bed does use the same processor speed at all tested CPU speeds, but that different FSB speeds are used at low and high memory timings. Testing at the same processor speed does allow a better comparison of isolated memory performance, but it is not an exact apples-to-apples comparison. The variation in FSB speed at the same processor speed does affect the performance of the memory at the higher FSB speeds. This varies from negligible in some tests to measurable in other benchmarks. For more information on the impact of FSB speed on performance you can refer to Intel P35 Memory Performance: A Closer Look.
A true apples-to-apples comparison of memory performance will only be possible when the additional ratios of 1600 and 2000 are available in BIOS at a base 1333 FSB speed. While not perfect, the comparison of all memory speeds at 3.0GHz processor speed is much closer to our testing ideal than the previous test methodology.
| Memory Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.40GHz, 9x266, 4MB Unified Cache) 9x333 - 3.0 GHz 6x500 - 3.0 GHz |
| RAM | Cell Shock DDR3-1800 (2GB kit - 2x1GB, DDR3-1800 8-7-6) Corsair TWIN3X2048-1800C7DF G (2GB kit - 2x1GB, DDR3-1800 7-7-7) Kingston KHX14400D3K2/2G (2GB kit - 2x1GB, DDR3-1800 8-8-8) OCZ PC3-14400 Platinum (2GB kit - 2x1GB, DDR3-1800 8-8-8) Super Talent W1600UX2G7 (2GB kit - 2x1GB, DDR3-1600 7-7-7) Team TXD31924M1600HC9 (2GB kit - 2x1GB, DDR3-1600 9-9-9) Kingston KHX11000D3LLK2 (2GB kit - 2x1GB, DDR3-1333 7-7-7) Corsair CM3X1024-1066C7 (2GB Kit - 2x1GB- DDR3-1066 7-7-7) Corsair Dominator CM2X1024-8888C4 (2GB Kit - 2x1GB - DDR2-1250 5-5-5) |
| Hard Drive(s) | Samsung 250GB SATA2 enabled (8MB Buffer) |
| System Platform Drivers | Intel - 8.3.0.1013 |
| Video Card: | Leadtek WinFast 7950GT 256MB |
| Video Drivers: | NVIDIA 93.71 |
| CPU Cooling: | Intel Retail HSF |
| Power Supply: | Corsair HX620W |
| Motherboards: | ASUS P5K3 Deluxe (Intel P35 DDR3) ASUS P5K Deluxe (Intel P35 DDR2) ASUS P5B Deluxe (Intel P965 DDR2) |
| BIOS Revision: | 0604 (6/26/2007) |
| Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
Performance tests of DDR2 memory on the Intel P965 and P35-DDR2 platforms were explored in past memory reviews. If you are interested in how the fastest DDR2 compares to DDR3 in the memory overlap speeds please refer to the DDR2/DDR3 Overlap Speeds test in the OCZ Introduces DDR3-1800 review.
All current memory tests use the Intel P35-DDR3 test bed (ASUS P5K3 Deluxe) with the DDR3 memory under evaluation. The DDR3 full performance pages include results at 3.0GHz for 2000 (if reachable), 1600, 1333, 1066 and 800 memory speeds at a 3.0GHz CPU speed.
The CPU listed above in our table is a 1066 FSB processor, but it performs fine at 1333 FSB at the default multiplier and default voltage. New 1333 bus quad core processors may be substituted on our memory test bed in the future, providing they meet the requirements of 9X or greater multiplier and stable operation at 6X multiplier at 550FSB.
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geok1ng - Thursday, August 28, 2008 - link
looking at http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3208&am...">http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3208&am... one may wish that an E8600 can reach 10x400Mhz using 2:1 divider + tRD 5 + DDR3 1600 for top notch performance. I look forward for FSB 400/DDR3 1600 CAS 6 examples of memory performance.mandos9 - Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - link
"The recent performance improvements in DDR3 memory have far exceeded anything the end user or industry expected to see in such a short period of time. "The performance improvement is,in comparison to ddr2,5-7fps.That's almost nothing,especially when the games you test already run at 100+ fps(why don't you test it on the crysis demo or games that have come out more recently?).
I don't see why i should spend 600(or 300 for that matter) euro to upgrade my pc, when i can buy a second 8800GT for 250 euro and get 30 or more fps.
Nobody would buy ddr3 for performance. I can only see me buying it if i want a new mobo which i will not have to replace in a year or two.
nrb - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link
Oh joy, yet another anandtech article where I can't see any of the graphs. How many more years are you guys going to allow this to go on?(sigh)
Wesley Fink - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link
The charts are all there. We can read them fine in IE and Firefox. I just double-chescked to make sure there are no broken links. Can you please let us know what you are using as a browser?DrMrLordX - Saturday, October 13, 2007 - link
Why have you not included latency numbers as measured in cycles and/or nanoseconds?goinginstyle - Friday, October 12, 2007 - link
Do you think we could see a DDR2 memory review? Only about 90% of the desktop systems released in the last couple of years use it and considering the unbelievably low prices now it would be nice to see a review of memory that people actually use. It is getting boring to see $650~$900 memory reviewed when most of us cannot even begin to think about buying it or even can afford it if we wanted to change. Show us some results on memory that most people use now.Wesley Fink - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link
The Kingston DDR3, which performed at the top of our test results, has a MSRP of $450 for the 2GB kit - NOT 650-900. It is still much higher than DDR2 but prices are starting to come down.We do have a DDR2 roundup coming in the near future. However, if you look back at the DDR2 review you will find many of the currently available DDR2 memory has been reviewed at AT before the introduction of DDR3.
retrospooty - Friday, October 12, 2007 - link
at DDR 2000 at 6X500 CPU the best sisoft standard memory score for DDR3 is 9138 at DDR3 2000 8-7-6-18 ... I get 8871 with my DDR2 1000mhz at 4-4-4-10 with a similar setup on a DFI P35 mobo.Thats a lot of cash for an extra 267 mb per second bandwidth. Granted my memory setting are highly tuned, but the speed difference is even smaller than I had imagined. I would say the "dramatic" speed increases are totally crippled by the "dramatic" latency penalties. Hopefully in a year or 2 we will see some lower latencies.
Wesley Fink - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link
Congratulations on your great Buffered bandwidth scores with DDR2. We use a standardized setup and do not really tweak timings as you have. Any of our test results can ge tweaked to produce much higher test results, so it is best to compare apples to apples.At 1066 our DDR3 at 5-4-3-9 timings is an Sandra bandwidth of 6763, while you get 8871, a difference of 2100+. We are confident we could tweak the 1066 timings to pick up the 2100 points since the latest DDR-3 based on Z9 chips is testing equal or faster than the fastest DDR2 at the same speed at 1066 or above. That means DDR3-2000 could be 2300+ higher when tweaked for top bandwidth. In addition the fastest possible BIOS timings at 1066 with DDR3 are 5-3-3-5, and we are not far from that.
If you check some enthusiast postings where they tweak the DDR3 for bandwidth you will find bandwidths exceeding 11000 on Sandra with Z9 based dimms. I suspect you already know this.
Anonymous Freak - Thursday, October 11, 2007 - link
At the top of each page of the article is the list of places to buy:That's all well and good. But the last four are the same company. (Ritz Camera owns Wolf, Camera World, and PhotoAlley.)