OCZ EL DDR PC-3500 Memory review - Introduction

Out of the blue I received a package from OCZ Technology and after a quick inspection I noticed that they had send out a sample of their popular EL DDR400 memory. When I started inspect the DDR module I noticed something interesting. PC3500 .. so this module is definitely not DDR400 ... it's faster. After checking their website I notced that indeed OCZ is producing PC3500 and even PC3700 DDR memory modules. Confused about memory types ? Let's do some calculations to clear that up for you:

These days we can notice memory can be named in two ways when you look it up in the store. One is based on speed, the other on transfer rate/bandwidth. DDR400 of course relates to the frequency of 400 (2x200) MHz but when you look at the package you'll notice something like PC3200. The 3200 simply means an effective memory bandwidth of 3200 MB. There's a big 'if' though, your mainboard must support such high bandwidth, if not it'll run a tad slower. The majority of people can not benefit from such an excellent bandwidth simply due to the fact his/her mainboard does not support it.

Good news though, more and more mainboards allow a higher than 333MHz frequency and the tweakers among us all will of course simply love this kind of memory as it allows high FSB's without the risk of getting into problems like crashed systems due to memory. Now with VIA’s P4X400 and KT400, SiS introducing the 648, NVIDIA’s nForce2 all supporting DDR400 memory the tide is slowly shifting towards these modules and well, today's PC's can use that extra memory bandwidth. This type of memory is getting very popular.

Right, let initiate that school feeling and do a little math. You can very easily calculate the nominal bandwidth like so, using the following formula: 400 MHz time 8 bytes wide is ... 3200 .. PC3200.

Now let's get back to the EL DDR module, it is rated PC3500. So 3500 : 8 = 437.5 MHz. That is way beyond default DDR400 specification and probably very hard to test. This is also why OCZtech has OCZ in it's name, overclockerz ... OCZtech most certainly has had a rough year, we've all read and heard about it yet they managed to get back on top of things and are now doing excellent things. In the near future we will interview OCZtech to allow them a chance to explain some things. I think it's fair to say that they are slowly getting among names like Corsair right now, at least that's what I believe after testing this module. Let's take a look at some specifications.

OCZ EL DDR PC-3500 / 433mhz / Enhanced Latency Series
OCZ Enhanced Latency PC-3500 memory using state of the art ULN technology is capable of achieving outrageous speeds of up to 433MHz at CL2*. Out copper heat spreaders maximize cooling and extend your rams life while increasing performance. This memory easily surpasses even the newly adopted PC-3200 standard.

Specifications:

• ULN Technology: (U)ltra (L)ow (N)oise shielded PCB
• Lifetime Warranty
• Copper Heat Spreaders
• 256MB or 512MB Modules based on OCZ brand EL DDR IC (4.5 ns)
• CL 2*
• 217 (434) MHz*
• 184 Pin Dimm
• Unbuffered
• Retail Boxed
• Includes: memory installation guide

* Based on single module load at 2.5 volts +/- 5% DIMM Voltage. Some newer chipsets/motherboards may allow other timings (Some KT400 based boards allow up to CL2 484 1T timings at 434Mhz some 845e boards allow up to CL2 372 434Mhz.).Due to chipset and motherboard diferences on a non JEDEC standard product Make sure to check our motherboard qualification page for the exact information for your motherboard. OCZ EL DDR modules are rated to handle up to 2.8 volts with heatspreader installed.