Some are Better than Others

Not all memory modules are created equal. But the reasons that one vendor stands out next to another might not be what you originally had in mind. You see, each company has access to certain memory ICs, chips comprised of transistors and capacitors, manufactured by any number of suppliers. The memory vendor builds a module based on sample ICs to work with either an AMD or Intel platform, depending on the type of memory, in order to qualify them. They then characterize the chips with a series of tests, exhaustively determining behavior at different settings. The result of these tests, in concert with cost analysis, dictates the actual memory devices that you’ll see attached to each memory module.

All memory vendors use a similar procedure in order to determine the devices they’ll use. Moreover, only certain ICs are capable of running at any given setting, so while there may be a handful of products that support DDR333 operation at CAS 3 timings, only one or two have what it takes to pull DDR400 frequencies and lower CAS 2 latency. Obviously, any memory vendor wishing to offer high-performance modules (and in turn, generate the deepest margins) will find itself selling products that center on very similar components as its competitors.

There are a couple of ways vendors can, in turn, differentiate themselves. The first is to design more innovative products. Corsair Micro has consistently demonstrated a pioneering spirit in constructing its high-end modules, beginning with flashy heat spreaders, progressing to LED activity lighting on the Pro series, and culminating with the recently announced Xpert family. Sporting a 10-digit alphanumeric display that flashes pertinent diagnostic data and a customizable scrolling marquee, the Xpert modules can be customized with reseller branding or an enthusiast tag line. Though they’re admittedly very pricey, Corsair’s Xpert memory epitomizes the continual appeal for high-end attention that many vendors use to drum up support across their product lines.

Vendors also try to win the hearts and minds of resellers by improving the quality of their products. Corsair claims a lower than .02 percent failure rate on its modules. OCZ Technology offers lifetime guarantees on many products at non-standard voltages. Kingston Technology provides instantaneous online customer service to answer configuration-related questions. Continued testing, validation, and support help assure bug-free operation.

The point is that while many of the actual memory products you buy are built using similar components, vendors use a combination of innovative features, reseller support tools, and product guarantees to stand out. Especially as you get into high-end servers and workstations, where quality cannot be compromised, it really pays to put your money behind memory that has been thoroughly tested and is explicitly guaranteed.

Performance Verus Economy

You probably know by now that most top-tier OEMs overemphasize processor speeds, hard drive capacities, and peripheral bundles, often neglecting graphics, memory, and audio. As both Intel and AMD push towards an increasingly digitized home, all of those components will become even more critical factors in determining overall system alacrity. Yet, surprisingly, I still see high-end machines configured with substandard memory or dual-channel motherboards handicapped by single-channel installations.

While it’s understandable that you’d use economical memory products on entry-level PCs, enthusiast-oriented systems call for performance modules and specific optimization, which give you an opportunity to attain higher marks in benchmark tests than competing cookie-cutter designs.

For the sake of interoperability, it’s easiest to use standardized memory speeds that are widely supported by existing chipsets and have already been embraced by the industry. DDR333 (otherwise known as PC2700), DDR400 (PC3200), and DDR2-533 (PC2-4300) are all accepted standards that run at predefined settings on a majority of chipsets. Those are your best bets for infusing top performance.

The memory market gets a little more confusing when vendors decide to sell products that don’t conform to a specific industry standard. Take PC3700 DDR memory, for example. JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council), the organization responsible for defining standardized memory speeds and timings, hasn’t assessed a need for DDR RAM running at 466MHz, the clock speed that corresponds to a PC3700 module. Thus, you won’t find a chipset with official support for that memory frequency. In order to take advantage of the PC3700 RAM sold by many vendors, you’d have to perform some moderate overclocking—taboo territory for most whitebox resellers. So while PC3700 might sound more attractive than PC3200, you’ll actually be better off with the latter kit.

Chipsets Matter, too

There’s another important variable to take into account when you buy memory. That is, what chipset does your motherboard of choice employ, and what are its memory requirements? For example, all of AMD’s Athlon 64 processors include a built-in memory controller that supports standard DDR modules at 200, 266, 333, and 400 MHz. In a dual-channel configuration featuring a pair of identical 64-bit modules, you’re talking about anywhere from 3.2GB per second of bandwidth to 6.4GB per second. It doesn’t matter which chipset you choose; all Athlon 64 processors have the exact same requirements, and your choice in memory can make or break the overall performance picture painted by that platform.

On the other hand, every chipset designed to support Intel’s Pentium 4 has its own memory controller with slightly different features. Intel’s 925XE, the flagship of its family, operates with a front side bus of up to 1,066 MHz, but officially supports DDR2 memory running at up to 533 MHz. Older Pentium 4 chipsets work with the same DDR modules you’d expect to find on an Athlon 64 system and prior to that, Intel’s desktop strategy centered on Rambus’s RDRAM memory technology. So take special care to buy memory that falls within your motherboard’s specifications. Adding DDR2-667 modules to your high-end Pentium 4 systems might make them sound faster, but without proper chipset support for the accelerated standard, you’re adding unnecessary cost without a corresponding performance improvement.

VIA Technologies recently unveiled a series of chipsets that officially add DDR2-667 memory support. The PT800 series goes a step further than Intel’s lineup by also working with standard DDR memory at 266, 333, and 400 MHz, giving motherboard manufacturers and system integrators more flexibility when it comes to tailoring each platform’s components. VIA’s Keith Kowal says that DDR400 makes the most sense today when you compare price and performance. However, VIA is currently forecasting that the prices on DDR2-533 modules will fall in line with DDR400 in the second quarter of 2005, while DDR2-667 drops to the same level in 2006. If those predictions come to pass, resellers will be able to make seamless transitions from DDR to DDR2 to faster speed grades of DDR2 during the next year without significantly restructuring their product lines and without incurring additional costs to deliver enhanced performance.

Rumor has it that NVIDIA is also working on an Intel chipset that features DDR2-667 support. While that one will undoubtedly offer impressive performance as well, there’s still no official information regarding the product’s feature set. Keep your ears open, though, as an Intel platform equipped with SLI graphics would undoubtedly attract the gaming enthusiasts who demand top-shelf memory.

Picking the Right Parts

According to Robert Pearce, applications specialist at Corsair Micro, procuring the best performance on a Pentium 4 platform today involves fast DDR2 memory set to run CAS 3 timings. If you are courting mainstream or office-bound customers who probably won’t push their systems very hard, you can combine an Intel 915P- or VIA PT894-based motherboard with either DDR400 or DDR2 400 memory without detrimentally impacting performance. Enthusiast machines, on the other hand, are better served with low-latency DDR2-533 or flexible DDR2-667 modules. Given the proper degree of overclocking, those pricey DDR2-667 products will actually outperform lower-latency DDR2-533 on a compatible chipset.

Before you start protesting the O-word, take solace in OCZ Technology’s EVP (Extended Voltage Protection), a guarantee that covers DDR2 modules at voltage settings up to 2.2V, or 25 percent higher than DDR2 memory is meant to be run. Your enthusiast customers can poke and prod their hardware all they want under OCZ’s lifetime warranty. And while Corsair doesn’t guarantee its memory products at out-of-spec voltages, company representatives are quick to point out that cautious overclockers shouldn’t have any problem running memory at slightly higher voltages to procure extra speed.

The OCZ Technology EVP guarantee extends even further on the company’s Gold Voltage Extreme DDR components, which are rated to handle 3.5V and cost less than comparable Platinum modules. Granted, they’re only available in DDR400 trim, but that works out well for Athlon 64 platforms.

Can’t see why you’d ever want to touch overclocking with a 10-foot pole? Consider this: Both Intel and AMD have refined their manufacturing processes to yield high-speed flagship designs. In most cases, the slower chips benefit from the same optimizations, meaning they’re capable of much higher speeds than their stock frequencies. Quality motherboards are also capable of running far beyond their specified limits. (OCZ’s Eric Nelson cites MSI’s K8N Neo2 as one board his lab has seen do particularly well overclocked.) You can match a quality motherboard to a moderately-­fast processor with OCZ’s memory and give your customers relative flexibility for tuning performance—within reason.

In Retrospect

Learning about the latest memory technologies allows you to buy the right memory. You’ll know by looking at a motherboard’s specification sheet exactly which modules will facilitate an appreciable return in performance and, while there might be faster, more expensive products out there, that those advanced kits won’t positively impact your whitebox systems.

Divergent usage models call for different memory subsystems. Corporate workstations generally deliver ample performance in office productivity apps, even when they’re equipped with value modules a speed grade or two below the chipset’s ceiling. Conversely, enthusiast products should perform as though you spared no expense building them.