PQI & G. Skill: New Choices in 2-2-2 Memory
by Wesley Fink on October 9, 2004 11:35 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Final Words
Both the G. Skill TCCD and the PQI 3200 Turbo did very well on the Intel test bed. As we are seeing with other DIMMs based on recent TCCD chips, the bandwidth is getting better with later runs of Samsung TCCD. Both the G. Skill and PQI reached well beyond DDR533 to DDR561 and DDR556 respectively. With this Intel performance, the G. Skill and PQI join the OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2 and Geil 3200 Ultra X as DDR400 memories that can reach over DDR550. Considering these four memories are rated at DDR400 2-2-2, this extended bandwidth is all the more remarkable.In Athlon 64 Memory: Rewriting the Rules, we speculated that PQI 3200 Turbo appeared to be optimized for the Intel platform. Our testing here certainly confirms that. While the PQI does very well on the Intel platform, it tends to hug the bottom of our Athlon 64 TCCD comparisons. PQI could just as easily have tweaked the memory for the AMD Athlon 64 platform. If they had, we expect performance would have been on a par with the best of the new DDR400 2-2-2 memories.
In the Athlon 64 tests, both memories also showed great bandwidth, reaching to DDR596 with the PQI and DDR584 with the G. Skill. As we have seen with other recent TCCD memory, the Athlon 64 bandwidth is much better than the bandwidth on Intel 875.
Overall, on both Intel and AMD Athlon 64, the PQI and G. Skill performed very well. Performance was on par with the best TCCD memories that we have tested. This gives two new options to those searching for DDR400 2-2-2. You can now choose between Corsair, Crucial, Geil, Kingston, Mushkin, OCZ, G. Skill and PQI if you're in the market for memory based on Samsung TCCD chips. Certainly, not all of these memories are created equal or perform exactly the same. As we saw in our reviews, a few reach to DDR600, and some are capable of better timings at higher speeds. However, all of the TCCD DIMMs performed at stock DDR400, at 2-2-2 timings. All eight memories also reached at least DDR 500 when overclocked. If these specifications meet your needs, then you can select any of these memories based on which offers the best price and warranty.
Crucial Ballistix is another memory to consider in this group. It is based on Micron memory chips, but certainly performed well at DDR400 2-2-2 timings. Ballistix also reached DDR500 with the fastest timings that we have ever seen at that speed.
The only concern with both PQI and G. Skill is that we don't really know what to expect with either memory company. Both offer a lifetime warranty on their top memories, including the two tested here, but we have no experience in warranty claims with either company. With time, we will know more what to expect, but for now, quality of service is a question looking for answers. We will also be more comfortable recommending PQI or G. Skill when we have heard more from readers using these DIMMs. Is the excellent performance we found typical of memory from both companies? Is the great performance we tested here what buyers will get with both G. Skill and PQI? We can't answer these questions yet, but we are interested in hearing about any experience that you have with PQI or G. Skill memory.
Even without answers to all the questions, at the very least, you should definitely check the prices of G. Skill and PQI if you are in the market for fast DDR memory with excellent overclocking capabilities. 2-2-2 timings are readily available again, and these latest Samsung TCCD and Micron G DIMMs are the best memory that we have ever seen for fast timings and extraordinary overclocking.
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adamofwales - Thursday, November 11, 2004 - link
I am considering purchasing a matched pair 1024MB total, of the PQI Turbo 2700, 2-2-2-5 timings, (PQI2700-1024DAL) and I was wondering, do you think that it will overclock as well as the 3200 with the same timings? I read somewhere that the PQI 2700 Turbo 2-2-2-5 512x2 will run at 2-3-2-5 at 3200 speeds.What do you think?
Wesley Fink - Saturday, October 16, 2004 - link
#3 - We have NEVER implied you need an FX53 to review memory. We have , however, stated the need for a standardized memory test bed and the FX53 is the CPU we have chosen. The trends over spped would apply to any Athlon CPU since they are all unlocked below the stock speed.Others - We are planning a Value RAM roundup in the near future - after the huge number of new equipment launches for the rest of October. Since every memory vendor now has a Samsung TCCD memory it should be clear that TCCD is now at the top in almost everyone's mind. Samsung TCCD chips are also expensive, which is why we have reviewed alternative brands based on those chips.
MadAd - Thursday, October 14, 2004 - link
yup, i have to agreeIts difficult to complain at the tremendous quality of memory reviews here at AT but I too believe it would be useful to have a catchup on how the other half of the memory market is shaping up.
If it was a case of 'this months exculsive is next months mainstream is a 6 months time bargain' like gpu/cpu/etc then it wouldnt matter so much, but its not, leaving a gap in the product review landscape.
Infact, what is value ram at all these days? Lower speed binned chips from a recent stepping silicon (like gpu) or seperatly RND'ed low cost engineering or even lower purity processes?
You see, theres an article in the making already :)
CalvinHobbes - Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - link
I'd love to see a comparison of cheaper memory as well. I'm in the market for some new ram and I just want to know if I can spend $170 for 1GB or is it really worth while to spend the $245+ for the 2-2-2 stuff.Zebo - Monday, October 11, 2004 - link
Sup Concillian;):PIt's almost like AT only reviewing FX's and EE's on the processor side.
I really feel AT is doing a diservice to the community by continually pimping this overpriced RAM in every review. Even for overclcokers this holds true, since much budget ram scales the same as the boutique ram when pushed..albeit with mybe a little looser timings and a little slower.
But sure as heck ain't 100% slower to justify boutiques ram 100% price premium. Especially when most users are on fixed budget and thier money is better spent on a better video card, more HD space or something else.
But comming to AT, as a builder, you'd think this overpriced RAM is your only choice since that's all they like present and are getting your budget jammed on the front end for almost nothing in return.:(
Zebo - Monday, October 11, 2004 - link
Would you guys *PLEASE* test some budget ram like crucial 8T to show what a ripoff this boutique stuff is price/performance wise?Concillian - Monday, October 11, 2004 - link
It is very interesting to see the very high performance results of the best memory out there. However, I feel it would be useful to compare this to some of the common forms of value memory.As a consumer about to go spend hard earned dollars on a new motherboard/CPU/RAM, the question I ask myself is:
Is it worth it to spend the bucks on super fast memory, or do I spend about HALF and get decent PC3200 CAS 2.5 value memory from the likes of OCZ, Mushkin, or Corsair and use a memory divider when overclocking an A64.
In reality, the typical memory showcased here on Anandtech is very expensive, roughly twice the price of typical value memory.
When you can get an A64 2800+ and motherboard for around $200, I can't be the only one questioning whether $250-$300 just on a gig of memory to overclock a $200 mobo/CPU combo, when closer to $150 may work almost as well. I can't help but wonder if the extra ~$150 (or a nearly 40% increase in cost of the total package mobo + CPU + 1gig RAM in this case) is really worth the system performance.
Uff - Monday, October 11, 2004 - link
This is the second memory test that claims that you need an FX-53 to test memory speed because it's completely multiplier unlocked. I don't see you going above the multiplier 12 anywhere in these tests, thus you could do the exact same thing with 3400+ (2.4GHz version), 3700+ or 3800+, as all the AMD CPUs are multiplier unlocked downwards.Secondly, do you have any further information on the Corsair 2-2-2 sticks? My own tests have shown they can barely run at 3-4-4-10@218MHz fsb and fail to reach 240MHz at any timings :(
Wesley Fink - Sunday, October 10, 2004 - link
The timings used at each speed are included in the Test Results tables on pages 6 and 7.There is only so much information you can include in a chart before it gets too confusing, but we always include timings and voltages for each speed in the Test Results tables.
AkumaX - Sunday, October 10, 2004 - link
nice article! were all different memory speeds (actual: 200, 233, 250, 275) at 2-2-2-5|10 also?