fast DDR2 with low timings

With Conroe officially hitting the streets next week and AM2 now going the DDR2 route, thought I'd start a thread to find the top dogs in DDR2.

I'm not talking best bang for the buck here. If a person had deep pockets, what are some choices that will make fellow overclockers drool?

I'll make a list of a few that I found so far. Please add to the list or make comments on what I listed. Like which ones are known to O/C really well.

Prices listed are for 2X1GB.

CORSAIR XMS2 DDR2-800 2.2v (3-4-3-9) $469 at newegg (out of stock)
I found a recent review (legitreviews.com) for this RAM using the new Conroe CPU. This RAM tested pretty good, but it ought to for the price. At CAS 3 it did 444 MHz stable, at CAS 4 it did 560, and at CAS 5 they got 567.7 (DDR2-1135) all done at 2.2v.

Mushkin eXtreme Performance DDR2-800 1.9V-2.1V (4-4-3-10) $254.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate at newegg
Legitreviews listed top 4-4-4-12 @ 2.3v O/C for the Mushkin eXtreme at DDR2-946 while 5-5-5-15 @2.3v yielded DDR2-1042. Of course, price is almost $200 cheaper for the Mushy compared to the Corsair XMS2. Techpowerup reviewed this RAM and got DDR2-1104 using relaxed timings.

OCZ Platinum EPP Edition DDR2-900 2.1v (4-4-3-15) $319.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate at newegg
Finally found a review for this OCZ RAM at Virtual-Hideout. The modules have cool looking mirrored mesh heatspreaders. They were able to do 900 MHz @ 4-4-3, 1000 MHz @ 4-4-4-12 stable and 1080 MHz @ 5-5-5-15 using 2.15v.

Mushkin REDLINE DDR2-1000 2.2v-2.3v (4-5-4-11) $354.99 after $75.00 Mail-In Rebate at newegg
Here is what I read in the Bjorn3D review for the Redline with sexy red heat spreaders. Max O/C was 560 @ 5-5-5-15 using 2.3v (that's DDR2-1120 of course). With tighter timings it did 1080 MHz @ 4-4-4-11 with 2.25v (sweet).

[added] I also found an article at Anandtech which demonstrated the Mushkin Redline could do DDR2-800 @ 3-3-3-9 with 2.1v, DDR2-1067 @ 4-4-4-12 with 2.2v, and DDR2-1116 @ 5-5-5-15 with 2.35v (which is very similar to the Bjorn3D review).

OCZ Titanium Alpha VX2 DDR2-1000 2.3v (4-4-4-15) suggested retail price of $489
Checking out the ProClockers review showed this new OCZ RAM running DDR2-820 at 3-3-3-8 and a max of DDR2-1068 at 4-4-4-8 (using 2.4v which is still covered by OCZ).

G.SKILL DDR2-1066 2.4v (4-4-4-5) $489.99 at newegg
These latencies signify that the module currently has to be recognized as the fastest high-end memory available worldwide (according to one source I read). One thing that peaked my interest was that G. Skill offers a lifetime warranty on this RAM. One of the customer reviews at newegg said: he got DDR2-1084 CL4 2.4v. Another was running DDR2-1066 4-4-3-4. Those are some tight timings for that speed. Once more reviews are out, I'm sure we'll find this RAM can be pushed higher using relaxed timings.

Conclusions:
Well, considering that I probably overlooked a couple of other good DDR2 high speed candidates, it's hard to make a decision here. My initial gut feeling is the Mushkin REDLINE DDR2-1000 is worth checking out some more.

Comments? Additional choices?

Mushkin XP2-8000 Redline is quite a bit cheaper than some others and is very nice mem.

In my first post, I didn't bother listing any high speed DDR2 rated 5-5-5-15, but maybe I should take a second look at some of them.

OCZ PC2-8000 (DDR2-1000) Platinum Enhanced Latency XTC 2.2v (5-5-5-15) $359.99 after $40.00 Mail-In Rebate at newegg
ProClockers review was able to hit DDR2-1027 using 4-4-4-12 timings with just 2.2v.

Crucial Technology Ballistix DDR2-1000 2.2v (5-5-5-15) $464.99 at newegg
Tweak3D tested this RAM at DDR2-1000 @ 4-4-5-15 and DDR2-1066 @ 5-5-5-15 (used 2.3v in both attempts).

Buffalo FireStix DDR2-1000 2.1v (5-5-5-15) $396 at newegg (2 individual 1GB sticks)
Anandtech was able to do DDR2-1100 using the rated timings and DDR2-800 using 3-3-4.

Oh yeah, I almost overlooked this DDR2:

Patriot DDR2-1000 2.2v timings are rated PC2-5300 (3-3-3) PC2-8000 (4-4-4) $379.99 after $50.00 Mail-In Rebate at newegg
PCSTATS reviewed this RAM and said this: "What sets this pair of PC2-8000 DDR2 memory apart from the competition is that it's capable of three different frequency & timings settings." With tight timings, DDR2-940 @ 3-4-3-10 using 2.2V and DDR2-1020 @ 5-5-5-12 using 2.2V.

P.S.: Here is RAM that is new to me, but apparently is creating a buzz among some overclockers, and it's amazingly cheap.

Team Group Xtreem DDR2-800 1.95v-2.3v (4-4-4-12) $260 at TankGuys
[manufacturer's website] http://www.teamgroup.com.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=263&Itemid=468
Haven't found any official hardware reviews on this RAM yet. Give me a link so we can see what it does.

Ok, here is more PC2-8500 DDR2 RAM

CORSAIR XMS2 DDR2-1066 2.2v (5-5-5-15) $402 at newegg
PCSTATS reports at 4-4-4-12 this RAM will do DDR2-952 (less than Corsair's DDR2-800 RAM) and max O/C at 5-5-5-15 was DDR2-1104 (same as Corsair's DDR2-800 RAM). Hmmm, think I'll pass.

Here are some more DDR-800 choices:


CORSAIR XMS2 DDR-800 (3-4-3-9) - $469.00

Crucial Technology Ballistix DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12) - $359.99

Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12) - $322.99

CORSAIR XMS2 DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12) - $291.00

Xtreem Team Group DDR2-800 (4-4-4-10) - $260.00 <~~~ MY CHOICE

OCZ Platinum rev2 DDR2-800 (4-4-4-15) - $249.99

G.SKILL DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12) - $239.99 <~~~ MY CHOICE

Patriot DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12) - $224.99

lol thegreek the led's on that xms2 ddr2-800 4-4-4-12ram adds like 40+ to it. the not flashy led's sticks are $250 @zzf.

well batboy the timings dont seem to affect cpu performance that much with conroe and depending on just how you want to go abou it. IMO got with something along the lines of the xms2 6400-c4's. still able to oc high but with out having to give an arm or leg for 2gigs.

Just an FYI too: There is the 3-3-3-8 667 Mhz versions on our site of the Team DDR2. That stuff is AWESOME. Obviously I can't guarantee any OC at all, but I would not be surprised at all if they can run over 1000Mhz @ those timings. The 3-4-4-8 versions did so consistently. So you'd get some awesome memory, and it's even cheaper than the stuff you're looking at

TankGuys said:

Just an FYI too: There is the 3-3-3-8 667 Mhz versions on our site of the Team DDR2. That stuff is AWESOME. Obviously I can't guarantee any OC at all, but I would not be surprised at all if they can run over 1000Mhz @ those timings. The 3-4-4-8 versions did so consistently. So you'd get some awesome memory, and it's even cheaper than the stuff you're looking at

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Lower it to the 3-4-4-8's old price, you'll make me happy

trueplaya4ever8 said:

Lower it to the 3-4-4-8's old price, you'll make me happy

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Hmmm... I can do that, if you can convince Team to charge us the same too

I'm going to miss that old stuff. Apparently the Team rep messed up giving us our original price, and shot WAAAAAY too low. We even made a decent profit on them (not awesome, but definitely better than on most items) and it was *still* an incredible price. Those were the days!

TankGuys said:

Hmmm... I can do that, if you can convince Team to charge us the same too

I'm going to miss that old stuff. Apparently the Team rep messed up giving us our original price, and shot WAAAAAY too low. We even made a decent profit on them (not awesome, but definitely better than on most items) and it was *still* an incredible price. Those were the days!

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Lol. Im just wondering the difference between the 667 and 800 ones, they are priced so close together. Same chips?

trueplaya4ever8 said:

Lol. Im just wondering the difference between the 667 and 800 ones, they are priced so close together. Same chips?

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Yep, same chips as far as I know, the Micron Fat Body D9 or some such thing.

Just FYI since I remember you listing that somewhere on your website, these Team modules are not Fat Body D9's. They are D9's, but not fatties. That doesn't make them slow or anything, but Fat Bodies were only two specific steppings of D9xxx modules, both long out of production.

You should remove the term "Fat Body" if it appears anywhere, sort of a misnomer. Nothing worth complaining about, just an inaccuracy.

TankGuys said:

Just an FYI too: There is the 3-3-3-8 667 Mhz versions on our site of the Team DDR2. That stuff is AWESOME. Obviously I can't guarantee any OC at all, but I would not be surprised at all if they can run over 1000Mhz @ those timings. The 3-4-4-8 versions did so consistently. So you'd get some awesome memory, and it's even cheaper than the stuff you're looking at

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Ben, this memory is listed on your site at 4-4-4-10 but on Team Group's site when you click on the memory is lists it as 4-4-4-12 (link). Which is correct?

It should be 10, I asked our Team rep the same question when I posted it. I'll check with him again though when he gets back from vacation next week.

I noticed Team Group had the timings for that same RAM listed two different ways (4-4-4-10 in one place and 4-4-4-12 in another) on their website.

Still waiting for a review.

Xtreem Team Group DDR2-800 (4-4-4-10) - $260.00
G.SKILL DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12) - $239.99

What should i buy?

team group, everyone using it has great results.

i really didnt know about them to just recently, but all the people using them have oc well on the sticks from team group.
i got he corsair 6400-c4's i just hope i can get a good oc out of them.

I had asked in a thread I made and didn't really get any replies I was looking for...so let me try here

What would be a good set of memory for an AM2 system which was not going to be OC'd? And money is an object as I don't have deep pockets like some people.lol

thanks...

Wolverine690 said:

I had asked in a thread I made and didn't really get any replies I was looking for...so let me try here

What would be a good set of memory for an AM2 system which was not going to be OC'd? And money is an object as I don't have deep pockets like some people.lol

thanks...

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if you not going to oc the look for some ram that has the lowest timings at the fastest rated speed the mobo supports. Some will suggest G.skill / patroit / team group / ocz.

Evilsizer said:

if you not going to oc the look for some ram that has the lowest timings at the fastest rated speed the mobo supports. Some will suggest G.skill / patroit / team group / ocz.

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best ones I've found have been about 4-4-4-12 or 4-4-4-15