GEIL EVO Veloce 2x4GB DDR3-2133 C10 RAM Review

At the last Computex (early June 2012) we saw the premiere of GEIL’s new memory series – EVO Veloce. GEIL explains the EVO VELOCE name as such:

”Veloce, the Italian word for “speed”, hence the name of GeIL’s 4th generation top of the line EVO DDR3 Hardcore Gaming Memory – EVO VELOCE.”

This memory is designed for gamers and is available in “Hot-Rod Red” and “Frost White” colors.

A Closer Look & Specifications

Here is the product page, but I already noticed the information about voltage is misleading. Depending on the kit and rated frequency, this memory can work at 1.5 V or 1.65 V.

• Product Number:  GEV38GB2133C10ADC
• Rated speed:  DDR3-2133 / PC3-17000
• Density:  2×4 GB ( Dual Channel )
• SPD Profile:  1600 9-9-9-28 2N 1.50 V
• XMP Profile:  2133 10-11-11-30 2N 1.50 V

Module height is 47 mm, so anyone with a big CPU cooler could have problems using this memory. In this case, there is also a low profile series – GEIL EVO Leggera that should be short enough for all kinds of coolers.

Below is a screenshot from the BIOS SPD info. As you can see, my testing motherboard (ASUS Maximus V Gene) has no problems reading the JDEC and XMP profiles.

Here is a look at the SPD tables in CPU-Z and ASUS Mem TweakIt.

Since we are on Overclockers.com, I think that many users would be interested to see what’s under the heat spreaders.

Our testing kit is based on Hynix H5TQ2G83CFR PBC. What we can read from these numbers? This IC is marked as “commercial temp” and standard voltage. This means that we can expect it will work under temperatures between 0 and 85 °C ( 32 – 185 °F ), and voltage up to 1.80 V maximum, but not recommended for extended periods.

Packaging

Package is simple but good enough, and has all the information that is needed.

The unique look of the modules isn’t common to other memory on market, and it’s easily recognized as EVO series. In this case, it’s hard to say that they are good looking. Of course, it depends on each users own taste, but personally I would expect something better looking from high end gaming memory. I prefer the look of the heat spreaders on G.Skill TridentX over the ones on the EVO Veloce. At least the Hot-Rod red color matches the ASUS ROG motherboards, so it’s not that bad.

Performance & Testing

Test System

• Intel Core i7 3770K ( 4 cores enabled , HT disabled ) @ 4.2 GHz (Overclockers Approved!)
• ASUS Maximus V Gene ( Overclockers approved!)
• GEIL Veloce 2133 10-11-11-30 2N 1.50 V
• G.Skill TridentX 2400 10-12-12-31 2N 1.65 V
• OCZ-Z 850 W 80+ Gold PSU
• Crucial M4 64 GB AHCI
• Windows 7 Ultimate SP1

Test Software

• SuperPi 1.5
• AIDA64 Memory & Cache benchmark
• Maxxmem v1.99
• CPU-Z 1.61.3
• ASUS MemTweakIT 1.1.7

At the beginning I have to admit I had problems making this kit pass Memtest at the stock timings and voltage declared by GEIL. The Maximus V Gene was under-volting vdimm a bit, so I had to set  it manually to 1.525 V, and then all was fine. It’s also a clear sign that this memory won’t overclock past rated speeds at 1.50 V. Read points and software were showing about 1.505-1.515 V under full load.

To compare results I used a G.Skill TridentX 2×4 GB 2400 10-12-12-31 2N 1.65 V  kit, which is based on a Samsung IC. It’s been a real popular kit over the last several months, and we already had a review of similar Samsung based memory by Hokiealumnus here. The results of these two G.Skill TridentX kits are comparable even though the density is different.

Here we go with testing. First is AIDA64 Cache and Memory benchmark. It’s a fast test but clearly shows performance difference in all memory and cache transfers.

Even though the GEIL kit has a lower clock speed, it’s better in every test. Seems like sub timings help more than higher clock speed in this case.

For the next test I picked another quick benchmark, Maxxmem. It shows similar transfers as AIDA64.

Hard to say there were any big difference in this benchmark, except for the memory copy test where the GEIL was faster.

Now it’s time for SuperPi 32m.

In this test I can say that both kits are equal. Difference is less than 0.2 seconds, we’ll call it a draw!

After the first round of testing, all of which are good for showing performance differences, I can say that the GEIL 2133 10-11-11-30 will be as fast as G.Skill TridentX 2400 10-12-12-31 which cost up to 50% more ! Yes, it’s the only difference that can be clearly seen between these two memory kits.

Overclocking

As I already mentioned, the GEIL EVO Veloce 2133 is based on Hynix IC rated up to 1.80 V. I won’t push it quite that far, but I will show how high it can it go up to 1.775 V. I’m also NOT recommending you run this memory on voltages this high, If you do it’s at your own risk.

I’m starting from 1.65 V as it’s a more common voltage for Hynix based memory. VCCSA has been set to 1.15 V, VCCIO to 1.20 V for all tests.

2800 MHz couldn’t pass SuperPi 32M on 1.65 V even while using really loose timings, so I went for the tightest possible timings on voltage which is still within the Hynix specification. 2850 MHz was the point where my processor’s memory controller didn’t want to run on air cooling, and anything above 2830 MHz was really unstable.

There isn’t much to explain as the screenshots clearly show the GEIL Veloce 2133 has really high overclocking potential.

Conclusion

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this memory since I had already seen results on the same ICs in other reviews. After reading those other reviews, I thought the DDR3-2400 mark would be the maximum obtainable. I’m really surprised that this memory is able to pass 2800 MHz without any additional cooling, especially at this price point. It will be hard to find anything better for new platforms like Ivy Bridge.

The only thing that I would like to see changed is the heat spreader design. I won’t hide that I don’t like it.

Pros

• Easy to configure
• High overclocking potential – 2800 MHz+ on stock air cooling!
• Low price

Cons

• Cheap looking and tall heat spreaders
• Memory voltage has to be manually set a bit higher than the specified 1.50 V to achieve full stability

Even though there were some minor problems achieving stock settings using XMP profile, I’m not considering it as a big issue and it’s possible that on other motherboards it will work fine.  The Overclocking potential is probably better than all other memory that I have tested this year, and it’s also one of the cheapest 2133 kits on market. I can recommend the GEIL EVO Veloce 2133 for anyone who wishes to get fast, good overclocking RAM at a reasonable price.

Click the Approved stamp for an explanation of what it means.

~ Bartosz Waluk – Woomack