Conroe Buying Guide: Feeding the Monster
by Gary Key & Wesley Fink on July 19, 2006 6:20 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
High-Performance DDR2
The availability of high-performance DDR2 memory has dramatically increased in the last couple of months. That is understandable when you consider the introduction of AMD AM2 and Intel Core 2 Duo.
We have recently reviewed the Buffalo, Crucial, and OCZ DDR2 on the 955EE Net-Burst processor. Conroe compatibility was validated with those modules and tests were also performed on the Corsair, Kingston, and Mushkin High-Performance DDR2 which were in the lab for review.
To be considered High-Performance, a memory had to be rated at DDR2-1000 or above, and the memory had to be completely stable at DDR2-1067, which will be the next official DDR2 memory speed. These 2GB kits represent the best-performing DDR2 memory you can currently buy for the Core 2 Duo or AM2 platforms.
Each 2GB kit was evaluated for the fastest memory timings that could be achieved at each standard DDR2 memory speed - DDR2-400, DDR2-533, DDR2-667, DDR2-800, DDR2-1067, and the highest 1:2 (DDR2-1067 base) memory speed that could be achieved.
Buffalo Firestix PC2-8000
It is hard to miss the bright red heat spreaders of Buffalo Firestix. Buffalo also reaches DDR2-1100 at the 2:1 (DDR2-1067) ratio, delivering performance that is on par with others in this stratospheric club.
Corsair CM2X1024-8500C5
Corsair DDR2-1066 2GB kits have been our standard for high-performance memory since the launch of the AM2 platform. You can clearly see why we like the performance of this Corsair 2GB kit. It generally reaches the same timings as other top DDR2 in this roundup, but voltages required at each step are generally slightly lower than the average for the group. Corsair also reaches to DDR2-1104 form the 1067 ratio, which is one of the highest results we have seen from DDR2 memory.
Crucial Ballistix CL1116N.LW
The Crucial heatspreaders may be the ugliest color you have ever seen, but the performance of Crucial's Ballistix line is generally pure gold. As the retail arm of Micron, you would expect the Ballistix to be the best-of-the-best, but performance is generally toward the bottom of this top-performing group. All of the other high-performance 2GB kits made it to DDR2-1100 or higher, where the Crucial topped out around 1084. The results, in the end, are all very close, and you will never be disappointed if you do choose the Crucial - particularly if you get some of the special pricing Crucial is famous for providing at their web site.
The availability of high-performance DDR2 memory has dramatically increased in the last couple of months. That is understandable when you consider the introduction of AMD AM2 and Intel Core 2 Duo.
| High Performance DDR2 Specifications | |||||
| Manufacturer | Description (Memory Chips) |
Rated Speed |
Rated Timings |
Rated Voltage |
Cost (2x1GB) |
| Buffalo FireStix |
FireStix PC2-8000 (Micron) |
DDR2-1000 | 5-5-5-15 | 2.1V | $432 |
| Corsair XMS2 |
CM2X1024-8500C5 (Micron) |
DDR2-1067 | 5-5-5-15 | 2.2V | $453 |
| Crucial Ballistix |
CL1116N.LW (Micron) |
DDR2-1000 | 5-5-5-15 | 2.2V | $455 |
| Kingston HyperX |
KHX8500D2K2/1G (Micron) |
DDR2-1067 | 5-5-5-15 | 2.2V | $226 (2x512MB) |
| Mushkin Redline |
2GB XP2-8000 Redline (Micron) |
DDR2-1000 | 4-5-4-11 | 2.2V | $430 |
| OCZ PC2-8000 EL |
PC2-8000 EL Platinum (Micron) |
DDR2-1000 | 4-5-4-15 | 2.2V | $445 |
We have recently reviewed the Buffalo, Crucial, and OCZ DDR2 on the 955EE Net-Burst processor. Conroe compatibility was validated with those modules and tests were also performed on the Corsair, Kingston, and Mushkin High-Performance DDR2 which were in the lab for review.
To be considered High-Performance, a memory had to be rated at DDR2-1000 or above, and the memory had to be completely stable at DDR2-1067, which will be the next official DDR2 memory speed. These 2GB kits represent the best-performing DDR2 memory you can currently buy for the Core 2 Duo or AM2 platforms.
Each 2GB kit was evaluated for the fastest memory timings that could be achieved at each standard DDR2 memory speed - DDR2-400, DDR2-533, DDR2-667, DDR2-800, DDR2-1067, and the highest 1:2 (DDR2-1067 base) memory speed that could be achieved.
Buffalo Firestix PC2-8000
It is hard to miss the bright red heat spreaders of Buffalo Firestix. Buffalo also reaches DDR2-1100 at the 2:1 (DDR2-1067) ratio, delivering performance that is on par with others in this stratospheric club.
| Buffalo Firestix - 2x1GB DDR2-1000 |
||
| CPU Ratio | Memory Speed |
Best Memory Timings (Voltage) |
| (4:3) | 400 DDR2 | 3-2-2-5 1.8V |
| (1:1) | 533 DDR2 | 3-2-3-8 2.1V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-3-3-9 2.1V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 3-3-4-10 2.1V |
| (1:2) | 1067 DDR2 | 4-4-5-14 2.3V |
| Highest Mem Speed (1:2) |
1100 DDR2 | 5-5-5-15 2.35V |
Corsair CM2X1024-8500C5
Corsair DDR2-1066 2GB kits have been our standard for high-performance memory since the launch of the AM2 platform. You can clearly see why we like the performance of this Corsair 2GB kit. It generally reaches the same timings as other top DDR2 in this roundup, but voltages required at each step are generally slightly lower than the average for the group. Corsair also reaches to DDR2-1104 form the 1067 ratio, which is one of the highest results we have seen from DDR2 memory.
| Corsair XMS8505v1.2 - 2x1GB DDR2-1000 |
||
| CPU Ratio | Memory Speed |
Best Memory Timings (Voltage) |
| (4:3) | 400 DDR2 | 3-2-2-5 1.8V |
| (1:1) | 533 DDR2 | 3-2-2-8 2.1V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-2-3-3-9 2.1V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 3-3-3-11 2.15V |
| (1:2) | 1067 DDR2 | 4-4-4-14 2.2V |
| Highest Mem Speed (1:2) |
1104 DDR2 | 5-5-5-15 2.35V |
Crucial Ballistix CL1116N.LW
The Crucial heatspreaders may be the ugliest color you have ever seen, but the performance of Crucial's Ballistix line is generally pure gold. As the retail arm of Micron, you would expect the Ballistix to be the best-of-the-best, but performance is generally toward the bottom of this top-performing group. All of the other high-performance 2GB kits made it to DDR2-1100 or higher, where the Crucial topped out around 1084. The results, in the end, are all very close, and you will never be disappointed if you do choose the Crucial - particularly if you get some of the special pricing Crucial is famous for providing at their web site.
| Crucial Ballistix - 2x1GB DDR2-1000 |
||
| CPU Ratio | Memory Speed |
Best Memory Timings (Voltage) |
| (4:3) | 400 DDR2 | 3-2-2-5 1.8V |
| (1:1) | 533 DDR2 | 3-2-3-8 2.0V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-3-3-10 2.1V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 4-3-4-11 2.1V |
| (1:2) | 1067 DDR2 | 4-4-5-14 2.35V |
| Highest Mem Speed (1:2) |
1084 DDR2 | 5-4-5-15 2.35V |
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JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Erm... onboard sound isn't "legacy". As for the others, the instant you release something without floppy support, someone is going to want to install an OS that needs drivers on a floppy (XP). I still find BIOS updates to be far more successful when done from a floppy as well. Give it another year and the floppy might truly start to disappear; we just need better support for USB storage devices.Makaveli - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Could u elaborate little more on the painful part of going from the AMD system to the conroe.rjm55 - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
What they said in the recommendations was pretty clear: "Most of our Reference systems have been based on AMD/AM2 for the last couple of years. To be honest, going back to some of those same systems after our Conroe testing, the differences are more obvious and painful than you might think. Conroe is clearly the faster platform - and not by small, barely measurable differences."They said it was painful going back to the slower AMD systems for some testing after working with all these Conroe boards.
phusg - Thursday, July 20, 2006 - link
I think Makaveli's point is how is is slower? Gaming, switching apps, overall? I'm interested in some elaboration on this point too.mine - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
missed the abit ab 9 proonly 965 board so far that showed some improvements in real wotld apps. over the 975.
but great review so far ...wait for more ..
Gary Key - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
We really wanted to include the Abit AB9 Pro, however we did not have time to fully test the latest bios that unlocks the memory timings. We did not feel it would be fair to the readers or Abit to publish numbers until we had a shipping bios for review. I will not go through another a review of system with a bios that is not going to be released. ;-) We will post a follow up once we have concluded our testing.DeathSniper - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
On page 3:I'm thinking you wanted to use 'coarse'? :D
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Our grammar checking software needs an education :D Fixed.archcommus - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Once again you guys continue to impress me. Can't think of another site that delivers this much (and this high quality) content.Thanks for keeping us informed!
vmsein - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Hello gentlemen and thanks for the informative article. Could you let us know which BIOS version was used for testing on the P5W-DH? Thanks in advance!