DDR2 & DDR3 Memory Roundup: Corsair, Patriot, GeIL, Elixir

Written by Dimitar Dinchev a.k.a. Veseliq

Sunday, 26 July 2009

 

Page 16 - Closer look and Conclusion on Elixir (Nanya) 3x2GB DDR3 1600MHz

And another Elixir kit - this time a DDR3 one. Gaming 3x2GB with high frequency 1600MHz, an just as with the DDR2 1066MHz Elixir modules, those had relatively high latency (9-9-9-28) and are being sold separately and not as triple channel kit. Another interesting advantage reveals itself here though.

While with DDR2 you rarely use odd number of modules, then with DDR3 ou could get a single module for a mini-ITX system, 2or 4 for AMD AM3 system (or the upcoming Core i5 platform) and 3 or 6 for Core i7 (X58) system, like one that we tested them on. True, modules would not have been tested for compatibility, but then again they performed just fine by SPD on both out AMD Phenom II and Core i7 920 C0 systems, so we're confident they will do so on any machine.

Overclock attempts , just as those with the DDR2 Elixir modules were not all to successful. That however is somewhat irrelevant because of the issues with our MSI X58 Pro motherboard. Modules refused to run at lower timings, requiring at the same time much more loose ones for higher frequency. Again - you get what you paid for.

Conclusion

Pros:

• High frequency
• Very low price
• Coolradiators, the memory looks awesome in clear cases (or windowed for that matter)
• Modules sold separately, not in kits

Cons:

• At the current price and performance, the timings (9-9-9) and low overclock potential are somewhat of disadvantage, not huge but disadvantage nevertheless

Again - Nanya Elixir DDR2 1066MHz we liked a lot. Modules are cheap, stable and thanks to their volume and high frequency they dash swell performance in games. Availability in Bulgaria is questionable at best.

Many thanks to Nanya (Elixir Memory) for supplying the test modules.