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Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1214
OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2: The Universal Soldier
by Wesley Fink on January 1, 2004 12:08 PM EST- Posted in
- Memory
In the computer industry, Revision 2 or Revision B products are somewhat rare. Products that were not well received come back with improvements and a new name. In addition, the speed of innovation is amazing in the computer industry, with new chips, chipsets, sockets, memory types, and AGP standards constantly just around the corner. On the rare occasion where we do see a revision announced, it is usually a revision to a best-seller or legendary product in our industry. OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 falls into this category, but the Revision is more than just a new name for marketing.
OCZ PC3700 Gold was the first memory tested at AnandTech that was able to perform at DDR500. Since that time, just a few months ago, there have been a lot of new DIMMs that are rated at DDR500 or higher. Corsair is even shipping a DDR550 (PC4400) module. We have also tested modules that are rated at DDR533.
Despite the new higher-speed memory available, PC3700 Gold is still much in demand and is used in many high-end computers because it also performs very well at DDR400 to DDR500. This makes it a good choice for those who want DDR500 capabilities, but also want good timings for DDR400 and the 5:4 memory ratios on Intel 875/865 chipsets. The only complaint about the original 3700 Gold was that it was only available in 256Mb Double-Bank DIMMs; 512Mb modules were not offered. OCZ tells us that the hand-picked and lasered Samsung chips used in the original Gold did not allow a 512Mb option, and they are also dealing with increasing supply problems for those chips. For both of those reasons, we are now seeing a Revision 2 based on different memory chips, and finally, the option of 512Mb modules of OCZ PC3700 Gold in Revision 2.
PC3700 means an official rating of DDR466, just like the original 3700 Gold, and the rated timings are 2.5-3-3-7 at 2.7V. Like other recent high-end OCZ memory, the DIMMs are warranted up to 3.0V for overclocking. OCZ also tells us that the Rev. 2 memory will run at CAS2 at DDR400, just like the original 3700 Gold. One of our concerns in testing the Rev. 2 was whether or not the memory could possibly reach the performance timings at 400 to 480 that has made the original 3700 Gold so popular. Our testing confirms that in almost every measurement, 3700 Gold Rev. 2 performs just as well as the original, which is saying quite a bit since our test modules are 512Mb modules compared to the original's 256Mb modules.
OCZ uses the distinctive Gold-colored heatspreader on the PC3700 Gold Rev. 2. When we removed the heatspreader, we found that the chips are labeled OCZ. Since almost every memory manufacturer uses large chip makers to supply their chips, we asked OCZ for the source of the new PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 chips. We were told that the blanks are provided to OCZ specifications by ProMOS, a large Taiwanese memory chip supplier that is a division of Mosel. OCZ states that the chips are supplied as blanks to their specifications, and that they are further speed-binned and labeled as OCZ after testing at their facility. The ProMOS chips are used in several other OCZ products depending on the speed-bin ratings that the chips achieve.
OCZ also included a Case Badge in the package for those who want to advertise that they are using top OCZ memory in their computer. This has been included in all recent OCZ packaging.
OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 Specifications
OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 Memory Specifications | |
Number of DIMMs & Banks | 2 DS |
DIMM Size Total Memory |
512 Mb 1 GB |
Rated Timings | 2.5-3-3-7 at DDR466 |
Rated Voltage | 2.7V Maximum Voltage 3.0V |
OCZ tests performance of OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 on Asus and Abit Intel 865/875 motherboards. While compatibility tests are run on other motherboards, these popular boards are used for Production Line testing. OCZ states that Memory is tested at DDR400, 433, and 466.
Performance Test Configuration
The Memory testbed for evaluating the OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 is the same used in our earlier reviews of DDR500 and other High-Speed Memory.OCZ PC3500 Platinum: A Return to the Fastest Timings
OCZ 4200EL: Tops in Memory Performance
Mushkin PC4000 High Performance: DDR500 PLUS
Corsair TwinX1024-4000 PRO: Improving DDR500 Performance
Mushkin & Adata: 2 for the Fast-Timings Lane
Searching for the Memory Holy Grail - Part 2
All test conditions were as close as possible to those in our earlier memory reviews.
INTEL 875P Performance Test Configuration | |
Processor(s): | Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz (800MHz FSB) |
RAM: | 2 x 512MB OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 (DS) 2 x 512MB OCZ 4200EL(DS) 2 x 512MB Mushkin PC4000 High Performance (DS) 2 x 512MB Corsair TwinX4000 PRO (DS) 2 x 512MB Mushkin Level II PC3500 (DS) 2 x 256MB Adata DDR450 (SS) 2 x 512MB Adata PC4000 (DS) 2 x 512MB Corsair PC4000 (DS) 2 x 512MB Geil PC4000 (DS) 4 x 256MB Kingston PC4000 (SS) 2 x 256MB Kingston PC4000 (SS) 2 x 512MB OCZ PC4000 (DS) 4 x 256MB OCZ PC3700 GOLD (DS) |
Hard Drives | 2 Western Digital Raptor Serial ATA 36.7GB 10,000 rpm drives in an Intel ICH5R RAID configuration |
PCI/AGP Speed | Fixed at 33/66 |
Bus Master Drivers: | 875P Intel INF Update v5.00.1012, SATA RAID drivers installed, but IAA not installed |
Video Card(s): | ATI 9800 PRO 128MB, 128MB aperture, 1024x768x32 |
Video Drivers: | ATI Catalyst 3.10 |
Power Supply: | Vantec Stealth 470 Watt Aluminum |
Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP1 |
Motherboards: | Asus P4C800-E (875) with 1011 Release BIOS |
OCZ targets their OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 at the Intel 875/865 enthusiast. Since PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 is not targeted at Athlon64/Athlon XP, performance on an AMD processor was not tested. We will be adding an Athlon64 test bed in the near future to provide performance data for memory reviews.
Test Settings
The following settings were tested with OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2:- 800FSB/DDR400 - the highest stock speed supported on 875/865 motherboards
- 866FSB/DDR433 - a standard memory specification for recent high-end memory, and a common overclock with premium memory
- 933FSB/DDR466 - the specified rating of PC3700 Gold Rev. 2
- 1000FSB/DDR500 - the specified rating of the majority of recent memory modules that we have tested
- Highest Stable Overclock - the highest settings that we could achieve with this memory and other memory we have tested
Test Results
To test overclocked stability, we used the Aquamark 3, which pushes systems with its DX9 routines. To be considered stable for test purposes, Aquamark3, Gun Metal 2, our Quake3 benchmark, UT2003 Demo, and Super PI had to complete without incident. Any of these 5, and in particular Super PI and Gun Metal, will crash a less-than stable memory configuration.OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 - 2 x 512Mb Double-Bank | ||||||
Speed | Memory Timings & Voltage |
Quake3 fps |
Sandra UNBuffered | Sandra Standard Buffered |
Super PI 2M places (time in sec) |
|
400DDR 800FSB |
2-2-3-5 2.65V |
328.1 | INT 2881 FLT 2914 |
INT 4867 FLT 4856 |
128 | |
433DDR 866FSB |
2-2-3-6 2.65V |
355.3 | INT 3073 FLT 3108 |
INT 5258 FLT5255 |
118 | |
466DDR 933FSB |
2.5-3-3-6 2.65V |
379.7 | INT 3292 FLT 3310 |
INT 5670 FLT 563 |
111 | |
500DDR 1000FSB |
2.5-3-3-7 2.75V |
402.6 | INT 3447 FLT 3439 |
INT 5951 FLT 5992 |
104 | |
520DDR 1040FSB |
3-3-4-8 2.85V |
406.5 | INT 3393 FLT 3433 |
INT 6129 FLT 6132 |
101 |
The latest revision of OCZ PC3700 Gold performed better than its rated 2.5-3-3-7 specification. In fact, at DDR400, it allowed some of the fastest timings of 2-2-3-5 that we have seen with any high-speed memory. Most high-end DDR400 memory modules can do no better than 2-2-3-6 at DDR400, so this is really remarkable performance at DDR400 for a memory rated at DDR466. The only memory modules we have tested that are faster at 2-2-2-5 timings are the Corsair 3200LL 1.1, Mushkin 3500 Level II, and OCZ 3500 Platinum Ltd. All 3 of these modules are based on Winbond BH5 chips, which have been discontinued. Among the newest memory chips, 2-2-3-6 is about the best timings that you will see. So, the ability of the DDR466-rated 3700 Gold Rev. 2 to run at these aggressive DDR400 timings is outstanding.
The DDR500 performance at the DDR466 rated timings at 2.5-3-3-7 is also noteworthy. In fact, we were able to run up to DDR510 at these same 2.5-3-3-7 timings on the latest Revision B of the DFI 875 LanParty. The new DFI also seems to do a bit better with this memory on the top end, since we reached a stable DDR528 with the DFI 875 LanParty Rev. B.
Performance Comparisons
Performance of the OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 was compared to all of the memory recently tested in:OCZ PC3500 Platinum: A Return to the Fastest Timings
OCZ 4200EL: Tops in Memory Performance
Mushkin PC4000 High Performance: DDR500 PLUS
Corsair TwinX1024-4000 PRO: Improving DDR500 Performance
Mushkin & Adata: 2 for the Fast-Timings Lane
Searching for the Memory Holy Grail - Part 2
Memory performance was compared at DDR400, DDR500, and the highest stable overclock that we could achieve, which would run Gun Metal 2 Benchmark 2, Quake 3, UT2003, and Super PI to 2MM places. We also compared performance at DDR433 and DDR466 (the rated speed) where we had comparative data available.
Results are compared for Quake 3, Sandra UNBufferred Memory Test, and Super PI. The SiSoft Sandra reports 2 results for each memory test - an Integer value and a Float value. Results reported in our charts are the result of averaging the INT and FLOAT scores, which are normally close in value. INT and FLOAT scores were added and divided by 2 for our reported score.
DDR400 Performance Results
DDR433 Performance Results
DDR466 Performance Results
DDR500 Performance Results
Highest Memory Speed Performance Results
Final Words
The OCZ PC3700 Gold Revision 2 looks like a worthy successor to the original 3700 Gold. The change from lasered Samsung to ProMOS memory chips appears to be well-executed, with no loss in performance in Revision 2. In addition, there is the significant advantage that 512MB DIMMs are now available in 3700 Gold R2. 512Mb kits are also available, but please keep in mind that the new Rev. 2 256MB modules are single-sided and you must use 4 SS DIMMs for best performance on an Intel 865/875 board. If you only want 2 - 256MB DIMMs, it would be worthwhile to search for a pair of original Gold DIMMs, which are Double-Bank in the 256MB configuration. For more information on the performance of Single-Sided vs. Double-Sided modules on an Intel 865/875 board, please refer to our Searching for the Memory Holy Grail: Part 1 and Searching for the Memory Holy Grail - Part 2.With so many recent introductions of DDR500 and faster memory by the major memory suppliers, you might be asking where OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 would work best. The answer may surprise you because PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 is one of these Universal memories that will work well in almost any DDR400 and up system. The most recent Corsair PC4000 Pro, Mushkin 4000 High Performance and OCZ 4200EL also belong to this "Universal" family. What we mean by this is that these memories perform very well at aggressive timings at DDR400, as well as perform at DDR500+ at competitive memory timings.
With the 3 DDR500/533 memories, you can achieve best timings of about 2/2.5-3-3-6 at DDR400. These are only a little slower than the best timings available with any DDR400 memory and provide good performance at DDR400. These 3 brands also provide very good performance to DDR500 and well beyond, giving you the best 1:1 memory performance that you can find. Universal is used here only to describe the fact that these 3 brands, based on Hynix Rev. B memory chips, cover a very wide and useful memory range.
OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 should be considered an even faster option for the DDR400 to DDR466 range. At DDR400, the 2-2-3-5 timings that we achieved with Rev. 2 are as good as you will find on any recent DDR400 memory, so you give up nothing at DDR400. Only 3 modules that we have tested - Corsair's older 3200LL 1.1, Mushkin 3500 Level II, and OCZ 3500 Platinum Ltd - provide faster 2-2-2-5 or 2-2-2-6 timings. These 3 modules are all based on the discontinued Winbond BH5 chips, so when current stockpiles are gone, so will 2-2-2-5 memory timings. The best of the new modules do 2-2-3-5 or 2-2-3-6 timings with the requirement that Ras-to-Cas be limited to a 3-setting. The new Rev. 2 performs as well as any of these newer modules at DDR400 to DDR433 - so you really give up nothing.
With OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2, you do gain something though - the ability to run to DDR500 and better, something that none of the newer or older DDR400 modules can accomplish. This alone makes PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 a good choice if you are considering DDR400 or DDR433 memory. The liability of PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 is that it cannot achieve the very highest overclocks available with the best DDR500+ modules. We have reached DDR560 with some of the best DDR533 DIMMs, but the PC3700 Gold R2 will not go beyond the DDR520 range. If you want more than this, PC3700 Gold R2 is not what you should buy.
The great majority of users will find the broad DDR400 to DDR500 range of OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev.2 at the best timings available exactly what they are looking for. With the highest end memory pushing prices down, PC3700 will likely be a very good buy that can do whatever most people want to do in overclocking high-performance memory. OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 is a worthy successor to the original memory that started it all with DDR500+.