Testing
Continued
|
Memory Bus Speed: |
1067MHz |
|
Memory Voltage: |
2.2v |
|
Memory Timings: |
5-5-5-15 |
| CPU
Bus Speed: |
266MHz |
| Final
CPU Clock Speed: |
1.86GHz (default) |
With the default FSB at 266 MHz, the ASUS BIOS taunts us with a max
speed of PC2-1067. So it seems reasonable to fire it up!
Sandra shows another solid bump up to a
score of 5673/5677. The Ballistix DDR2-8000 easily
handles the 535 MHz without any loss of stability.
|
Memory Bus Speed: |
1000MHz |
|
Memory Voltage: |
2.1v |
|
Memory Timings: |
5-5-5-15 |
| CPU
Bus Speed: |
300MHz |
| Final
CPU Clock Speed: |
2.1GHz |
This time I left
the memory at its defaults and overclocked the CPU only. With a FSB
of 300 MHz the Ballistix memory really starts to stretch its legs!
Sandra shows an impressive
score of 6112/6125. The future of DDR2 is
beginning to look bright indeed.
|
Memory Bus Speed: |
1000 MHz |
|
Memory Voltage: |
2.2v |
|
Memory Timings: |
4-4-4-14 |
| CPU
Bus Speed: |
300MHz |
| Final
CPU Clock Speed: |
2.1GHz (default) |
With the default FSB at 266 MHz, I thought I should try the 500MHz
combined with some lower clocks. Here I take each of the
timings down by one. Our aggressive changes resulted in a nice
Sandra increase to a
score of 6173/6192. Nice and easy too.
|
Memory Bus Speed: |
1000 MHz |
|
Memory Voltage: |
2.2v |
|
Memory Timings: |
4-4-4-12 |
| CPU
Bus Speed: |
300MHz |
| Final
CPU Clock Speed: |
2.1GHz |
After playing a bit more with the timings
individually I discovered the Ballistix still had some room to move
in the TRAS. A single drop to 12 nets us another
Sandra increase to 6218/6215. Ironically, these
are the recommended timings for 400 MHz setups!
|
Memory Bus Speed: |
1000MHz |
|
Memory Voltage: |
2.1v |
|
Memory Timings: |
4-4-4-11 |
| CPU
Bus Speed: |
300MHz |
| Final
CPU Clock Speed: |
2.1GHz |
Pushing the TRAS just a bit more reveals
the memory hits a brick wall on this system at a respectable
4-4-4-11. From this point on the only increases possible will
be through FSB bumps and those are very dependent on your processor
choice. Our final
Sandra score clocks in at a
score of 6194/6084. Sadly the performance seems
to have peaked and we are now experiencing a slight drop in scores.
Still getting your DDR2 to clock in at PC2-1000 speeds with timings
like 4-4-4-11 is nothing to be disappointed in!
Conclusion
Crucial
has consistently provided some of the most dependable memory
available. So solid that their high performance chips are
often retagged and sold as enthusiast memory by other leading
resellers. The DDR2-8000 memory is no exception. Not
only does the new Ballistix PC2-1000 prove to be some of the best looking memory
we have tested, it is also some of the fastest. With a faster
processor and stronger FSB overclocking the sky's the limit on these
modules. Taking into account Crucial's lifetime warranty,
these modules just cant be beat. Over the next few months
expect the variety and prices of memory in the DDR2-8000 range to
change dramatically, bringing Crucial's Ballistix performance within
reach of most enthusiast budgets.
