Test System

     For this review we'll be using an EVGA nForce 680i SLI motherboard which is based on NVIDIA's NF68 chipset. The 680i has proven to crank out some of the fastest benchmark scores we have ever seen for an Intel Socket 775 motherboard.

     Here is a basic rundown of the test system:

Testing

Default Memory Speed and Timings

Sandra Memory Bandwidth results shown above in red: 7647/7642

     Patriot Memory's PC2-6400 with 4-4-4-12 timings is incredibly fast. In fact it beat out several of our DDR-2 2Gb memory kits that have a much higher speed rating. Very impressive... Thanks to NVIDIA and Patriot Memory, getting the most out of your memory is easier than ever.

Overclocking

     Next we turn off the EPP/SLI Memory setting in the bios, manually unlink the CPU/Memory Link, set the memory bus speed to 900MHz, and timings to 4-4-4-12.

Sandra Memory Bandwidth results shown above in red: 7670/7684

     With the memory bus speed set to 900MHz in the 680i bios, we gain a slight performance increase. Next I tried 950 on up to 1066MHz at 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-15 with no luck. 950MHz at 5-5-5-15 was possible with extra voltage, but it wasn't what I consider stable.

Conclusion

     Patriot Memory's PC2-6400 with 4-4-4-12 timings is some of the fastest PC2-6400 memory I have ever seen. Of course it helps when you start out with a great motherboard like the EVGA 680i. The PC2-6400 delivers rock solid performance at 800MHz with a little room for overclocking. However, I would not consider this particular set of PC2-6400 "overclocking RAM". As with most PC2-6400 running on a Intel C2D platform, 800MHz will not give you much wiggle room for overclocking. This memory best fits those who are not tweakers, but want the most performance possible for the buck. I highly recommend Patriot Memory's EPP Ready, PC2-6400 to those looking for a ultra high performance upgrade and to those looking to pick up the new NVIDIA 680i motherboard.