Gigaram PC3500 1GB Dual Channel Kit
Gigaram is not a well known memory manufacturer. It was only recently established in 1996 and operates under the concept of being the "Innovator in Memory Module Design & Manufacturing." Large OEM companies may have heard about them, but why not us? It's because they focus on producing memory modules for OEM systems. Mass consumers, like us, who insist on building systems with our own two hands will only know of large memory companies like Corsair, Kingston, OCZ, and Mushkin. Gigaram has now opened a new door and stepped up to directly provide consumers with their high quality memory. For this review, Gigaram has graciously provided us with a sample of their memory. Do they have what it takes to compete with the already well known memory manufacturers? Read on to find out.
Gigaram PC3500
The sample we have on hand today is a 1GB kit of PC3500
memory. Although the only vendor that I've seen selling Gigaram (Newegg) does not sell Gigaram
in dual channel kits, these memory modules are fully capable of running
together in a dual channel system. Surprisingly, there are still many
enthusiasts out there who believe that only memory in dual channel labeled memory
kits are capable of running dual channel. That is NOT true.
Memory manufacturers label their memory dual channel and sell it in a kit to
provide their customers with two of the most compatible modules. This
eliminates possible incompatibility issues that may arise from separate sticks,
as memory
manufacturers do not always use the same chips for their line of memory.
Corsair XMS is known to use a variety of ICs, ranging from Infineon to
Winbond. Mixing sticks with different ICs can result in system
errors and hangings. Dual channel is a motherboard inherent feature; as
long as there are two sticks of memory in the proper DIMM slots, then dual
channel will be enabled.
Anyway, back to our Gigaram sample. The memory we
received came nicely packaged in a cardboard box--it's plain and that's all
it needs. I feel that there is no need for fancy artwork as the box is
going in the trash anyway.
Gigaram did a nice job with insuring the safety of the
modules. The memory was sealed inside anti-static bags and not
inside plastic like many other companies. There was foam padding inside the
box to hold the ram in place. I feel it's better to spend more money
on safe packaging rather than fancy packaging.
Removing the modules from the anti-static bag revealed two
simple looking modules. Right from the start, I noticed that Gigaram has moved away
from the traditional regular memory that is just PCB and ICs. They have
outfitted their modules with silver painted aluminum heat spreaders.
Although heat spreaders do absolutely nothing in regards to memory cooling,
it does look very nice. These heat spreaders are the same ones that can
be found on the Corsair XMS Platinum memory, and are also the blue aluminum
heat spreaders that Thermaltake sells. However, there was one small
difference--even though thermal tape was used, there were no clips to hold
the heat spreaders together. I guess there is no need for clips as the
thermal tape bond is very strong.
There is a simple sticker label on the each heat spreader
indicating the model, speed, and size of each stick. Overclockers normally
look for single sided modules as they overclock better. Due to recent
games needing more than 512MB, overclockers are forced to use double sided
memory so they can pack their systems with 1GB. The Gigaram PC3500 we
have today is double sided, like the rest of the 512MB modules.
As you may know, tampering with the memory will void all
warranties; but what kind of overclocker would I be if I didn't take the
heat spreaders off and checked out what's underneath? I removed the
heat spreaders, which were stuck on firmly, and found that Gigaram uses
Samsung ICs.
TCCC is Samsung's way of defining their IC speed and model
number. It's
rated at 5ns, which equates to 200MHZ. The F denotes the
generation of the chip. I've come across D, E, and F
generations in my experiences. Enthusiasts will know that Samsung
chips are decent in overclocking, but do not perform so well under high voltages.
Test System and Overclocking
Test System:
Overclocking:
Memory at stock speeds and stock timings run just as fast as
all the other RAM at the same speed and timings, give or take a small
difference in performance. They are all relatively the same. Overclocking is where
the field spreads. There are
specific companies and specific chips that can overclock better than others.
My two personal favorite are OCZ and Kingston HyperX. Now let's see
what these Gigaram modules can do.
The
Samsung 5ns ICs are rated to run 200MHZ at timings of 3-3-3-8. The
Gigaram representative informed me that these PC3500 modules are rated
to run 217MHZ at timings of 3-4-4-8. Thus the overclocking process
begins. I installed the memory and ran into no troubles at all. It
defaulted to 2.5-4-4-7 in SPD. I was not hesitant to lower the
timings, and eventually came across 2.5-3-3-6. That was the lowest I
could get the memory to run; higher voltage didn't help decrease the
timings any lower. Gradually, I topped out at 230FSB with timings of
2.5-3-3-6. It didn't even need more than 2.9v to achieve that speed.
That's a pretty decent overclock for such budget memory. I loosened
the timings and see if it would help the overclocking progress. I
raised the timings to 3-4-4-7 and kept the voltage at 2.9v, and hit a
wall at 235FSB. Is gaining 5FSB worth raising the latencies to
maximum? I guess you'll find out later in results.
I
have to note that voltage higher than 2.9v did not help with
overclocking. This is important, in that most motherboards only supply
a maximum of 2.8v or 2.9v in their overclocking options. This means
that this memory won't be voltage hungry and hold you back, nor does it
require you to perform voltage modifications to your motherboard. This
is aimed at simple and basic overclocking--just install and you're off.
Results
Super PI
Super PI is a program that calculates the value of PI. The 1M
represents the calculation of PI to the one millionth decimal. As you
can see, having low latencies will help speed up the calculation process by
one second. The increased FSB scores were the same; there might be a
slight difference, but not enough to distinguish itself as a whole second.
SiSoft Sandra
Here we can see that the lower latencies really do come into play. The
lowered latencies gained roughly less than 100 points. I guess the
Samsung chips and the Gigaram PCB worked well together to keep up with the
low latency stuff.
3DMark2001SE
Futuremark's 3DMark2001SE benchmark tests the entire system's performance.
3DMark2001SE consists of four tests; and each one tests a specific part of
the system. Since all variables other than memory speed and timings
were kept consistent, the score difference will decide the performance of
the memory. Here we see the low latency scoring a hundred or so points
higher than the Gigaram. What surprised me was when the Gigaram scored
one point higher than the low latency memory when the FSB was raised.
Not bad at all.
Results Continued
Futuremark's PCMark memory benchmark tests the decoding, encoding, zipping, extracting of files. And of course, the larger the amount of memory, the faster the process. The low latency tries to catch up but still loses in this round. Having 1GB of memory definitely improves file loading and unloading speeds. UT2K3
Unreal Tournament 2003 is a popular game among enthusiasts. The graphs clearly show the results. Lower latencies means better gaming performance, even if it's just by a couple of frames per second. If you happen to have a poor graphics card, then having lower latencies can help--somewhat. But nonetheless, enthusiasts looking to have the best performance possible should still stick with low latency memory. A Boo Boo: I ran into a problem during installation. The heat spreaders were not applied correctly, thus hindering proper installation in the DIMM slots. These pictures reveal the problem.
See what I mean now? It can become dangerous if you're a LAN gamer. Any sudden movements and the memory can slide out easily. I corrected the problem myself by ripping off the heat spreader and reapplying it properly, avoiding the DIMM slot clasp. Remember, do this at your own cost. InsaneTek and Gigaram assume no responsibility.
Conclusion and Thoughts With the Gigaram memory priced at under $200 ($198 to be exact), it can't better than this. Budget users rejoice, there is finally something good that doesn't cost an arm and a leg--and you don't have to buy crap memory! Pros:
Cons:
We would like to thank Gigaram for providing us the sample. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit us up in the forums. You can also check out more of our latest reviews on the front page.
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