Final Words
Micron D9 memory chips continue to set the pace for high-end DDR2 memory performance. Because Micron D9 remains the best, it is good for buyers that we are seeing these excellent memory chips used in more memory brands. Wider availability opens the door for the best memory value when shopping for high-end memory.
A good example is today's Patriot DDR2-1066 2GB memory kit. At a current web price of $375 after rebate you will get good value with this top-end memory, and you also will get performance very competitive with the best DDR2 memory you can buy. You should also check pricing for other top-end memory based on the Micron chips, since memory prices are finally coming back down. You may find that memory brands that were too pricey just a few days ago are also much cheaper to buy today as memory prices continue to fall.
Our first encounter with Micron D9 memory chips came with the OCZ EL PC2-8000 XTC in early spring. We were impressed with the performance then, and our admiration for the performance capabilities of this DDR2 chip has only grown since. This was the fastest DDR2 memory ever tested at AnandTech, and it continues to hold that title.
We have recently evaluated other memory modules that are rated at even higher memory speeds than the Micron D9 we have reviewed. However, these high-spec'ed modules would, in most cases, only run at the highest speeds on the Intel P965 platform, and not in our Intel 975X platform. It appears the P965 is not generally as demanding as the Asus P5W-DH 975X in memory, so we get situations where performance of memory on the 975X at say DDDR2-1066 are sometimes even higher than a P965 at DDR2-1150. This review is not the platform for exploring this, but we do intend to explore this in a future memory review. For now we can say that whatever we find on the Asus P5W-DH memory test bed will likely be the very minimum you can expect if running the same memory on a P965 platform - at least as far as memory speed is concerned.
The Patriot DDR2-1066 is a fine product. It significantly exceeds the published specifications of DDR2-1066 of 5-5-5-9 at 2.3V. At the DDR2-1066 speed we managed a stable system with 4-3-4-11 timings at 2.3V. These test results are the same at 1066 as the best DDR2 memory we have tested. From DDR2-400 to DDR-533, DDR2-800, and DDR2-1066 the Patriot performed on par with the best. It equaled the best DDR2 memory we have tested across the bandwidth.
While you will not find headroom to reach DDR2-1100 and higher, the Patriot does reach a stable DDR2-1092, and performance at that speed is very comparable to top performance on brands reaching DDR2-1100 and more. We also suspect if our memory test bed had adjustments for memory voltage above 2.4V we may have reached even higher overclocks.
Overall, PDP has produced a very competitive product in their Patriot DDR2-1066. It exceeds published specs and performs the same as the best DDR2 memory we have tested. It is also a good value when it comes to selling price. You should definitely consider this Patriot DDR2-1066 if you are shopping for top DDR2-1066 memory. If you find the Patriot represents the best value of the brands you are considering, you can buy it without worrying about compromises in performance.
Micron D9 memory chips continue to set the pace for high-end DDR2 memory performance. Because Micron D9 remains the best, it is good for buyers that we are seeing these excellent memory chips used in more memory brands. Wider availability opens the door for the best memory value when shopping for high-end memory.
A good example is today's Patriot DDR2-1066 2GB memory kit. At a current web price of $375 after rebate you will get good value with this top-end memory, and you also will get performance very competitive with the best DDR2 memory you can buy. You should also check pricing for other top-end memory based on the Micron chips, since memory prices are finally coming back down. You may find that memory brands that were too pricey just a few days ago are also much cheaper to buy today as memory prices continue to fall.
Our first encounter with Micron D9 memory chips came with the OCZ EL PC2-8000 XTC in early spring. We were impressed with the performance then, and our admiration for the performance capabilities of this DDR2 chip has only grown since. This was the fastest DDR2 memory ever tested at AnandTech, and it continues to hold that title.
We have recently evaluated other memory modules that are rated at even higher memory speeds than the Micron D9 we have reviewed. However, these high-spec'ed modules would, in most cases, only run at the highest speeds on the Intel P965 platform, and not in our Intel 975X platform. It appears the P965 is not generally as demanding as the Asus P5W-DH 975X in memory, so we get situations where performance of memory on the 975X at say DDDR2-1066 are sometimes even higher than a P965 at DDR2-1150. This review is not the platform for exploring this, but we do intend to explore this in a future memory review. For now we can say that whatever we find on the Asus P5W-DH memory test bed will likely be the very minimum you can expect if running the same memory on a P965 platform - at least as far as memory speed is concerned.
The Patriot DDR2-1066 is a fine product. It significantly exceeds the published specifications of DDR2-1066 of 5-5-5-9 at 2.3V. At the DDR2-1066 speed we managed a stable system with 4-3-4-11 timings at 2.3V. These test results are the same at 1066 as the best DDR2 memory we have tested. From DDR2-400 to DDR-533, DDR2-800, and DDR2-1066 the Patriot performed on par with the best. It equaled the best DDR2 memory we have tested across the bandwidth.
While you will not find headroom to reach DDR2-1100 and higher, the Patriot does reach a stable DDR2-1092, and performance at that speed is very comparable to top performance on brands reaching DDR2-1100 and more. We also suspect if our memory test bed had adjustments for memory voltage above 2.4V we may have reached even higher overclocks.
Overall, PDP has produced a very competitive product in their Patriot DDR2-1066. It exceeds published specs and performs the same as the best DDR2 memory we have tested. It is also a good value when it comes to selling price. You should definitely consider this Patriot DDR2-1066 if you are shopping for top DDR2-1066 memory. If you find the Patriot represents the best value of the brands you are considering, you can buy it without worrying about compromises in performance.
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Centurin - Friday, November 3, 2006 - link
Why does the Corsair CM2X1024-6400C3 perform so well, yet is only DDR2-800? I would think it would be better to save a hundred bucks with the Corsair if it performs better than 1066 modules.bob661 - Tuesday, October 31, 2006 - link
I hope that when the new 600 comes out that AT will do some memory testing on that platform.lopri - Tuesday, October 31, 2006 - link
I had a couple more things that I originally wanted to ask, but decided to ask about only one for now. ;) That is, will Patriot guarantee 2.6V operation for these sticks? I mean, if I remember correctly that is a JEDEC's spec for DDR1. Considering that these high-speed DDR2 modules are out only as of late, I wonder how Patriot is able to guarantee long-term stability of 2.6V. I even thought Patriot might be banking on the fact that there is no (or one?) motherboard that'll supply that kind of VDIMM on the market currently. :Dyyrkoon - Monday, October 30, 2006 - link
In the distant past, I really didnt care about what memory I used in my personal systems, but in the last 3-4 years, I've become fairly 'anal' when it comes to who I buy PSUs, motherboards, and lastly memory from.My last system I purchased a 2 GB Cosair XMS kit from newegg, for a much better price than they are charging now, but previous to this (again, for the last 3-4 years), I was quite religeous in using only Crucial sticks. Now, in this 3-4 years time, I did recieve one pair of flaky sticks from Crucial, and the RMA process was about as pleasant as it could have been. The persons I talked to on the phone were very knowlegable, The part turn around time was only 7 days (Crucial is based in Idaho I believe, I live in Nevada), and despite the fact that they tested the sticks fine, they didnt question the in-ability of these sticks to run on the system I had them in. LOng story short, the sticks worked fine to begin with, but after a few months, they started corrupting the data all over my HDDs, and in the end, would fail to let Windows XP install from scratch, but otherwise, *seemed* to work fine (MS', and memtest86 both tested the sticks fine). All this, and the fact they no longer manufactuered the sticks I purchased, so I recieved an upgrade from 2x 512 MB 3-3-3-6 Ballistix sticks, to a perfectly matched 2-2-2-6 Ballistix pair (DDR 400).
Anyhow, the question I have for you guys: How would Patriot compare to my only RMA experience with Crucial ?
Secondly, when you guys say benchmarked *stable*, does this mean I could expect these sticks to run in a system for months on end (Win XP Pro), and If a problem does arise, I could rest assured, the memory is going to have nothing to do with it ?
If Partiot could atleast meet these two *standards*, I would not mind giving them a shot, and as I already buy top notch memory, I dont mind spending the extra cash involved with such a purchase.
Wesley Fink - Monday, October 30, 2006 - link
My own RMA experience with Patriot was very positive, but that is a sample of one. Patriot is not a small company and they already make memory you likely have used and trusted. So they know how to do it right.We share your concern with buying name brand high-end memory for the consisitent performance and support you expect to receive. No one can assure you a memory will overclock to the limit for years with no issues, but we can talk about the financial resources and likely support you would receive based on the company. Patriot is a solid player in the memory market, as we have stated several times in the review.
yyrkoon - Monday, October 30, 2006 - link
Err, when I saidi managed to push my memory in the Asrock board to 990MHZ DDR with no memory adjustment, I ment no memory VOLTAGE adjustment ;)yyrkoon - Monday, October 30, 2006 - link
Yeah, sorry, I didnt mention that stability is paramount in my book (I tend to over compensate for not wanting to write a book of a comment . . .), and as long as the product is stable for long periods of time at the advertised speeds, I do not care about its OC capabilities.However, I do play games on the PCs I own, and I wouldnt mind OC'n a system IF it ran stable, but its been my experience, that the usual 10%-20% OC, doesnt really translate into usable real world performance, and I'm not really into pushing my systems to the edge, and potentialy reduce the systems lifetime.
Basicly, what I would be wanting this memory for, is the potential stock speed, married with a 1:1 memory ratio (I could OC the system here, and leave the memory stock ? Forgive me for my ignorance here, but I havent OC'd an Intel CPU since I owned a P55 223 mmx, on an ABIT super7 board). Right now, I'm debating between an E6300, or a E6600 (4MB shared L2 is looking better, and better each day I think about it).
My current system, is an AMD AM2 3800+ single core, and the memory is 5-5-5-18 (I think) DDR2 6400 Cosair XMS memory (2GB kit). In this system, I've managed to push the memory to around 990 MHZ DDR, on a cheap Asrock board with no memory adjustment (CPU multiplier knocked down one notch). At stock speeds, the systems I've had this memory in have regularly detected these sticks at 4-4-4-12 DDR 800.
Anyhow, like I said above, my only real concerns are will my soon to be system run stable at stock speeds (for long periods of time), with these sticks at a 1:1 ratio, or am I in fact OC'n the memory by doing so ? DO I even need these sticks to run a 1:1 ratio ?
On a side note, your comments section here seems to time out regularly when I'm making long posts, and is a minor inconvience, would be nice if this was fixed :)
n7 - Sunday, October 29, 2006 - link
Nice review as usual :)The rated vdimm of 2.6V is rather scarey though, since many mobos don't even go that high, not to mention that seems like an excessive amount of vdimm.
I'd love to believe all of the kits will achieve the same nice tight timings you did with lower vdimm, but i seriously doubt everyone will have the same luck.
Can you clarify something though?
You mention the timings as 4-3-4-11 (all of them in that format)
I assume you mean CAS-TRP-TRC-TRAS right?
It's just that most bioses & CPU-Z read it in the following order:
CAS-TRC-TRP-TRAS, & seeing the review refer to it in a different order is a little confusing for some i imagine.
Wesley Fink - Monday, October 30, 2006 - link
Some of the literature we received left the wrong impression that the rated voltage for DDR2-1066 was 2.6V. This is the maximum voltage, and the correct specification is 2.3V, which is quite comparable to other top Micron D9 memory and completely in-line with our actual test results. We have corrected the specifications and comments about rated voltage in the review. Patriot will also clarify their PC2-8500 specifications on their website.Wesley Fink - Monday, October 30, 2006 - link
Yes, the 2nd 4 is Ras-to-Cas delay in 4-3-4-11. That is the order in the Asus BIOS in our memory test bed and it is a shorthand habit I have developed.