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Kingston DDR3-1066MHz |
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Written by Nebojsa Todorovic
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Monday, 20 August 2007 |
 Although the DDR2 standard reached its peak, its successor, DDR3, is slowly starting to and in time probably will take its place. We tested Kingston’s DDR3 memory running at 1066MHz and tried to find out if you should switch to the new memory yet…
Although the DDR2 standard reached its peak, its successor, DDR3, is slowly starting to and in time probably will take its place. We had the first DDR3 memory tested. It is a custom for the exclusive products to be samples, but this time, the memory we tested is also the first one commercially available on the market. Of course, such an exclusiveness (or should we say luxury?) is naturally followed by a high price, so the first owners are probably going to be those with fatter wallets.
| Kingston KVR1066D3N7/1G | | Standard | PC8500 | | Frequency | 1066MHz | | Latency | 7-7-7-20 | | Voltage | 1,5V ± 0,075V | | Price | € 180 |
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Firstly, it is necessary to say that DDR3 memory requires new motherboards that support it. The first such motherboard (supporting only DDR3 as standard) is ASUS P5K3 Deluxe (which we have recently tested). This is a motherboard with the newest Intel's chipset, namely P35. The advantages of DDR3 over DDR2 are greater (reachable) speed, all the way up to 1600 MHz, a lesser working voltage of 1.5 V and of course better thermal characteristics compared to past generations. However, the very first samples of DDR3 memory modules are bound to have the same problem as with the first DDR2 modules compared to DDR1 - latencies.
Whereas the latencies of DDR2 modules operating at 1066 MHz are a standard 5-5-5-15, the DDR3 modules operating at the same speed have significantly more "relaxed" latencies - 7-7-7-20. Naturally, the timings can be decreased, but that is a story we will save for a future article, when DDR3 modules are more amassed and a better overall conclusion can be reached.
This is the full name of tested modules, which belong to the PC3-8500 class, i.e. operate at a clock speed of 1066 MHz. The default latencies at this clock speed are, as we mentioned before, 7-7-7-20, and the voltage is 1.5 V. Physically, the chips are almost identical to DDR2 ones. Even the pin number is the same - 240, but they are divided in a different way. The chips were manufactured by a well-known Japanese manufacturer, Elpida. Chip-packaging is FBGA (Fine Ball Grid Array), which is usual for DDR3 chips. These modules belong to Kingston's "Value" product series, which means they should provide satisfactory performance at a low price. Still, this didn't stop them from being sold at a price higher than 200 €, which is really too much for what they provide.
Theoretical maximum bandwidth per module is 8.53 GB/s, whereas a Dual-Channel kit should provide 17.06 GB/s. This bandwidth is nothing revolutionary and can be achieved using a couple of high-quality DDR2 modules as well. This means that we will only be able to see the true face of DDR3 when the first modules operating at 1600 MHz arrive. At that speed, the maximum bandwidth with a Dual-Channel kit will be an entire 25.6 GB/s, which is a respectable data rate. After preparing the testing platform and setting timings, subtimings and other necessary options, we got down to testing and a little overclocking - as much as deadlines allowed us to.
The results can be seen in the charts. No remarks as far as overclocking is concerned, modules were working stably at 1200 MHz with 6-6-6-18 latencies, which is a great result for "Value" memory. The required voltage for this was 1.75 V, which didn't affect the temperatures much, however. This is great news, definitely, because DDR2 requires much higher voltages and passive cooling as well to reach these numbers.
| Kingston DDR3 1066 @ 7-7-7-20, 1,5V | | | Sandra 2007 | | | Memory | 5767 / 5774 | | Latency | 89 | | WinRAR | 1802 | | ScienceMark 2 - Memory bench | 1590,73 | | ScienceMark 2 - Final score | 1504,97 |
Testbed: Core2Quad 6700 Extreme Edition @ 2,66GHz,
AMD HD 2900XT 512MB, Windows XP Professional SP2 |
After "hanging out" for a while with DDR3 memory, we must admit that, as far as performance is concerned, the overall impression is very positive. The performance was quite OK even on default settings, but this is just not enough reason to recommend it, bearing the unreal price in mind. Also, with a realistic view of the situation, common sense obliges us to advise potential buyers to wait a little, as prices will rapidly decrease and speeds will rapidly increase. The motherboard market also plays an important role in this process, and we are sure that DDR3 support will be reserved for only the most expensive models at first. These borders are sure to move in time. Until that happens, DDR2 will remain our choice No. 1. |
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