Value RAM Roundup: Computing On a Budget
by Wesley Fink on April 11, 2005 4:26 PM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Transcend JM366D643A-50
Transcend will be best known to some of our readers as a manufacturer of flash memory. While flash memory is an important product line for Transcend, they also manufacture storage products and system memory. You will not find Transcend for sale at a huge number of US websites, but Transcend also sells directly to end-users at their website. Transcend has US sites in both Spanish and English, as well as several European language sites, and Taiwan, Japan and China websites.
Specifications
Transcend rates JM366D643A-50 at DDR400 CAS 2.5 and we found the "auto" or SPD timings to be 2.5-3-3-8.| Transcend JM366D643A-50 (DDR400) Memory Specifications | |
| Number of DIMMs & Banks | 2 DS |
| DIMM Size Total Memory |
512 MB 1GB |
| Rated Timings | 2.5-3-3 |
| SPD (Auto) Timings | 2.5-3-3-8 |
| Rated Voltage | 2.6V |
Transcend shows both DDR400 CAS 2.5 and DDR400 CAS 3 in their product list, so it is clear that the DIMM products from Transcend are aimed at the Value end of the memory market.
Test Results
| Transcend JM366D643A-50 - 2 x 512Mb Double-Bank | |||||||
| CPU Ratio at 2.4GHz | Memory Speed |
Memory Timings & Voltage |
Quake3 fps |
Sandra UNBuffered | Sandra Standard Buffered |
Super PI 2M places (time in sec) |
Wolfenstein - Radar - Enemy Territory fps |
| 12x200 | 400 DDR | 2.5-3-3-6 2.6V 1T |
532.0 | INT 2420 FLT 2593 |
INT 6050 FLT 6036 |
82 | 111.9 |
| 11x218 | 436 DDR | 3-3-3-6 2.8V 1T |
529.2 | INT 2593 FLT 2735 |
INT 6393 FLT 6309 |
82 | 111.7 |
| 12x223 (2.68GHz) |
Highest CPU/Mem Performance | 3-3-3-7 2.8V 1T |
575.5 | INT 2668 FLT 2835 |
INT 6650 FLT 5516 |
75 | 122.5 |
Transcend is another memory that costs just $100 for a Gigabyte and yet manages to nearly reach DDR450 in overclocking. The cost and performance are very similar to the Kingston CAS 3 rated Value RAM except that Transcend rates its Value RAM at CAS 2.5. While the rated timings differ, both Kingston and Transcend both are stable at CAS 2.5 at DDR400. The Transcend RAM is an excellent value and provides the overclocking capabilities to reach a 12% CPU overclock at 1:1 memory ratio.
We have looked at Aida 32 results in the past, and found them to be very useful in examining read/write performance and memory latency. Aida 32 is now available as Everest Home Edition, a free download from www.lavalys.com.
| Transcend JM366D643A-50 (DDR400) 2x512Mb Double-Bank Everest 1.51 |
|||||
| CPU Ratio at 2.4GHz | Memory Speed | Memory Timings & Voltage |
Everest READ MB/s |
Everest WRITE MB/s |
Everest Latency ns |
| 12x200 | 400 DDR | 2.5-3-3-6 2.6V 1T |
5801 | 1861 | 47.7 |
| 11x218 | 436 DDR | 3-3-3-6 2.8V 1T |
6028 | 1906 | 48.8 |
| 12x223 (2.68GHz) |
Highest CPU/Mem Performance 446 DDR |
3-3-3-7 2.8V 1T |
6306 | 1989 | 47.9 |
It is easy to see in the Everest results that dropping CAS just from 2.5 to 3 in moving from DDR400 to DDR436 offsets virtually all of the performance improvements that you get from higher memory speed. The $100 Transcend reaches on to DDR446 to give you most of the headroom that you need for air-cooled 1:1 overclocking at stock multipliers.
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2cpuminimum - Wednesday, June 1, 2005 - link
I have to agree that a value ram analysis would be more useful if it checked stability of less well known brands, such as memory pro. Also it would be useful to review sodimm ram 512MB modules, as many budget laptops come with scanty ram and it is usually cheaper to add it aftermarket than buy more from the manufacturer.Pjotr - Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - link
Oh, I forgot, the package does say it has EVP!Pjotr - Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - link
"If you are interested in the OCZ Value VX, note the differences in the two part numbers, one with a "W" and one without.Value VX = OCZ4001024WV3DC-K
2.5-3-3-7 (picture) Supports EVP (Extended Voltage Protection)
Value = OCZ4001024V3DC-K
3-4-4-8 Does not Support EVP"
I bought the OCZ Value 2x512 RAM with 3-4-4-8 timings for $115 at Fry's, so basically I got fooled at that price?
I have this setup: DFI nF4 SLI-D, X800XL, Winchester 3000+.
I've tried this RAM and it won't run at CAS2 at all, I think, I need to do some more work. I've tried 3.0 to 3.2 V in general. I do get it to run 2.5-3-3-8 up to about 240 MHz, from there I need to relax to 2.5-4-3-8 and I then hit 250 quite stable, 255 SuperPI stable but not 3DMark stable.
I'm a bit disappointed now... any hints? Shouldn't I be able to get better timings at 240-250 MHz too? The memory chips are marked OCZ, not blank. Don't know exact markings right now.
Baldeagle76 - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
Edit I am an idiot and don't know how to read page 2. Thanks for a good article. Do compliments from idiots count ? As far as the voltages go I was happy to see what it "could" handle if this is not anything that I would ever do in my motherboard, the curiousity inside me found this interesting. I thank you for pushing the ram to the limit because in the long run I think the ram that tolerates that type of voltage would have an advantage in OC'ing. I was very curious about the posts earlier saying that you can keep your Ram at ddr400 (effective) and increase your FSB and have no asynchronous lag. This probably isn't the place for that discussion but I nonetheless was very interested in this information. Maybe a review of that is in order for the next Ram test if you have the time ?Baldeagle76 - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
I have a question. After reading this article I went to NEW EGG to look up the current prices of RAM. Specifically I was looking for the prices on the Value VX ram. Sadly, I did not find anything that fit this description. I don't know if it because I don't know what I am looking for. In None of the titles of the RAM did they mention Value VX. Value was mentioned but how do I know if it is the VX or not? Also looked for the OCZ value BH5 and again I am not sure if I don't know what to look for or if they are out of stock because I didn't see any. It might be helpful for consumers making purchases based off of the articles on Anandtech to include the manufacturer part number so we know whether or not we are getting the same thing reviewed or not. Maybe you could help me out with this because I was looking at getting some of this 512x2 for a second machine i am building but would definetly want the stuff reviewed and not stuff I don't know how good it is. Just including the manufacturer part number would be very helpful in this regard, especially for ram.Baldeagle76 - Friday, April 29, 2005 - link
alexXx - Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - link
wow, honestly now. For a reputable website, why is it that the level of english used in this article could be bested by a 4th grader.YOU CANNOT pluralize 'memory' If you want to refer to more than one you use 'pieces of memory' or 'memory sticks'. Also when you say 'the memories' you can bloody just say 'the memory'. It is not a hard concept. Would you see this in a newspaper? NO. Same should go for online articles.
wakeboarder3 - Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - link
I just got some of this ram, 2 gigs after reading the review "0CZ4001024WV3DC-K" And all I can say is WOW!!!!! 2-2-2-11 @2.9 220 X 11 on my 2500m/ABITAnd for $115 a gig. Runs better then my old bh-5
CanadianDoc - Monday, April 18, 2005 - link
#93 As Wesley said in the opening paragraph, the PURPOSE of this RAM review is to help the reader find the combination of components yielding the best overall "system performance" for the money.That's the Big Picture that you need to keep in mind.
In that context, the combination of Crucial Ballistix RAM, a DFI nF4 mobo, and a Venice 3200+ CPU at 10 x 280 MHz is a very attractive one, in terms of system speed versus cost.
Of course, "system performance" can include other things than just speed, such as fault tolerance, noise, heat, portability, availability, etc.
I happen to value low noise as well as high speed, which is why I suggested the other components, too. I simply hope that my comments give other readers a few ideas of their own.
And that's the point of these forums, isn't it?
JoKeRr - Sunday, April 17, 2005 - link
#92 this is a ram review.wesley: it's interesting to see that the new BH-5, tccd, Micron rev.g, and UTT chip, at 2-2-2-5 timing ddr400, they never reached over 3k on sandra unbuffered test. However, going back to the old P4 2.4C test bed, Mushkin and OCZ 3500 BH-5 running at ddr400 2-2-2-5 had over 3.1k each.
Guess the old BH-5 is still faster than the new one.