Conclusion
When Kingston introduced the first real low-latency DDR3 we were impressed with the ability of the memory to reach DDR3-1500 at 7-7-7 timings at a reasonable low voltage. Many enthusiasts were also impressed with DDR3-1500 at 7-7-7 timings, as they should have been. However, some held out that it would take DDR3-1600 or DDR3-1666 that could run at 7-7-7 timings to get their attention.
A couple of weeks ago, Super Talent and TEAM introduced new DDR3 memory rated at DDR3-1600. In fact the Super Talent is actually rated at DDR3-1600 at 7-7-7 timings and it runs with complete stability at DDR3-1600 7-6-5 at 1.8V. The new Micron Z9 memory chips made this development possible, and we expected that every enthusiast memory maker would soon have DDR3 kits capable of DDR3-2000 and faster timings.
With the 1600 milestone, and the associated DDR3-2000 that memory could also reach, the reasons for not coveting DDR3 memory instead of DDR2 are officially gone. The fact is, DDR3 is faster than DDR2 today, and you won't have to wait a year to see that. Many manufacturers have announced super fast DDR3 based on these new Z9 Micron chips, and some of the offerings just sweeten the pot further.
OCZ PC3-14400 is such a memory. Rated at a blistering DDR3-1800 this is the fastest production DDR3 you can buy - at least for a few days. We have already heard a DDR3-1866 will be announced shortly. Perhaps more important than the rated speed is the fact the new OCZ memory promises an even more aggressive binning with the 1800 rating at 8-8-8 timings. The OCZ DDR3-1800 in fact handily exceeds it rated specs, reaching DDR3-2040 at the rated timings of 8-8-8 and an astounding DDR3-1900 at 7-7-7- timings at 2.1V. This is all evidence that, as we expected, OCZ managed a bit better binning for these DIMMs.
This OCZ PC3-14400 Platinum also proves that Micron Z9 chips can be very good at mid-range speeds. This is the first DDR3 memory we have tested that is completely stable at 5-5-4 timings at DDR3-1333, an achievement that sounded unlikely in early June when we were happy to be running DDR3-1333 at 9-9-9 timings. All in all the new OCZ DDR3-1800 is a very satisfying product, with a broad range of chart-topping, stable DDR3 performance that will keep any enthusiast happy for a while.
We had a conversation a few days ago with a memory industry Engineer where we were discussing the incredible development of DDR3 memory since it was first introduced just a couple of months ago. He commented that so much progress has been made in such short time that "I wonder what we can do next year for an encore?" We don't have an answer for that question, but we do think there is one majorstumbling block to DDR3 and that is the current astronomical price, a price that is two to three times higher than DDR2.
We understand the high price point for new technology, and that prices will inevitably drop. Indeed, there are only two real vendors for retail DDR3 memory right now: Elpida and Micron. However, several of the heavyweights like Samsung, Qimonda, and possibly Hynix are ready to launch their own DDR3 memory chips. Early word is these new entries will be very competitive with Micron Z9. If that is truly the case Enthusiast DDR3 memory prices will surely drop.
There are also the genuine performance improvements brought by DDR3 memory that can run twice as fast as DDR2. You won't get double the real-world performance with DDR3 running at twice the clocks of DDR2, but as you have seen in our testing here, an 8% to 10% improvement in real-world gaming is definitely possible. This will be reason enough for enthusiasts who value performance first to move quickly to DDR3 - and that will also lower prices over time.
We are genuinely pleased with all the new Micron Z9 memory products, and we are particularly pleased with the performance of this OCZ PC3-14400 Platinum Edition. We are confident you will also be pleased with the performance of this memory if you can find a way to handle the price. That matters a great deal for many buyers and not so much for others. If you can afford the price of admission you won't be disappointed. If you can't then buy cheap, fast DDR2 and put whatever you have saved into a faster CPU or an upgraded video card. Generally you will get more bang for your buck by putting money into those two areas.
On the other hand, if you already own the top video card and the top-performing CPU then DDR3-2000 memory will look like the next "must-have" product to squeeze another 8% or so performance out of your top-line build. Value buyers will never understand this, but for some enthusiasts the only thing that matters is having the best that is available.
When Kingston introduced the first real low-latency DDR3 we were impressed with the ability of the memory to reach DDR3-1500 at 7-7-7 timings at a reasonable low voltage. Many enthusiasts were also impressed with DDR3-1500 at 7-7-7 timings, as they should have been. However, some held out that it would take DDR3-1600 or DDR3-1666 that could run at 7-7-7 timings to get their attention.
A couple of weeks ago, Super Talent and TEAM introduced new DDR3 memory rated at DDR3-1600. In fact the Super Talent is actually rated at DDR3-1600 at 7-7-7 timings and it runs with complete stability at DDR3-1600 7-6-5 at 1.8V. The new Micron Z9 memory chips made this development possible, and we expected that every enthusiast memory maker would soon have DDR3 kits capable of DDR3-2000 and faster timings.
With the 1600 milestone, and the associated DDR3-2000 that memory could also reach, the reasons for not coveting DDR3 memory instead of DDR2 are officially gone. The fact is, DDR3 is faster than DDR2 today, and you won't have to wait a year to see that. Many manufacturers have announced super fast DDR3 based on these new Z9 Micron chips, and some of the offerings just sweeten the pot further.
OCZ PC3-14400 is such a memory. Rated at a blistering DDR3-1800 this is the fastest production DDR3 you can buy - at least for a few days. We have already heard a DDR3-1866 will be announced shortly. Perhaps more important than the rated speed is the fact the new OCZ memory promises an even more aggressive binning with the 1800 rating at 8-8-8 timings. The OCZ DDR3-1800 in fact handily exceeds it rated specs, reaching DDR3-2040 at the rated timings of 8-8-8 and an astounding DDR3-1900 at 7-7-7- timings at 2.1V. This is all evidence that, as we expected, OCZ managed a bit better binning for these DIMMs.
This OCZ PC3-14400 Platinum also proves that Micron Z9 chips can be very good at mid-range speeds. This is the first DDR3 memory we have tested that is completely stable at 5-5-4 timings at DDR3-1333, an achievement that sounded unlikely in early June when we were happy to be running DDR3-1333 at 9-9-9 timings. All in all the new OCZ DDR3-1800 is a very satisfying product, with a broad range of chart-topping, stable DDR3 performance that will keep any enthusiast happy for a while.
We had a conversation a few days ago with a memory industry Engineer where we were discussing the incredible development of DDR3 memory since it was first introduced just a couple of months ago. He commented that so much progress has been made in such short time that "I wonder what we can do next year for an encore?" We don't have an answer for that question, but we do think there is one majorstumbling block to DDR3 and that is the current astronomical price, a price that is two to three times higher than DDR2.
We understand the high price point for new technology, and that prices will inevitably drop. Indeed, there are only two real vendors for retail DDR3 memory right now: Elpida and Micron. However, several of the heavyweights like Samsung, Qimonda, and possibly Hynix are ready to launch their own DDR3 memory chips. Early word is these new entries will be very competitive with Micron Z9. If that is truly the case Enthusiast DDR3 memory prices will surely drop.
There are also the genuine performance improvements brought by DDR3 memory that can run twice as fast as DDR2. You won't get double the real-world performance with DDR3 running at twice the clocks of DDR2, but as you have seen in our testing here, an 8% to 10% improvement in real-world gaming is definitely possible. This will be reason enough for enthusiasts who value performance first to move quickly to DDR3 - and that will also lower prices over time.
We are genuinely pleased with all the new Micron Z9 memory products, and we are particularly pleased with the performance of this OCZ PC3-14400 Platinum Edition. We are confident you will also be pleased with the performance of this memory if you can find a way to handle the price. That matters a great deal for many buyers and not so much for others. If you can afford the price of admission you won't be disappointed. If you can't then buy cheap, fast DDR2 and put whatever you have saved into a faster CPU or an upgraded video card. Generally you will get more bang for your buck by putting money into those two areas.
On the other hand, if you already own the top video card and the top-performing CPU then DDR3-2000 memory will look like the next "must-have" product to squeeze another 8% or so performance out of your top-line build. Value buyers will never understand this, but for some enthusiasts the only thing that matters is having the best that is available.
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Mithan - Wednesday, August 1, 2007 - link
I am guessing these games were run at 800x600, which is fairly standard for memory tests?IF that is the case, then all this article does is prove once again why over-spending on memory is not the best use of your dollars (except in the case of over-clocking)
My point is this:
Farcry going from 112 to 122 FPS is probably being done at 800x600 or 1024x768.
Bump that resolution up to 1600x1200 or 1920x1200, and that becomes 1 or 2 frames per second difference.
My point is that the article should articulate this difference better.
MadBoris - Wednesday, August 1, 2007 - link
From a testing perspective of any hardware among each other, you have to isolate and remove the other bottlenecks. That should be done and is of course common sense. As you state, the main goal of these types of articles should at their very foundation stay focused on real world performance impact. Otherwise it looks too much like technology promotion and they lose their actual value to the reader. They don't have to go "real world" overboard, but I think that should be the consistent goal of hardware reviews.
Test info would be nice.
In the same vein of real world impact, the comparison should never have been between DDR3@800 compared to DDR3@2000. That's not even really applicable, the upgrade path isn't from DDR3 800, so I am not sure why the particular comparison was even made. The comparison at the very least, needs to be to current DDR2 offerings. The best case performance that DDR3 can provide right now is actually around 3 - 5 percent from current DDR2 offerings under those specific game tests (as I mentioned earlier), whatever those settings were.
Obviously testing these memory comparisons isn't simple from an apples to apples standpoint especially with limited time, so I am just glad Anandtech is getting in there and doing the testing and making their findings known. :)
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, August 1, 2007 - link
Factoring in the slower performance of current 965/975 boards on p.4 of the article, you will see that DDR3-800 on the P35 clearly beats DDR2-800 on the P965 platform. In fact, DDR3 is generally faster than DDR2-1066 at 4-4-3 timings on the P965 (the only exception being Far Cry). Taking that into account our broad statement that current DDR3 can provide as much as an 8% to 10% real world performance improvement over current DDR2 systems is certainly fair.Wesley Fink - Wednesday, August 1, 2007 - link
DDR2-800 is the fastest official JEDEC spec for DDR2, and memory running at 3-3-3 at that resolution is common among better DDR2. It is among the fastest DDR2 performance due to the fast timings. The fastest DDR2 can reach 1066 at slower timings but it cannot reach 1333.Similarly we would compare to DDR-400 at 2-2-2 looking at DDR, since this was the fastest JEDEC speed looking back at DDR. DDR3 starts at 800 and goes officially at the present time to DDR3-1600. It will likley go higher in the future.
We have compared DDR3 to one of the fastest DDR2 memories ever made at the fastest timings available for DDR2 at both 800 and 1066 in the overlap speed results on p. 4. We also did not really factor in the fact that DDR2 runs slower on the P965, P975, and other current boards than it does on the DDR2 version of the current P35 chipset.
NegativeEntropy - Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - link
I read through the article and (quickly) double checked the test config and gaming pages, but I did not see the settings the games were tested at?Wesley Fink - Wednesday, August 1, 2007 - link
All games were run at 1280x1024. That has been in past commentary, but was dropped somewhere along the way. We will add that info to the game results page.Jodiuh - Wednesday, August 1, 2007 - link
Unfortunately, you're right in the $$ issues. Those of us that would be willing to pay 2-3 times the amount for 10% gaming improvement would be better off w/ a better GPU, or even a Q66/X32 CPU for games like Supcom.Would you mind guessing what perf improvement would come from running @ say 1600x1200 or greater + 8xQ/6x AA? It'd be even less, no?
chizow - Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - link
Another underwhelming and unnecessary "update" to memory specifications. Just another example of the memory mfgs and motherboard makers forcing people to upgrade every few years for marginal performance gains. Oh well, good news is DDR2 is dirt cheap and has been for a while.LTG - Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - link
I started the complaint thread last time about the lack of comparable results, so I want to say this time:Great work, excellent article.
I was a little taken aback by your heated reaction to criticism, due to the fact that I didn't provide the solution, but hey, that's kind of human nature and I'm sure I've done it before.
The main point here is that AT not only has the best writers of any tech site, but also the only site where they are not afraid to allow feedback and actually engage debate on the issues.
Tech articles are near impossible to get perfect, because there is so many details to know and new things are discovered across the net every hour. But don't every get discouraged, the effort is all appreciated.
LTG
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - link
Thank you for your comments. They are sincerely appreciated.