Introduction
Today 3DXtreme is proud to present our latest review of OCZ Technologies’ PC3200 2-2-2 Platinum Revision 2 Memory. This review features a 1GB (2x512MB) Dual Channel Kit of OCZ’s latest Memory. The Platinum Revision 2 Memory is designed to run at the very tight CL2-2-2-5 timings, a feat that was believed to have died with Winbond BH-5 chips. OCZ, like Corsair, has utilized the latest Samsung chips in order to provide this kind of performance. The Samsung ICs were originally designed to run at PC3500 (DDR433) speeds however with a bit of magic these ICs can perform at DDR400 @ 2-2-2-5.

On the Intel Pentium 4 platform we found that the higher frequencies regardless of the timings delivered better performance, however with the release of the AMD64 platform and limitation of the memory controller when using Double Sided DIMMs the emphasis shifted back to the timings the Memory was running at. Myself, I haven’t had much luck overclocking with the C0 AMD64 CPU I have been using. Only on the Chaintech VNF-250 did I manage to take the AMD64 platform to 250+ MHz Front Side Bus. The Chaintech VNF-250 had features like PCI&AGP locks as well as working multiplier and allowed me to push the Corsair XMS3200 XL to its maximum while keeping the CPU at an operational overall CPU speed. Unfortunately, that board has long since died and I’m currently using a VIA based K8T800 motherboard without locks so we won’t be able to push this memory as much as I’d like to.

Let’s take a look at the official specification as listed on the OCZ website.

Specifications & Features
Specifications:
400MHZ DDR
CL 2-2-2-5
Available in 512MB and a 1GB (2x512MB) Dual Channel Optimized Kit
Unbuffered
Mirrored Platinum Copper Heatspreader
Lifetime Warranty
2.75 Volts
184 Pin DIMM

Features:
OCZ Platinum Edition Revision 2 PC-3200 memory has been designed for ultra-low latency operation on Intel Pentium 4 and AMD AthlonXP/Athlon 64 platforms. OCZ Platinum Edition PC-3200 memory is able to reach latencies as low as CL 2-2-2-5.

OCZ PC-3200 products are 100% hand-tested to ensure compliance with stringent quality standards. In addition, every 1GB Dual Channel Kit from OCZ is hand tested as a matched pair across a wide variety of motherboards to ensure flawless performance on most motherboards.

Each OCZ Platinum Edition Revision 2 module also comes with a high quality copper heat spreader with a platinum mirrored finish.

OCZ Platinum Edition memory modules are rated to handle up to 2.9V without invalidating the OCZ Lifetime Warranty so that performance enthusiasts can tweak their systems without worry.

Next Page - A Closer Look, Testbed Specifications

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