OCZ VX Revisited: DDR Updates on DFI nForce4
by Wesley Fink on March 30, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Final Words
Conclusions have not really changed in our update to DDR performance testing on the DFI nForce4. Across the board, OCZ VX is the fastest memory that we have tested when comparing equivalent speeds. However, we also found that other top-performing DDR memory also does better on the DFI nF4. The result is that other top DDR memory is capable of achieving similar performance to VX, although they require higher CPU speeds and memory speeds to offset the slower memory timings and slower performance of the memory chips at the same speed. Results were closer between top competing memory than it appeared in our initial review, and we found this to be almost completely attributable to the better performance of nVidia 71.84 compared to the earlier 61.77 drivers.In the end, the fastest memory that we have tested is OCZ PC4000 VX Gold. Across the range from DDR400 to DDR533, it outperforms any DDR memory that we have tested. This certainly proves that timings do indeed still matter, and 2-2-2 timings combined with a faster memory chip can yield impressive performance levels. The "gotcha" is that you will need a lot of voltage - up to 3.6 volts - to reach these performance levels. The DFI nF4 pair are the only productions boards we are aware of that can supply these kinds of voltages. You can also achieve these voltages on some motherboards by using the OCZ DDR Booster.
There is certainly good news for other top memory on the DFI nF4, however. Almost all of the memory could achieve roughly equivalent performance to the OCZ VX Gold at higher memory speeds and higher CPU speed. TCCD at 318x9 or 280x10 were roughly equivalent to VX performance at 267x10. This required both higher CPU speed and higher memory speed to offset the advantage of fast 2-2-2 timings and fast Winbond chips in OCZ VX. Crucial Ballistix came closest to OCZ VX performance across the curve, since Micron chips do appear more equivalent in performance to Winbond than Samsung TCCD. However, TCCD can reach higher memory speeds, which offsets the Ballistix advantage if your system is capable of the higher speeds. Corsair was particularly fast for a TCCD memory in the 466 to 533 range, exactly where it is targeted. The Corsair did not do as well at the highest speeds on the DFI as it has done on other platforms, but that can likely be fixed with a BIOS revision. In the end, everyone's top performances were pretty comparable.
If you have the means to reach the voltage levels required by VX , then OCZ Gold VX is definitely the fastest memory that you can buy. It tops out at DDR533, but it is just as fast at that speed as TCCD at DDR636 or DDR560 at higher CPU speeds. All 4 memories can achieve similar top performance levels, but OCZ VX Gold does it at the lowest DDR speed and fastest timings. Across its bandwidth of DDR400 to DDR533, OCZ VX Gold is the fastest memory that we have tested. At the top, other top DDR can match VX performance, but they require higher CPU speed and/or memory speed to offset the memory timing advantages of OCZ VX Gold.
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NotoriousGIB - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
Thanks for the great review & follow-up. I purchased 2GB of this stuff (based off your initial review), well 1GB, but the Egg rocks so hard they sent me 1GB free :) I'm having issues breaking 250FSB.Wesley, I was wondering what DRAM settings & Genie BIOS settings you are using in this comparison. I've tried a bunch of settings posted at DFI Street & Bleeding Edge, but to no avail. I'm also curious as to whether active cooling is being used on the memory. Anything past 3.2V on my OCZ VX RAM gives me errors.
NotoriousGIB - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
ChineseDemocracyGNR - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
#20, he wasn't talking specifically about this article.And he makes a point. AnandTech is lacking reviews for AMD PCI-E boards, so far there's only a 4-boards SLI roundup, an article for the DFI boards and reviews of pre-production Gigabyte boards. That's too little for a site like AnandTech and I have to say I'm a little disapointed.
Scott66 - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
#10 The reason no other boards are reviewed in the article, as it plainly states, is they don't have enough memory voltage. The only way they can be used is with the OCZ voltage adapter. This would not be a comparable test though.L3p3rM355i4h - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
TCCD isn't the holy grail of RAM anymore. Too bad you need a DDR booster or a DFI mobo to take advangtage though.Viper4185 - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
Thanks for the reply guys, i'll check it out now :PSpacecomber - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
When you run MemTest86, you'll notice in the upper left part of the screen that it gives you some information, including memory bandwidth numbers for the cache and the system memory. The system memory number is what AnandTech is looking at to determine if certain memory timing settings are increasing the memory bandwidth or not.Space
bigtoe36 - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
#15 have a look at www.memtest86.org, download either the floppy version or thr cd ISO file and create the memtest disk. Set to boot from it.once running memtest you can press C then 9 for the advanced options, this will allow you to set memory timings from within memtest its self without the need to reboot.
you can also press c 9 then 5 for the advanced A64 memory options and tweak your ram even further.
All this is done before you load the OS so your HDD will not be at risk of data corruption.
Also the latest builds of the DFI bios files have memtest85 incorperated into them in genie bios so you don't have to compile a disk at all, just set enabled and the pc will boot to memtest on its own.
Viper4185 - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
Sorry to be a n00b but are you saying that the memtest86+ program that fits on a floppy can actually tell me the best settings for my setup? If so how? As soon as i boot the computer and run it it just goes through all those 8 tests it does...Wesley Fink - Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - link
Ozzimark -We have been running Everest in our memory tests to start to build a database. We just weren't ready to introduce a new bench in this update.
I did notice a very interesting trend in Everest while testing these memories. The Read values were pretty close at the same speed, but VX had a significantly higher Write score than any other memory tested here. At DDR400 the write scores for TCCD were in the 2100 MB/s range where VX write was 2661. Ballistix scores were closer to VX than TCCD.