Conroe Buying Guide: Feeding the Monster
by Gary Key & Wesley Fink on July 19, 2006 6:20 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Kingston KHX8500D2K2/1G
The Kingston Hyper X is a dynamite performer, and frankly it would have been a top recommendation except for the fact Kingston provided a 1GB kit instead of the 2GB kit we tested for every other brand in this Buying Guide. You might ask why this matters?
Smaller capacity DIMMs usually clock higher than higher capacity memory, so the fact Kingston matches our leader Mushkin at the top does not mean a Kingston 2GB kit would perform the same. When comparing memory performance make sure you compare the same size DIMMs if you want to be sure you are choosing the best. Still, the Kingston is an excellent performer, and the 1GB kit is just $226. If 1 GB is enough memory for you, this 1GB kit would be a great choice.
Mushkin XP2-8000 Redline
It has been a while since we have reviewed a Mushkin Redline kit, and we were certainly impressed when we looked at the last Mushkin Redline kit for DDR. The 2GB Mushkin Redline kit turned in the highest overclock we have seen with any DDR2 memory at 1116. Mushkin also managed to reach the timings of the best high-performance DDR2 tested in this roundup - but generally at a lower voltage than others here. This is a winning combination, and you will likely be very happy if you choose the Mushkin 2GB Redline kit for your new Core 2 Duo computer.
OCZ PC2-8000 Platinum EL
We gave OCZ the Gold Editors Choice award when we first tested this dynamite OCZ PC-2-8000 Platinum 2GB kit last March. The OCZ is still one of the best performers we have tested in DDR2 memory, but it now has some company from Corsair and Mushkin. If you want the best DDR2 you can buy, then one of these three will fit your needs.
Comparing High-Performance Memory
It is no accident that all six of our high-performance memory kits for Core 2 Duo are based on Micron memory chips. Micron currently produces what are arguably the fastest DDR2 memory chips available. Using Micron memory chips is also the reason all six kits costs between $400 and $450 for the 2GB kit. Each manufacturer has their own binning (speed sorting) techniques, they choose or develop their PCB, and they also may have very unique customized SPD programming. Despite these differences, the performance of all six 2GB kits are more similar than not.
Three of the six memories stand out for better timings and/or lower voltages at each tested speed. The OCZ PC2-8000 Platinum EL has been highly praised in the past. It is now joined by the Corsair CM2X1024-8500C5 and the Mushkin Redline XP2-8000 as the top-performing DDR2 memory you can buy. Corsair, Mushkin, and OCZ have all three done an exemplary job in the manufacture of these 2GB kits.
In fairness the performance differences between any of these six kits is very small, and you can select any of the six based on the best pricing - confident you will get great performance from your new DDR2 memory. None of these memories come cheap, and many will find $400 to $450 for 2GB of DDR2 memory too much for their new Core 2 Duo system.
If you are in that group looking for value, you will want to take a close look at our test results with a group of seven value priced 2GB kits beginning on the next page. These 2GB kits, ranging from $117 to $170 for the 2GB kit, provide much better value on the Core 2 Duo platform than we first imagined. You will likely be pleasantly surprised at the performance you can get in this value DDR2 segment.
The Kingston Hyper X is a dynamite performer, and frankly it would have been a top recommendation except for the fact Kingston provided a 1GB kit instead of the 2GB kit we tested for every other brand in this Buying Guide. You might ask why this matters?
Smaller capacity DIMMs usually clock higher than higher capacity memory, so the fact Kingston matches our leader Mushkin at the top does not mean a Kingston 2GB kit would perform the same. When comparing memory performance make sure you compare the same size DIMMs if you want to be sure you are choosing the best. Still, the Kingston is an excellent performer, and the 1GB kit is just $226. If 1 GB is enough memory for you, this 1GB kit would be a great choice.
| Kingston HyperX - DDR2-1066 - 2x512MB Model # KHX8500D2K2/1G |
||
| CPU Ratio | Memory Speed |
Best Memory Timings (Voltage) |
| (4:3) | 400 DDR2 | 3-2-2-5 1.8V |
| (1:1) | 533 DDR2 | 3-2-2-7 2.0V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-2-3-8 2.0V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 3-3-3-9 2.1V |
| (1:2) | 1067 DDR2 | 4-4-4-14 2.2V |
| Highest Mem Speed (1:2) |
1116 DDR2 | 5-5-5-15 2.3V |
Mushkin XP2-8000 Redline
It has been a while since we have reviewed a Mushkin Redline kit, and we were certainly impressed when we looked at the last Mushkin Redline kit for DDR. The 2GB Mushkin Redline kit turned in the highest overclock we have seen with any DDR2 memory at 1116. Mushkin also managed to reach the timings of the best high-performance DDR2 tested in this roundup - but generally at a lower voltage than others here. This is a winning combination, and you will likely be very happy if you choose the Mushkin 2GB Redline kit for your new Core 2 Duo computer.
| Mushkin XP2-8000 Redline - 2x1GB DDR2-1000 |
||
| CPU Ratio | Memory Speed |
Best Memory Timings (Voltage) |
| (4:3) | 400 DDR2 | 3-2-2-5 1.8V |
| (1:1) | 533 DDR2 | 3-2-2-7 2.05V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-2-3-8 2.1V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 3-3-3-9 2.1V |
| (1:2) | 1067 DDR2 | 4-4-4-12 2.2V |
| Highest Mem Speed (1:2) |
1116 DDR2 | 5-5-5-15 2.35V |
OCZ PC2-8000 Platinum EL
We gave OCZ the Gold Editors Choice award when we first tested this dynamite OCZ PC-2-8000 Platinum 2GB kit last March. The OCZ is still one of the best performers we have tested in DDR2 memory, but it now has some company from Corsair and Mushkin. If you want the best DDR2 you can buy, then one of these three will fit your needs.
| OCZ PC2-8000 Platinum EL -2x1GB DDR2-1000 |
||
| CPU Ratio | Memory Speed |
Best Memory Timings (Voltage) |
| (4:3) | 400 DDR2 | 3-2-2-6 1.8V |
| (1:1) | 533 DDR2 | 3-2-2-9 1T 2.1V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-2-3-10 2.1V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 3-3-3-11 2.1V |
| (1:2) | 1067 DDR2 | 4-4-5-14 2.3V |
| Highest Mem Speed (1:2) |
1100 DDR2 | 5-4-5-15 2.35V |
Comparing High-Performance Memory
It is no accident that all six of our high-performance memory kits for Core 2 Duo are based on Micron memory chips. Micron currently produces what are arguably the fastest DDR2 memory chips available. Using Micron memory chips is also the reason all six kits costs between $400 and $450 for the 2GB kit. Each manufacturer has their own binning (speed sorting) techniques, they choose or develop their PCB, and they also may have very unique customized SPD programming. Despite these differences, the performance of all six 2GB kits are more similar than not.
Three of the six memories stand out for better timings and/or lower voltages at each tested speed. The OCZ PC2-8000 Platinum EL has been highly praised in the past. It is now joined by the Corsair CM2X1024-8500C5 and the Mushkin Redline XP2-8000 as the top-performing DDR2 memory you can buy. Corsair, Mushkin, and OCZ have all three done an exemplary job in the manufacture of these 2GB kits.
In fairness the performance differences between any of these six kits is very small, and you can select any of the six based on the best pricing - confident you will get great performance from your new DDR2 memory. None of these memories come cheap, and many will find $400 to $450 for 2GB of DDR2 memory too much for their new Core 2 Duo system.
If you are in that group looking for value, you will want to take a close look at our test results with a group of seven value priced 2GB kits beginning on the next page. These 2GB kits, ranging from $117 to $170 for the 2GB kit, provide much better value on the Core 2 Duo platform than we first imagined. You will likely be pleasantly surprised at the performance you can get in this value DDR2 segment.
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Gary Key - Thursday, July 20, 2006 - link
Thank you for the comments. Our focus on the first cooler roundup will be on units that cost under $25 but the Tuniq will be included as a reference point along with the retail Intel unit. Our follow up will include the high end air coolers and some water cooling units.The Tuniq is considered to be one of the best air coolers available at this time although we are starting to see this design being incorporated by other suppliers quickly.
biggersteve - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
Hope you can get an Arctic Cooler Pro 7 into that cooler review. Quiet as a tomb and mighty cool.jonmcguffin - Thursday, July 20, 2006 - link
A feature built into the Core 2 Duo processors is this new Digital Thermal Sensor that supposedly has the ability to provide much quicker and more accurate thermal information about each processor. The key with this though is that it requires support from the motherboard. Why did you guys not mention this feature in any of the motherboards you tested?My guess is that since the P965 was "built" for Core 2 Duo, my guess would be that it supports this feature while the older 975 does not. In going back and forth between pro's and con's of the P965, if this feature is in fact built into the chipset/motherboard, it is worth pointing out. I'm not really an overclocker though I do want to buy a system that will be rock solid in stability for many years to come. Quite PC's that are very reliable and stable are critical and this is a good feature.
Also, you reviewed the Abit AB9 Pro motherboard a few weeks back but somehow it was left out of this overview. At $160 on the street, despite it's layout issue's, this looks to me like perhaps the best board right now for the guy who isn't rich and just wants a very solid Core 2 Duo mobo.
Hope you get a chance to review and respond.
Jon
Gary Key - Thursday, July 20, 2006 - link
Jon,The Gigabyte DQ6 actually has the ability to select readings from either sensor (Digital/Legacy) on the CPU in the power management settings. We will go over this in detail in our full review of the board or other Conroe capable boards in the future. These type of features along with audio and storage performance are not generally not reviewed in the guide articles but covered in the full product reviews.
The Abit AB9-Pro is shaping up to be a very good mid-range board (prices around $142 already) once the bios is complete. We are due to receive bios B6 next week that is optimized for Conroe and allows full memory configuration from both a timing and ratio viewpoint. The board was not ready to be included in the buyers guide until Abit had a final bios to us. We will report the results as soon as we complete testing.
Wesley Fink - Thursday, July 20, 2006 - link
We had planned to include the Abit AB9 in our roundup IF Abit got the memory issue fixed before the review. Unfortunately even the latest beta BIOS we received on Tuesday does not fix the issue. There is no means on the current Abit board to change memory speed or timings. It supposedly reads the SPD and boots at DDR2-533 5-5-5-15 with every dimm we tried. You can't run Value Ram at DDR2-800 for example or run DDR2-800 at rated speed. Or change timings to 3-2-3 at DDR-533 even if you know the ram can run at those timings. We did not think it fair to make a big deal of this in a review since Abit is supposedly working on it, but we see they are now also selling the board at some retailers and memory is still broken as far as we know.We consider this problem, if not fixed, to disqualify the Abit from consideration by any Enthusiast. We plan to do a full review of the Abit AB9 Pro if and when Abit fixes this major problem.
supremelaw - Thursday, July 20, 2006 - link
Jon,Why would more accurate thermal sensors
have high priority, if the Conroe runs
much cooler and more efficiently?
Are you planning extreme O/C, perhaps?
Wouldn't a superior HSF have higher priority?
e.g.:
http://www.supremelaw.org/systems/heatsinks/warnin...">http://www.supremelaw.org/systems/heatsinks/warnin...
Just curious here.
Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library
http://www.supremelaw.org/">http://www.supremelaw.org/
falc0ne - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
The usual best from Anandtech..I was in a bit of fog if switching to conroe or not, but now I have a mutch more clearer picture. After the part2 of this suite, it will all be clear to me.P.S. Your articles on Nvidia's NForce 4 platform made me choose that platform and AMD64.
My sincere thanks, I owe you a lot
wackypete - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Thanks for putting this article together. Your effort has not gone unnoticed.Howard - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Anybody know what chips it uses? The 5-5-5-15 DDR2-667 variety, that is.Gary Key - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
We still have additional memory selections from a variety of suppliers arriving for further memory reviews at this time.