Conroe Buying Guide: Feeding the Monster
by Gary Key & Wesley Fink on July 19, 2006 6:20 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Mushkin eXtreme DDR2-667
The Mushkin DDR2-667 memory arrived with the highest price in our value roundup, an excellent heat spreader design, but performed below average at the DDR2-667 and DDR2-800 settings. We raised the voltages but did not have any success in improving the timings at these settings. However, the Mushkin ran at stock voltages for the low latency DDR2-400 and DDR2-533 settings although the 3-3-3-8 timings at DDR2-533 could not be improved with additional voltage to match the 3-2-2-7 timings of other modules. Also, this is the only memory in our group that would not run 4-3-3 settings at DDR2-800. Although the performance difference is minimal, the cost of this kit indicates the memory should perform better.
Patriot DDR2-667
Patriot Memory provided their Extreme Performance series memory modules that provided above average performance at voltage settings that were more than acceptable for 24/7 operation. The memory comes with stylish heat spreaders and was able to easily clock up to DDR2-900 at extended voltages and 5-5-5-15 timings, though we recommend the lower latencies at DDR2-800.
PQI Turbo DDR2-667
The bargain of the bunch has to be the PQI Turbo kit that is currently selling for around $117 with rebate. While the timing performance of the memory was excellent we had to run at voltages higher than the group's average to meet these settings. The base voltage for this particular model is 2.0V, something to be aware of based upon our results with the other memory modules.
Wintec AMPX DDR2-667
The Wintec AMPX DDR2 Extreme series of memory was the pleasant surprise of the group as it generated excellent timings at low voltages at the lower memory speeds. It performed average at DDR2-800, although the results are more than acceptable.
Comparing Value Memory
All of the memory in the value section was able to run on average 4-3-3-9 settings at DDR2-800 except for the Mushkin modules that were limited to 4-4-4-12 but at a low 2.0V setting. The performance delta is extremely minor and the lower voltages are welcomed, but the Mushkin memory is the most expensive in our group so we naturally expect more from it.
The ability of all our value memory to run at very low latencies at DDR2-667 and 4-3-3-9 latencies at DDR2-800 is just incredible given the average price of $148 for a 2GB kit. Not even a year ago this type of performance in the DDR2 world would have placed this "value" memory at the top of performance charts. We found the Elpida memory to offer higher overclocks at lower memory voltages overall than the Infineon based modules, making it the current leader in value performance memory in our opinion.
The two modules that stood out were the A-Data Vitesta DDR2-533 and Wintec AMPX DDR2-667. During testing, both offered a unique combination of price, performance, and stability. All of the memory reviewed is more than acceptable for a Conroe system and the performance differences are so minor that we suggest choosing a supplier based upon prior experience, warranty, or price in this case. We will be looking at additional value memory modules from other suppliers shortly along with providing performance test results with our new Core 2 Duo Memory test platform.
The Mushkin DDR2-667 memory arrived with the highest price in our value roundup, an excellent heat spreader design, but performed below average at the DDR2-667 and DDR2-800 settings. We raised the voltages but did not have any success in improving the timings at these settings. However, the Mushkin ran at stock voltages for the low latency DDR2-400 and DDR2-533 settings although the 3-3-3-8 timings at DDR2-533 could not be improved with additional voltage to match the 3-2-2-7 timings of other modules. Also, this is the only memory in our group that would not run 4-3-3 settings at DDR2-800. Although the performance difference is minimal, the cost of this kit indicates the memory should perform better.
| Mushkin - DDR2-667 - 2x1GB Model # 991512 |
||
| CPU Ratio | Memory Speed |
Best Memory Timings (Voltage) |
| (4:3) | 400 DDR2 | 3-2-2-5 1.8V |
| (1:1) | 533 DDR2 | 3-3-3-8 1.8V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-3-3-10 2.1V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 4-4-4-12 2.0V |
Patriot DDR2-667
Patriot Memory provided their Extreme Performance series memory modules that provided above average performance at voltage settings that were more than acceptable for 24/7 operation. The memory comes with stylish heat spreaders and was able to easily clock up to DDR2-900 at extended voltages and 5-5-5-15 timings, though we recommend the lower latencies at DDR2-800.
| Patriot - DDR2-667 - 2x1GB Model # PDC22G5300LLK |
||
| CPU Ratio | Memory Speed |
Best Memory Timings (Voltage) |
| (4:3) | 400 DDR2 | 3-2-2-5 1.9V |
| (1:1) | 533 DDR2 | 3-2-3-7 1.9V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-3-3-8 2.1V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 4-3-3-8 2.1V |
PQI Turbo DDR2-667
The bargain of the bunch has to be the PQI Turbo kit that is currently selling for around $117 with rebate. While the timing performance of the memory was excellent we had to run at voltages higher than the group's average to meet these settings. The base voltage for this particular model is 2.0V, something to be aware of based upon our results with the other memory modules.
| PQI - DDR2-667 - 2x1GB Model # PQI25400-2GDB |
||
| CPU Ratio | Memory Speed |
Best Memory Timings (Voltage) |
| (4:3) | 400 DDR2 | 3-2-2-5 2.0V |
| (1:1) | 533 DDR2 | 3-2-2-7 2.0V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-2-3-9 2.2V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 4-3-3-9 2.2V |
Wintec AMPX DDR2-667
The Wintec AMPX DDR2 Extreme series of memory was the pleasant surprise of the group as it generated excellent timings at low voltages at the lower memory speeds. It performed average at DDR2-800, although the results are more than acceptable.
| Wintec AMPX - DDR2-667 - 2x1GB Model # 3AXD2675-1G2S-R |
||
| 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 1.9V |
| (4:5) | 667 DDR2 | 3-3-3-8 2.15V |
| (2:3) | 800 DDR2 | 4-3-3-9 2.2V |
Comparing Value Memory
All of the memory in the value section was able to run on average 4-3-3-9 settings at DDR2-800 except for the Mushkin modules that were limited to 4-4-4-12 but at a low 2.0V setting. The performance delta is extremely minor and the lower voltages are welcomed, but the Mushkin memory is the most expensive in our group so we naturally expect more from it.
The ability of all our value memory to run at very low latencies at DDR2-667 and 4-3-3-9 latencies at DDR2-800 is just incredible given the average price of $148 for a 2GB kit. Not even a year ago this type of performance in the DDR2 world would have placed this "value" memory at the top of performance charts. We found the Elpida memory to offer higher overclocks at lower memory voltages overall than the Infineon based modules, making it the current leader in value performance memory in our opinion.
The two modules that stood out were the A-Data Vitesta DDR2-533 and Wintec AMPX DDR2-667. During testing, both offered a unique combination of price, performance, and stability. All of the memory reviewed is more than acceptable for a Conroe system and the performance differences are so minor that we suggest choosing a supplier based upon prior experience, warranty, or price in this case. We will be looking at additional value memory modules from other suppliers shortly along with providing performance test results with our new Core 2 Duo Memory test platform.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
123 Comments
View All Comments
WynX - Monday, August 21, 2006 - link
Great article!!!Really waiting for the nforce 5 series (to be mature too).
wheelconnector - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
Heyon the review here it says that the 975xbx can support ddr2 800MHz memory speeds, but anywhere else that I've checked, claims that the board only supports speeds upto 667MHz. Can the board take 800MHz out of the box? or will I have to mess around with it to accept the RAM?
thanks a lot
LeeKay - Wednesday, August 9, 2006 - link
I hope u still have your mushkin XP2-8000 (redline) and never sent it back.Here is my hardware.
--------------------
P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe / P5B Deluxe.
Asus Silent tower CPU cooler.
E6600 Processor.
2x1GB Mushkin Redline DDR2 1000Mhz / 2x1GB OCZ Platnium 800MHZ
2x 150GB Raptors,
1x Seagate 300GB Drive,
Powerstream 600Watt PSU
2x EVGA 7950GX2
Coolermaster Stacker.
Plexter SATA 755 Drive
Liteon IDE drive
Mitsumi Floppy Drive
Creative Labs X-Fi Extreme gamer.
Here is my problem..
P5N32 SLI SE DELUXE
I put 2 sticks of ram in the system with the video card will not post. I have to remove one stick of ram and leave one stick in B1 or B2. It will not boot from a cleared bios with a stick in A1 or A2. I then have to go in the bios and set the memory below or at 800Mhz for it to post with 2 sticks of ram in it. Even then when I put the two sticks in and go to the bios it shows only 1024MB or system ram. But the post screen clearly shows 2048. There is nothing wrong with this memory. It ran fine with the P5B motherboard.
When using the OCZ it posts no problem but again shows 2048MB at post and in bios and the OS only shows 1024MB Avalible.
Asus Tech support is the worst in the world. They instantly tell you its a faulty board this and that. But its not its the bios I am 100% sure it is.
Could you Anandtech please setup a test bed with the 0121 bios and try it. If it has no issue could you please try 0204 revision and then tell me. I have the same motherboard revision as you show in the picture.
Thanks in advance.
Bugs66 - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - link
I see more and more older boards with Core 2 Duo support. Such as the Asus P5PE-VM which is 865G, AGP, and DDR400. I am very curious how performance is hit using the older chipset. These boards are great for folks who do not want to toss their RAM, video card, etc unless there is a huge difference.Thanks for the great writeup.
trajan - Saturday, July 29, 2006 - link
The article mentions these will be coming out soon for socket 775/Conroe. Anyone know when? I've been surfing around for hours trying to find info on it. I know NVidia has made the NForce 500s for Intel but none of the board manufacturers lists any info at all.Just trying to decide if I should go ahead and get the ASUS P5N32-SLI Deluxe (I want to run SLI) or if it's only a short wait for something better.. !
Thanks
rallyhard - Monday, July 24, 2006 - link
Thanks for the great review.I was going back and referencing some information from it today and noticed that in the P5W-DH Deluxe Basic Features table, you have the number of IDE ports listed incorrectly as one. There are actually two ports, one provided by the JMicron JMB363, and the other from the ICH7R southbridge. I got that info from the Asus website.
Is that the other IDE port over below the last PCI port?! If so, that's rediculous.
But this is one of very few Core 2 Duo supporting motherboards that I've seen that have 2 IDE ports, so I might just have to get it.
Gary, I look forward to the upcoming review you mentioned earlier in these comments of the Biostar motherboard with the VIA VT6410 controller. IDE performance continues to be important to me, and will for quite some time with the investment I've already made in hard drives. NEVER AGAIN will I get burned by an under-reviewed, underperfoming chip like the IT8212F!
Thanks again for your quality reviews.
thedjvan - Sunday, July 23, 2006 - link
I am very impressed with this guide, looks like a lot of hard work went into it!I have a question though. I am using the release of Conroe as an excuse to build a whole new system. After reading your guide in addition to others, I've decided on the E6700 and the DFI board (as I don't plan on OCing much, if at all).
However, the video card I had chosen is a X1900XTX, as I have read many bad reviews on the 7900 series having assorted problems with heat and other issues.
Now, having read this, I see that Conroe isn't playing nice with my chosen vid card, possibly due to driver issues. My question: Have you guys received any word from ATI, or has a new driver been pushed out yet that brings its performance up to par where it should be? There's absolutely no reason the Nvidia card should be blowing it away, especially on HL2 and other typically ATI friendly games.
If not, should I forget the ATI card and take a chance on one of the Nvidia cards, or simply go with the ATI card and hope they push out new drivers soon? The AMD/ATI aquisition further complicates the situation... I somehow doubt they'd do any favors for intel based systems.
thedjvan - Sunday, July 23, 2006 - link
No edit button :(I meant a X1900XT, not the XTX version. I'll keep my $100, thanks :)
thedjvan - Sunday, July 23, 2006 - link
Sorry, one more quick question. Is the Zalman CNPS9500 compatible with the Conroe?Gary Key - Sunday, July 23, 2006 - link
Yes...works very well by the way. ;-)