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TwinMOS PC3200 Dual Channel


Date
: 08/16/03 – 11:32:41 PM

Author
:

Category
: Memory

Page 1 : Introduction

Manufacturer: TwinMOS
Price:

Introduction

A while ago O² presented you with a review of TwinMOS' PC3200 DDR memory which turned out to be excellent performing memory at an affordable price.

With Intel releasing the Pentium4 supporting a quadpumped 800MHz FSB and AMD having its Barton CPU running at a 400MHz FSB, PC3200 DDR memory is needed to achieve the expected performance. Because of this, PC3200 quickly evolved from being "overclockers" memory to being the new standard for DDR memory. Also, since both platforms are offering a dual channel solution yielding a significant performance increase, TwinMOS has done a good job of offering its customers a package that contains everything they need: a pair of PC3200 DDR memory sticks match-made to work together flawlessly on a dual channel memory system.

OverclockersOnline.Com got a sample of one of those "kits" and of course, I happily ran several tests on it to see what can be expected …

Page 2 : Specifications

Specifications

Technical Details

- Double Data Rate architecture
- MRS cycle with address key programs
* CAS latency: CL2 / 2.5
* Burst length: 2, 4, 8
* Burst type: Sequential & Interleave
- 2 variations of refresh
* Auto refresh
* Self refresh
- Serial Presence Detect support
- 2 Banks to be operated simultaneously or independently
- Package: TSOP/CSP
- 184 edge connector pads
- Data Rate: 400MHz
- Clock frequency: 200MHz
- Bus width: 64-bit x 2
- Data Bandwidth: 6.4GB/s
- SSTL-2 interface: 2.6 Voltage +/- 0.1V

Features

- Backward compatible with dual channel DDR400/333/266 MHz
- Ensue system stability with the lowest MTBF feature
- Single module perform Data Transfer Rate up to 3200MB/s
- A whopping 6.4GB/s of memory bandwidth
- Effectiveness overcoming PC2700 & Rambus 800/1066/1200
- Easily expand extra modules anytime
- The matched pair of dual channel kit modules have all been verified in the dual channel environment and proved through testing to achieve high performance and stability

TwinMOS is selling these kinds of kits in four different flavors: 2 x 256MB non-ECC, 2 x 256MB ECC, 2 x 512MB non-ECC and 2 x 512MB ECC. The one I'm looking at today is the 2 x 256MB non-ECC, which will probably be the most popular one since 512MB is ideal for most users out there and ECC is only needed in server environment situations.
Although it sounds logical, some people still mail me about it so let's get this clear: PC3200 memory is backwards compatible with PC2700, PC2100 and any other DDR standard ever released. The memory will just run at a slower speed than what it is designed for …

TwinMOS is using their very own TwinMOS chips on the memory rated at 5ns which equals 200MHz (formula: 1000 / 5 = 200). In the past, TwinMOS has also used Winbond chips on their memory sticks, a brand that is also found on other branded memory sticks like Corsair. Now, don't go mad if purchase a TwinMOS stick and find a Winbond chip on it … I'm sure there is still a stock of those.

The memory is rated to be running with a DDR voltage of 2.6V (+- 0.1V), which is a fair voltage for today's memory. Some brands happily announce PC3200 or faster, but when you have a look at the voltage recommendation, it reads 2.7V or even 2.8V. With those kind of numbers, overclocking will be hard since in theory, the chips are already overclocked to achieve the results they are sold at … Nothing like that with these TwinMOS sticks!

I also want to point out that TwinMOS is using single-sided memory sticks, meaning there is only one side that has chips on it. Because of this, overclocking should be easier as compared to a double sided stick.

Page 3 : Testing & Overclocking

Testing & Overclocking

In this test I'll only be looking at what the memory can do in a dual channel environment since that is why you would buy this kit. For single stick performance and overclockability, I would like to refer to my TwinMOS PC3200 DDR review posted a while ago. First though, let's have a look at the testing platform that was used.

- Motherboard: ABIT IC7-G based upon Intel's Canterwood 875-P chipset – supports dual channel
- CPU: Intel Pentium4 1.8A
- Memory: TwinMOS PC3200 DDR – 2 x 256MB – Matched Sticks
- O/S: Microsoft Windows XP SP1a + Latest Drivers

TwinMOS does not install heatspreaders onto their DDR memory … but that does not necessarily mean it will hurt performance or overclocking, since a badly installed heatspreader will cause more heat and more heat ends up with instability and locking up.

When running the system at default settings, everything was fine. The FSB was set to 200MHz and all the timings were set to "by SPD", meaning the memory selects the ideal timings. By default, these timings are 2.5-3-3-8 which is not world shocking. DDR memory is not affected much by the CAS latency, but still … every little bit helps :D.

That brings us to overclocking: the first thing I did was lower all the timings to 2-2-2-5. Although this can be considered extreme, the system failed to boot … no matter what voltage I gave it. The best I could get at stock speed (200MHz) and stock timings was 225MHz, 25MHz over the rated speed. When lowering the timings to a more aggressive 2.5-2-2-7 hell broke loose at 220MHz and when using even lower timings of 2-2-2-7 the memory was good for 215MHz. Note that all of this was done with a DDR voltage of 2.8V, which is as high as I would go without good airflow over the sticks …

In order to test for stability, the system ran loops and loops and … of 3DMark and Prime95 without any flaws. I also ran Memtest86 for a couple of hours and again, not a single error. Stability is NOT a problem with the TwinMOS sticks!

In the end, the TwinMOS sticks are able to overclock, but do not expect to stop the earth from spinning … TwinMOS is selling this memory at a very reasonable price, and you can not expect the same overclocking potential as other memory that costs double or more … The memory sticks were rock-stable during all of my tests so you can't go wrong there.

Page 4 : Benchmarking

Benchmarking

To test the performance of this dual channel memory setup, I used Sisoft Sandra's 2003 Memory Benchmark.

Sisoft Sandra 2003 Memory Benchmark

Page 5 : Conclusion

Conclusion

TwinMOS has put together a nice dual channel "kit" with their PC3200 memory sticks. There is nothing fancy about the sticks and neither do you get a flashy looking box or 10-page manual in the box … you just get two DDR sticks and that's it. Is that a bad thing? Not at all after you consider that all those "goodies" are raising the price tag, one of the selling points for TwinMOS' package. Retailing for about $100 for a pair of DDR400 (PC3200) 256MB sticks is a good deal. If that means you won't get the best overclocking modules, so be it … what you do get is a pair of rock-stable memory sticks, doing what they're supposed to do and offering a little more … Therefore, I am recommending this package to anyone who is looking for some high quality memory for their brand new dual channel memory system and does not want to spend a fortune for a few more MHz in the overclocking department.

Good

- Price
- Quality
- Stability

Bad

- Overclocking was not that great
- No little extras …