Overclockers Australia - TwinMOS PC2700 DDR SDRAM

TwinMOS PC2700 DDR SDRAM
23-Nov-01 - Review by Chainbolt

Today on review we have the TwinMOS PC 2700 with Hynix SDRAM Modules. DDR memory comes in 2 "official" standards: PC 1600 running at 2x 100 MHz = 200 MHz and PC 2100 running at 2x 133 MHz = 266 MHz. The JEDEC Solid State Technology Association - that is, the semiconductor engineering standardization body of the Electronic Industries Alliance is deciding these (and other) memory standards. Several Asian RAM manufacturers like Hynix and Nanya have now started producing PC 2700 memory modules. Here for example is the Nanya product description for their PC 2700. PC2700 (or PC 333) SDRAM memory is supposed to run at 2 x 166 MHz = 333 MHz. This higher rated memory does not come as a surprise, because a new DDR memory standard with a higher frequency than the existing PC 1600/PC2100 has been in discussion for quite a time now.

Higher memory frequency provides for better bandwidth and that is always welcome. SiS has already validated 128MB and 256MB PC2700 unbuffered DIMM DDR333 SDRAM (using Hynix PC333) for their SiS645 chipset. Acer Laboratories newest MAGiK 1 (C-version) chipset is also officially supporting a Front-Side-Bus speed of up to 333 MHz. The first main board implementing this chipset is the Iwill XP333. The other main DDR chipsets, the AMD 760, the just revised VIA KT266A, and the upcoming nForce chipset, do currently not support a Front-Side-Bus frequency higher than 266 MHz, at least within their "official" specifications.

The question is, what happens if we use PC2700 with mainboards which are based on chipsets that only support a FSB frequency of up to 266Mhz? Is it possible for example to run a KT266A board stable at 166 MHz with PC2700? The requirement would be of course that the front-side-bus frequency of 166 MHz is broken down into the proper operational frequencies of 33 MHz for the PCI bus and 66 MHz for the AGP bus. Without such a division there is little chance to get the system stable running at 166 MHz. Of course it is possible to run the PCI and AGP bus to a certain extend outside of the specified frequency. But, as any overclocker knows, that can result in system crashes, data corruption, bad sectors on the HDD or even damage to the HDD itself.

We tested a 256 MB stick TwinMOS PC2700 with the Hynix module labeled HY5DU2882AT-K. The street price for the TwinMOS PC2700 memory is around 70 USD in Japan, whereas 256 MB PC2100 CL 2.0 are retailing for around 40 USD. This is the PC333 memory, which has already been validated for the SiS 645 chipset. We however used the KT266A based Epox 8KHA+, a board renowned for its stellar bandwidth. We compared the PC2700 results with a 256 MB stick of TwinMOS PC2100 stock rated CL 2.0 with Nanya modules. Needless to say that we undertook this little test with great expectations!

PC2700 with Hynix chips

PC2100 with Nanya chips

The test system:
Mainboard: - Epox 8KHA+ BIOS revision 02/11
CPU: - AMD Athlon K7 1333MHz "C"
HSF: - Swiftech MC462
Memory: - 256 MB TwinMOS PC 2100 CL 2.0 (Nanya NT5DS16M8AT) or 256 MB TwinMOS PC2700 CL 2.5 (Hynix HY5DU2882AT)
Memory Timings: - CAS Latency: CL 2.0/2.5 by SPD Interleaving: 4-bank All other settings: TURBO (most aggressive)
Voltage: - Vcore and DIMM in default
Video: - Gainward GF3
Sound: - Creative Audigy
HDD: - ATA 100 WD 40 GB Caviar
Peripherals: - Kenwood CD 72x, Pioneer DVD, Floppy, Zip 100
OS: - Windows XP Home
Benchmark: - Sandra Professional version 1.01.8

NEXT PAGE: Testing and Conclusions

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