OCZ EL DDR PC-3700 Dual Channel Gold Rev. 2 Memory

Introduction:

It has been some time since we last looked at an unbuffered module from OCZ, but today we are looking at OCZ’s

Dual Channel Gold Edition PC-3700 Revision 2

memory modules. This kit has been praised by many in the enthusiast community as being the memory kit that does tight timings at both mid and high range speeds. We have had the memory for a number of months now and have tried it out on many platforms and at different speeds.

Features:

Our models came as a kit and look pretty darn nice with the

gold mirrored finish on top of the copper heat spreaders.

OCZ Dual Channel Gold Edition PC-3700 Revision 2 memory is specifically designed for use on Intel i865 and i875 chipset based motherboards, but can also be used by AMD fans on their boards also.

The OCZ modules came in the standard clear kit packaging, but also included a case badge. It should also be noted that OCZ warranties these modules for life. Overclockers will be happy to find that these modules include EVP (Extended Voltage Protection), which is a feature that allows the consumer to use a VDIMM of 3.0V 5% without invalidating their lifetime warranty.

OCZ Dual Channel Gold Edition PC-3700 Revision 2 memory is speed rated for 466MHZ (PC-3700) speeds at relatively tight timings of CL 2.5-3-3-7, 1T. With CL2.5 ratings at PC-3700 speeds it is likely that this module will be able to run a wide variety of timings and speeds, but only testing will tell if the IC’s used can handle different CAS Latencies.

What is under the heat spreader?

Once I removed the heat spreaders I found some clean looking IC’s that have been labeled via OCZ’s laser etcher. It is common knowledge that OCZ removes the original markings and relabels the memory for internal warranty purposes, so these numbers don’t mean much. After taking out the trusty flashlight and holding the memory at some extreme angles I was able to see the original markings from the packager that were present before OCZ placed their own markings on top of them. The markings underneath turned out to be: V58C2256804SAT5B. After looking them up we found them to be ProMOS IC’s rated for DDR400 performance levels.

If you have not heard of ProMOS don’t worry as they are a large Taiwanese memory chip manufacturer and the parent company of Mosel Vitelic.

Decoding The IC:

For those of you that want to know the inside scoop on everything we broke down what the codes on the IC mean below.

ProMOS V58C2256804SAT5B
Specification	Feature
V5	ProMOS
58	DDR I SDRAM
C	CMOS
2	2.5 Voltage
25680	Organization = 8×32 & 8K Refresh
4	4 Banks
2	Interface = SSTL_2
A	Revision Level #1
T	TSOP Package
5B	200MHz @ CL2.5

Key Features:

• Memory amount: 2x 512MB
• Access time: 5.0ns ProMOS IC’s
• 466MHz (PC-3700) Unbuffered DDR Modules
• CAS latency: 2.5 clock cycles
• RAS precharge: 3 cycles
• RAS active to precharge: 7 cycles
• Command rate: 1T (1 cycle)
• Copper heat spreader for thermal diffusion (Gold Layered)
• Latency: 2.5-3-3-7-1T
• 2.7V
• Lifetime Warranty

Now that we know what the memory is rated for by OCZ and what exact IC’s are being used on the OCZ Dual Channel Gold Edition PC-3700 Revision 2 memory kit we can look at our testing to see how it really performs.