Introduction
OCZ Technology EL DDR PC-3200 Gold Edition Dual ChannelSystem memory can play a pivotal role in defining overall PC performance. Prima facie, the speed of memory should alone dictate performance, right?. Memory speed, usually expressed either as DDR 400 or PC3200, does prove to be the most crucial factor, but, and it's and big but, memory latencies are almost as important. Memory latency can be defined as the time needed in clock cycles for a RAM module to perform a certain task. The lower the latencies, therefore, the faster the RAM is able to spit out data back to the CPU.
Enthusiasts have realised the benefits of low-latency memory and often opt for modules with the most aggressive settings. Winbond's legendary BH-5 DDR1 chips often ran at performance-enhancing 2-2-2-5 timings. Then came Samsung's TCCD chips, specced in many a top-flight RAM vendor's catalogue and mounted on custom PCBs to produce DDR400 RAM with the all-important latencies. They're also discontinued now, sadly.
It's been a while since we took a dual-channel set of OCZ modules for a review spin. What better way to end that hiatus than by testing a 1GByte pack (2x512MB)of OCZ's EL DDR PC-3200 Gold Edition, which, as the name implies, run at DDR400 speeds. What's more, they do so at .... 2-2-2-5 timings.