Module examination and thoughts
OCZ follows other high-end SDRAM manufacturers and presents its memory in see-through packaging. DDR2 will become even more pervasive when AMD switches its Athlon 64s to AM2 in the coming months, so selecting the correct DDR2 now will pay dividends if you wish to switch camps later.
Generally speaking, premier modules that push frequency or latency past the usual norms usually require extra voltage to guarantee stability. Regular DDR2 requires 1.8V but OCZ specifies these low-ish latency PC8000 modules at 2.1V. However, even with an extra 0.3V needed over most other modules, the XTC set is actually guaranteed to work at higher voltage levels. That's a combination of the fact that DDR2 SDRAM runs relatively cool and OCZ employing its latest range of heatspreader.
XTC, denoting Xtreme Thermal Convection, uses a honeycomb design to promote airflow through the heatspreader to the SDRAM underneath. It's a design that works well in practice, and OCZ offers these modules with its EVP (Enhanced Voltage Protection), meaning that they can be run up to 2.2V (+5% over stock) without invalidating the warranty, offering the enthusiast a little more voltage to play with.
Run in dual-channel mode this XTC8000 pair offers up 16GB/s of juicy bandwidth at their rated 1GHz. Thinking of current LGA775 processors, you'd need to run a CPU with a 500MHz (2GHz QDR) FSB to take advantage of the bandwidth on offer. Consider that the fastest CPUs currently operate at 266MHZ FSB (1066MHz QDR) and you'll appreciate there's bandwidth to spare for the even the die-hard enthusiast who likes to push up FSB like no tomorrow.
Careful screening of DRAM allows OCZ to offer this pack with 4-5-4-15 latencies, which is consider low (good) for ultra-high speed DDR2. The funky heatspreader is held on by fragtape and comes away easily enough. Underneath we see that Micron's Rev. D RAM is the current darling of the high-speed DDR2 world.
What's just as pleasing as the speed is the availability of this kit in a 2GByte pack, comprising of two 1GByte modules that are arranged in 64M x 16 SDRAMs, making them double-sided in nature and providing enough capacity for you true multitaskers out there.
Let's be abundantly clear. This pack isn't designed for the user that runs their machine at perfectly stock speeds. Those users will be better off with lower-rated and cheaper memory. OCZ markets this £380 pack for those who don't want memory bandwidth to become an issue when pushing their systems to the absolute limit.
PC8000 isn't the fastest memory around, incidentally. Corsair, for example, has recently launched PC8500 memory that has the benefit of operating at a synchronous frequency to a 266MHz FSB LGA775 CPU, although it's only available in a 1GByte kit right now.
Official specifications
OCZ Technology DDR2 PC2-8000 Platinum XTC Extreme Edition
Features 2 x 1GByte matched 240-pin DDR2 DIMMs - also available in a 1GByte pack
4-5-4-15-2T latencies (CAS Latency - RAS-to-CAS Delay - RAS Precharge - RAS Activate to Precharge - Command Rate)
SPD programmed at 1000MHz at 4-5-4-15 2T timings
Carefully screened Micron Rev. D SDRAM. 2.1V operating voltage
Enhanced Voltage Protection guarantees module warranty remains intact at ~2.2V
Lifetime warranty