Currently, I’m planning to give Intel a try for my future system, but I can’t figure out which type of memory I should use. DDR2 modules sure are cheap and reasonably fast, while DDR3 memories are clearly faster and pricier nonetheless. Now Super Talent comes along and presents their latest Project X DDR3 modules, confusing me even more so.

Super Talent Technology is also known for its quality SSD devices. However, the RAM market seems to be more appealing to Super Talent, as the company manufacturers some of the finest gamer-oriented modules around. Super Talent now offers the Project X DDR3-1800 4GB kit, claiming that this is the first on the market offering that much memory clocked at 1.8 GHz.

Unlike other memory integrators, Super Talent manufacturers their own chips, as well as the special aluminum heat spreaders attached on top. The spreaders are specifically designed to double the actual surface area, incorporating 106% more aluminum mass than standard heat spreaders. Super Talent even uses its own thermal adhesive to connect the spreaders to the modules. All this results into more aggressive latencies (8-8-8-24), plus Super Talent offers a lifetime warranty for all its modules.

As always, extreme performance has a price. The DDR3-1800 4GB kit, comprising two 2GB separate dual-channel modules, is priced at around $499.

This year we might actually see decent prices for the DDR3 memories. Anyhow, we can’t complain about RAM prices when speedy DDR2 modules can be found at more than decent prices. OCZ thinks that, until we get our hands on some fast DDR3 memories, we should be sticking to their ultimate DDR2 solutions. In order to once again prove their RAM modules are among the finest on the market, OCZ unveils a new 4GB Flex II dual channel kit.

First of all, it should be noted that these kits are aimed at enthusiast overclockers. The memory modules integrate DDR2-1150 chips and are specifically designed for water-cooled systems. In this respect, each module has its own little pipe connectors with which to keep the hot radiators cool. That’s why OCZ claims the latest Flex II 4GB K PC2-9200 kits can be overclocked to some insane frequencies, making the modules faster than anything you’ve seen thus far.

Here’s what Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology has to say about this latest achievement: “the thermal power is addressed using what we believe is the most advanced memory cooling solution currently available, suited for either liquid or air cooling system configuration to unleash the full power of 4 GB of DDR2 at the highest possible frequency.” I wonder how pricey these can get, being all enthusiast-oriented.

If you're still proud of your high-end DDR2 memory, than I have to give you some bad news today - more and more producers are moving to the DDR3 standard, and no matter how good are those low-latency DDR2 kits, in less than a year, I guess that only a few new boards will come with support for this standard, at least those designed for Intel processors.


Today, we'll talk about Qimonda's Aeneon XTUNE kit. As you can see above, these memories look pretty cool, but this is not about the looks, because the XTUNE kit was designed especially for the nForce 790i Ultra SLI-powered boards, both 1GB modules being rated to work at 1600MHz with CL9 timings, and using only 1.5Volts.

Fortunately, EPP2 support allows you to run these memories on lower timings, enhancing the bandwidth and latencies, but everything has a price. Qimonda's Aeneon XTUNE DDR3 2X1GB kit has a price somewhere around $340, but you get a pretty good deal for your money, if you want to follow the DDR3 path already!

Do you think you have enough memory installed? Are you sure your video card has enough memory? Well, most of us, at least those that upgraded recently, would answer "yes", but hardware producers want to prove us wrong once again. How?


Well, that should be pretty obvious - by adding more and more memory to the video cards, but that's not all. While DDR2 memory is currently the best choice for most users, more and more producers start to manufacture such modules, so it's only a matter of time until DDR2 remains behind...

Today, I have two memory-related news for you. One of them is related to DDR3, and the other, as you probably got it already, about the memory installed on video cards...

First, it seems everyone is going big. For example, Jetway announced a GeForce 9600 GT card with no less than 2GB of GDDR3 memory, which should go right into production once of these days, so if you really want to "play it big", you'll probably be able to have such a thing in your computer before the end of the month. Wow!

At last, we have Mushkin Inc., a company that just arrived in the DDR3 camp, by announcing their XP3 series of DDR3 memory, "Designed for trailblazing enthusiasts seeking ultimate performance, the XP3 modules offer the reliability and speed needed for maximum frames per second in games and chart-topping benchmark scores."

These XP3 memories will be available as single 1GB and 2GB modules, as well as in 2X1GB and 2X2GB kits, all being hand-tested and featuring the FrostByte heatspreader. Anyway, don't hurry to get them, because they won't be available until April!

Currently, memory speeds are going higher and higher with each day, and while it isn't such a big thing to see DDR2 memory rated somewhere around 1000MHz, most DDR3 modules produced so far were rated as "DDR3-1333", and sometimes "DDR3-1625" or "DDR3-1800"(of course, nothing stopped various producers coming up with their own speed ratings, less common). I said "so far" because, one of these days, Team Group released a new product that broke the 2GHz barrier!

Team Group's memory modules rated DDR3-2133 are a part of their older Team Xtreem series, and they are currently providing the highest bandwidth available in memory modules that can be found on the market. Apart from the 2133-rated ones, Team Group also offers DDR3-1700 and DDR3-1600 modules.

All these DDR3 memories available under the Team Xtreem flag use custom heat spreaders to keep them cooler, increase reliability, and overclocking possibilities, as well as to make them more attractive to our eyes. For now, probably not many of us would consider buying 2GHz DDR3 memory, because the performance of this kind of memory doesn't fully justify its price yet, but it's good to know where we stand and where we're headed...