GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Memory Kit

We have a look at a PC3-14400 kit from GeIL today. At 1800MHz it nestles between the more common 1600MHz and 2000MHz kits.

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Manufacturer: GeIL
6 minutes & 57 seconds read time

Introduction


GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit



PC3-14400 isn't a number we typically see. What we tend to find is most companies promote their higher end PC3-16000 kits or the more standard overclocked modules, the PC3-12800 ones. What PC3-14400 kits offer us over something like a PC3-12800 kit is a bit more performance and a small jump in price while not going to the extreme that PC3-16000 kits tend to carry.

The particular kit we're looking at today is part of the Ultra series from GeIL, which sits a step up from the Value series the company offers. We'll have to see just how ultra the kit is, though. But before we find that out we'll see what's going on with the package before having a closer look at the modules themselves and see what kind of timings and voltages are required to achieve the PC3-14400 or 1800MHz clock.

Today we'll find out if it's worth spending an extra few dollars moving from PC3-12800 or if you're simply better off just splurging out big on a PC3-16000 kit which carries with it an extra 200MHz. Let's get into the bundle and modules before finding out just what kind of performance the Ultra PC3-14400 kit offers.

The Package and Modules


The Package

Having a look at the front of the package, we've got a pretty funky design going on with a motorbike picture taking up the majority of the picture. Across the top we can see the GeIL Extreme Power equipment logo and we can also see a little bit of the memory, but nothing that really paints any kind of picture.

GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


In the middle of the package we can see that the kit is of course a DDR3 one. We can also see it's part of the Ultra series and this particular one is a triple channel kit. Across the bottom we have the GeIL enhanced logo along with the GeIL one on the other corner.

GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


Turning over, we've got all the information we need on the modules; we can see the kit is a PC3-14400 one or 1800MHz which we mentioned earlier. We can also see the timings and that the kit is a 6GB. We'll look closer at these details when we take a closer look at the modules.

GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


Inside the package we've got a little leaflet that tells us what to do "before unleashing the beast." We've got a bit of information on SPD along with voltages. If you find yourself around higher end modules on a regular basis, there isn't anything too important here.


The Modules

Having a look at the modules for the first time, we can see that there isn't anything too fancy going on as far as heatsink design goes. With the Ultra Series only being one level up from the Value one, we didn't expect too much. If you do want something a bit fancier, though, you'll be glad to know that GeIL do mix it up in their Gaming and XMP Series.

GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


One side is pretty full on with information; we've got the GeIL logo in the middle while to the left side we have a DDR3 logo. On right side of the module we have a sticker that gives us a run down on all the important information that you'll need to know. On the other side we've got a sticker that just gives us some serial and part number information.

GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


Having a closer look at one of the stickers, we can see that all the important information is there. The particular module is a 2GB one which comes in at 1800MHz. The timings the module uses are 8-8-8-28 which are achieved at 1.6V.

Overclocking




When it came to overclocking we had no luck at all. 20MHz - 30MHz above stock would simply result in our system not booting. 1800MHz was a dream, though. Setting the timings up and using 1.6v, we achieved what we needed to without a hiccup.

GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


This isn't the first time this has happened to us with GeIL modules. They tend to react strongly to burn in. Give it a month of 24 / 7 usage and the modules will probably open up a bit more. Of course, we can't promise that, but burn in isn't just a myth.

Important Editor Note: Our maximum overclocking result is the best result we managed in our limited time of testing the memory. Due to time constraints we weren't able to tweak the motherboard to the absolute maximum and find the highest possible FSB, as this could take days to find properly. We do however spend at least a few hours overclocking every motherboard to try and find the highest possible overclock in that time frame. You may or may not be able to overclock higher if you spend more time tweaking, or as new BIOS updates are released. "Burn-in" time might also come into play if you believe in that.

Test System Setup and wPrime


Test System Setup

Processor(s): Intel i7 920 @ 4GHz (200MHz x 20)
Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P (Supplied by Noctua)
Motherboard(s): GIGABYTE EX58-UD5 (Supplied by GIGABYTE)
Graphics Card(s): ASUS GTX 285 (Supplied by ASUS)
Hard Disk(s): Western Digital 300GB Velicorapter (Supplied by Western Digital)
Operating System: Windows Vista SP1 64-Bit
Drivers: ForceWare 185.65

1800MHz is a bit of a weird number for our dividers. With a 200MHz BCLK our dividers only give us the option to run at 1600MHz or 1800MHz. What this meant is that we had to move around the BCLK a little, so while we normally have a 200 x 20 setup, the GeIL modules at 1800MHz are using a 180 x 16 setup which results in a 3.6GHz clock versus the normal 4GHz clock we're use to seeing.

This is worth noting and the setup can be seen in our graphs on the following pages. While the clock will have an effect on benchmarks that rely more heavily on the CPU, when it comes to pure memory benchmarks the clock speed should have little to no impact.


wPrime

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.62
Developer Homepage: http://www.wprime.net/
Product Homepage: http://www.wprime.net/




wPrime uses a recursive call of Newton's method for estimating functions, with f(x)=x2-k, where k is the number we're sqrting, until Sgn(f(x)/f'(x)) does not equal that of the previous iteration, starting with an estimation of k/2. It then uses an iterative calling of the estimation method a set amount of times to increase the accuracy of the results. It then confirms that n(k)2=k to ensure the calculation was correct. It repeats this for all numbers from 1 to the requested maximum.


GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


With wPrime mainly taking advantage of the CPU, we can see that the GeIL kit falls to the back of the pack here.

Benchmarks - Everest Ultimate Edition


EVEREST

Version and / or Patch Used: Ultimate Edition
Developer Homepage: http://www.lavalys.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=3&ps=UE&lang=en
Buy It Here




EVEREST Ultimate Edition is an industry leading system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for enthusiasts PC users, based on the award-winning EVEREST Technology. During system optimizations and tweaking it provides essential system and overclock information, advanced hardware monitoring and diagnostics capabilities to check the effects of the applied settings. CPU, FPU and memory benchmarks are available to measure the actual system performance and compare it to previous states or other systems. Furthermore, complete software, operating system and security information makes EVEREST Ultimate Edition a comprehensive system diagnostics tool that offers a total of 100 pages of information about your PC.


GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


Here we can see under a test that doesn't take full advantage of the CPU clock we're able to find that the GeIL kit at 1800MHz performs as you would expect for the most part. Read performance is way up from 1333MHz, but write performance on the other hand doesn't have the same effect unfortunately.

Benchmarks - SiSoft Sandra


SiSoft Sandra

Version and / or Patch Used: Professional Home
Developer Homepage: http://www.sisoftware.co.uk
Product Homepage: http://sisoftware.jaggedonline.com/index.php?location=home&a=TTA&lang=en
Buy It Here




SiSoft Sandra (System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is a synthetic Windows benchmark that features different tests used to evaluate different PC subsystems.


GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


Under Sandra we find that the memory performance here is similar to that of the 1333MHz clocked A-DATA modules.

Benchmarks - Sciencemark


ScienceMark 2.0

ScienceMark 2.0 is a mathematical program designed to stress the memory subsystems of both desktop/workstation and server environments to determine the read/write latency as well as the overall memory bandwidth available between the CPU and the memory controller.


GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


We again see that the CPU is playing a more important role here. For this reason we see the GeIL kit fall to the back of the pack.

Benchmarks - Far Cry 2


Far Cry 2

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.01
Timedemo or Level Used: Ranch Long
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.farcry2.com/
Buy It Here




The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montreal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments, amazing special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storm effects, real-time night-and-day cycle, dynamic music system, non-scripted enemy A.I. and so much more.


GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


GEIL Ultra Series PC3-14400 6GB Kit


Down 400MHz in the CPU clock department, we can see that there is still very little performance difference between the four setups.

Final Thoughts




1800MHz results in us having to mess around with the CPU clocks a bit more, meaning that our i7 920 was clocked lower than we would have preferred it to be when it came to testing the modules. Depending on your CPU, PC3-14400 modules might not be the best kit for you. At the same time, they might be a better option.

If you're looking for a kit that's going to pack a bit more punch and you're not a huge overclocker, the PC-14400 kit we have here today is pretty impressive. If you're looking for maximum MHz out of your memory without overclocking your CPU too high, this setup is pretty nice.

If you're running 4GHz or a 200 BCLK and you're happy with 1600MHz clocked PC3-12800 memory, this might be a better option. Of course, if you want even more performance it might be worth looking at spending the extra money and going for a 2000MHz kit.

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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