SUMMARY: JEDEC have only just approved the PC2700 memory standard, and we are already seeing a lot of memory manufacturers coming out with their DDR400 modules even though JEDEC are still in the works of approving it. Asher "Acid" Moses takes a look at one such PC3200 module from up and coming Taiwanese company, TwinMOS. Does it have what it takes to compete with the well known memory brands in overclocking tests? Read on and find out!
A DDR memory module is given two names according to both its maximum transfer rate and speed. In the case of TwinMOS's DDR400, its two ratings are PC3200 and DDR400. PC3200 is the maximum transfer rate of the module, which in this case is 3.2GB/sec. On the other hand, DDR400 is the speed of the module in MHz, which in the case of DDR400 is 400MHz (200MHz DDR).
The effective bandwidth of the module is worked out by taking its speed rating (400) and multiplying it by 8. We multiply the speed rating by 8 because DDR modules are 8 bytes wide. So, the formula for TwinMOS DDR400 memory would be: 400 * 8 = 3200 or PC3200.
- The Module
As you can see, TwinMOS have not prettied up their module with any fancy heat spreaders or colored PCBs. Both of these do nothing to the modules' performance and if anything, increase its price. The module is single sided, meaning that memory chips have only been placed on one side of the module. In theory, this is said to be great for overclockers as there is a much less chance of stress induced errors.
TwinMOS have decided to go with Winbond BH-5 chips for their DDR400 modules. As mentioned in the specifications on the previous page, the chips are rated at 5.0ns and judging by reports from around the enthusiast community, these new memory chips should yield some very impressive overclocking results. Also of note is that the memory chips are arranged in an 8x32MB fashion.
Unfortunately, TwinMOS are not guaranteeing that you can run their DDR400 memory at a CAS Latency of 2, unlike Corsair. However, we had no problem running our module at 200MHz with a latency of 2 and there is no reason why anyone else shouldn't be able to either.
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