Kingmax Hardcore Memory: Tiny BGA Reaches For Top Speed
by Wesley Fink on March 9, 2004 11:12 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Performance Test Configuration
The Memory testbed for evaluating the Kingmax Hardcore Memory is the same used in our earlier reviews of DDR500 and other High-Speed Memory.New Memory Highs: Corsair and OCZ Introduce DDR550
OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2: The Universal Soldier
OCZ 4200EL: Tops in Memory Performance
Mushkin PC4000 High Performance: DDR500 PLUS
Corsair TwinX1024-4000 PRO: Improving DDR500 Performance
Mushkin & Adata: 2 for the Fast-Timings Lane
Searching for the Memory Holy Grail - Part 2
All test conditions were as close as possible to those used in our earlier memory reviews.
| INTEL 875P Performance Test Configuration | |
| Processor(s): | Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz (800MHz FSB) |
| RAM: | 2 x 512MB Kingmax DDR500 Hardcore Series (DS) 2 x 512MB Kingmax DDR466 Hardcore Series (DS) 2 x 512MB Corsair XMS4400v1.1 TwinX (DS) 2 x 512MB OCZ PC4400 DC Kit (DS) 2 x 512MB OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev. 2 (DS) 2 x 512MB OCZ 4200EL(DS) 2 x 512MB Mushkin PC4000 High Performance (DS) 2 x 512MB Corsair TwinX4000 PRO (DS) 2 x 512MB Mushkin Level II PC3500 (DS) 2 x 256MB Adata DDR450 (SS) 2 x 512MB Adata PC4000 (DS) 2 x 512MB Corsair PC4000 (DS) 2 x 512MB Geil PC4000 (DS) 4 x 256MB Kingston PC4000 (SS) 2 x 256MB Kingston PC4000 (SS) 2 x 512MB OCZ PC4000 (DS) 4 x 256MB OCZ PC3700 GOLD (DS) |
| Hard Drives | 2 Western Digital Raptor Serial ATA 36.7GB 10,000 rpm drives in an Intel ICH5R RAID configuration |
| PCI/AGP Speed | Fixed at 33/66 |
| Bus Master Drivers: | 875P Intel INF Update v5.00.1012, SATA RAID drivers installed, but IAA not installed |
| Video Card(s): | ATI 9800 PRO 128MB, 128MB aperture, 1024x768x32 |
| Video Drivers: | ATI Catalyst 4.1 |
| Power Supply: | Vantec Stealth 470 Watt Aluminum |
| Operating System(s): | Windows XP Professional SP1 |
| Motherboards: | Asus P4C800-E (875) with 1015 Release BIOS |
Since memory rated at DDR500 is generally targeted at the Intel 875/865 enthusiast, we only tested on our Intel test bed. Kingmax claims compatibility with AMD chipsets as well, including the Athlon 64.
Test Settings
The following settings were tested with Kingmax DDR500 and DDR466:- 800FSB/DDR400 - the highest stock speed supported on 875/865 and K8T800/nF3/SiS755 motherboards.
- 866FSB/DDR433 - a common speed achievable with low-latency DDR400 modules.
- 933FSB/DDR466 - the specified rating of the DDR466 memory modules.
- 1000FSB/DDR500 - the specified rating of the test DDR500 modules and the maximum speed that many current Intel 865/875 boards can achieve.
- Highest Stable Overclock - the highest settings that we could achieve with this memory and other memory we have tested.
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14 Comments
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bldkc - Friday, March 12, 2004 - link
By the way could you guys please start highlighting the item being tested in the graphs with a different colored bar or even different color text for the name (or both)? It makes it very difficult to find the product you are testing if I have to read every name on the graph just to find one of them.bldkc - Friday, March 12, 2004 - link
Wow, don't buy the DDR466! On page 6 it took 1114 seconds to complete! Okay, it's a typo, but still.#10-If you wear a thinner coat outside you won't stay as warm as if you wear a thick one. The same thing with chips.
Wesley Fink - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
#11 - Corrected.#10 - BGA chips are both much smaller and thinner than TSOP chips. The electrical connections are also much shorter, generating less heat to start with than TSOP chips. I have seen data supporting 80 to 85% heat dissipation with BGA chips.
Shalmanese - Thursday, March 11, 2004 - link
I sure hope Kingmax didn't provide you with 512K chips of RAM ;). (top of pg3)ViRGE - Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - link
What is it exactly about BGA chips that make them run cooler than TSOP chips? There's the size difference of course, but that doesn't account for the temp difference, does it?Jeff7181 - Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - link
It's good to see this from Kingmax... I've been wondering for quite some time now why video cards have had DDR500 memory for a few years, and it hasn't made it's way into system RAM. Now we have RAM on video cards capable of DDR1000... why can't we get similar results with system RAM?Inferno - Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - link
Something everyone may want to note, if you decrease voltage on the Kingmax sometimes that yeilds better O/Cs then raising it. I have owned alot of Kingmax TinyBGA and it usually responds negativly to more voltage. They also do benifit from heat spreaders when pushed hard and kept at default voltage.Pumpkinierre - Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - link
Good article but still more of the same. It seems like 18month old Winbond BH5 and now these BGA chips are the fastest at DDR400-433. However, are there any hints of a DDR466-500 at low latencies (CAS2) out there? I mean graphics cards have got 256Mb of <3ns DDR (dont know the latencies) so why arent the memory manufacturers using that?Xtreme DDR have got some PC3700+ at 2-3-3-6 using picked 5ns Samsung chips (http://www.xtremeddr.com/products/x_pc3700+.shtml)... They quote 2T command rate and some i875 mobo compatibility, which is counter to the Mushkin website advice that intel dual bank chipsets force 1T timings, and memory rated above 1T could be unstable. Perhaps you might get a coupla sticks of that and put them through your test procedure?
KristopherKubicki - Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - link
Evan,We have achieved ludicris speed, overshot the winnebago, and gone to plaid.
Kristopher
KristopherKubicki - Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - link
BGA is the new standard on DDR2. I welcome the change.Kristopher