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AIDA32:::...
I
stumbled across AIDA32 when I was looking for an alternative
to Sandra for a hard drive review last year some time. It
offers very similar functionality to Sandra but the memory
test allows us to run a separate read and write test
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Aida32
Read Score
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Aida32
Write Score
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New
benchmark, old results. Again Corsair just nudges ahead
proving it's no fluke. I think by now we can safely conclude
that when run at its native 200MHz, GeIL's Ultra-X comes
a very close second to Corsair's 3200XL Pro in just about
all tests.
Aida32
Overall Bandwidth
This
leaves just two ways for GeIL to redeem themselves, cost
and overclocking. Let's do the latter first.
Overclocking
Performance:::...
Because
I'd tested the other modules at 4-8-4-4 I initially set
the Ultra-X to this too. Amazingly it immediately hit 260MHz,
some 15MHz faster than I was able to squeeze from the Corsair
at the same timings.
Next
I dialed in a setting of 2.5-6-3-3 as claimed in GeIL's
specs and was pretty amazed when it hit the exact same frequency
of 260MHz. That's an effective 520MHz at 2.5-6-3-3 which
for a module capable of running at 2-5-2-2 is a fine result.
What
GeIL lose to Corsair at stock frequency they are able to
claw back with a solid overclocking performance. If this
module is typical of all of them this should make Ultra-X
a firm favourite among those who really want their cake
and eat it!
PCMark04
Overclocked:::...
As
an indication, here's how the PCMark04 results improve when
run at 520MHz 2.5-6-3-3. By the way, I used a voltage of
2.9volts for the overclocking the UltraX though it seemed
perfectly stable at 2.8volts too.
SiSoft
Sandra Memory Bandwidth Overclocked:::...
And
the same overclocked results from Sandra's memory bendwidth
benchmark.
Cost
is something I've yet to get a definite answer on as this
stuff is so new I can't find a stockist yet. What I would
say though is that if Ultra-X hits the streets at a lower
price than Corsair's 3200XL Pro that would make it an extremely
viable alternative and one that deserves some serious consideration.
GeIL
have become known for setting new price/performance levels
and if Ultra-X continues this trend it could prove to be
one real hot seller for them, and rightly so.
Conclusion
The
3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing
this concept with users as well as companies and vendors
we work with, 3DVelocity have decided that where necessary
we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept'
to sum up our thoughts and impressions on the hardware we
review. As the needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts
have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in
all the aspects that such a user would find important, while
also being fair to products that may lack these high end
"bonus" capabilities but which still represent
a very good buy for the more traditional and more prevalent
mainstream user. The two categories we've used are:
The
Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put
price, stock performance, value for money, reliability and/or
warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware that operates
beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may
be a PC novice or may be an experienced user, however their
needs are clearly very different to those of the enthusiast,
in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently
and reliably within their advertised parameters.
The
Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things
that the mainstream user cares about but is more likely
to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange
for some measure of performance or functionality beyond
its design brief. For example, a high priced motherboard
may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of
overclocking ability or alternatively an unusually large
heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered
acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in
return.
The
Mainstream User ~
Memory
has become so cheap lately that everyone seems far more
concerned with quantitiy than they are with quality,
and in many respects quality id far more important. By that
I mean it doesn't really matter if you equip yourself with
a couple of Gig of the cheapest stuff your money can buy
if it's so unstable it's constantly falling over. In those
situations you'd be better off with 256MB of reliable, stable
memory that at least keeps you running.
GeIL
are a very popular manufacturer of enthusiast and "quality"
memory and their stature seems to be growing. They tend
not to get mentioned in quite the same breath as Corsair,
Mushkin and OCZ but perhaps that's set to change.
Ultra-X
is extremely fast, stable memory that looks good too, and
while it couldn't quite keep pace with Corsair's impressive
XL-Pro, it was hot on its heels and it thrashed it with
its overclocking headroom.
If
you want super-fast memory that has enough give to let you
experiment with overclocking as your confidence increases,
I really can't think of a better way to do it that with
a couple of sticks of Ultra-X
The
Enthusiast ~
It
breathes down the neck of the mighty Corsair 3200XL Pro
and then leaves it in the dust when overclocked. Assuming
all the rest of GeIL's Ultr-X modules are offering the same
kind of numbers it's really quite something to run with
some of the fastest 200MHz memory around and yet know you
can stretch it out to 260MHz when you need to.
Throughout
testing it ran fast and stable, and those mirror-finish
chrome-like copper heat-spreaders are just the business.
They get quite toasty too so at least you know they're working.
I've
seen a lot of memory in the bast couple of months after
putting together the TrustedReviews memory roundup, and
I can't say I was especially excited about having to look
at another pair of modules so soon after, but in the end
I grew rather fond of this stuff. Shame it wasn't here when
I was writing that roundup, we may have seen a shake-up
at the top!!
A
very impressive product all round!
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