OCZ Blade 3x2GB PC3-16000 CL7 Memory Review | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| by 3oh6 | June 17, 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memory Installation & Test Setup Memory Installation & Test SetupAnother memory kit across the pages of HardwareCanucks.com, another test fit with the almost industry standard Thermalright Ultra-120. If you have read any of our previous memory or motherboard reviews, you know that we always like to test the fitting of memory with the TRUE in both orientations. If we don't, our private message boxes fill up with the question, does the TRUE fit? So, let's have a look and see if the Blade heat sink is too tall for its own good.   Without messing around we stuck the Blades in the first slot of the EVGA X58 SLI motherboard and plopped the TRUE down. In the north/south orientation, we can clearly see in the first photo that the memory tucks nicely underneath the cooling fins. This basically ensures that no matter what slots you use, how close the DIMM slots are to the CPU socket, the OCZ Blade heat sinks will fit with a Thermalright Ultra-120 in any orientation. This is great news as now there is a reference for other coolers to know if they fit or not. In the second photo above we added a fan and we can see that there are no issues at all with the OCZ Blade, even in the first slot.   Switching the heat sink around to the east/west orientation, we can see that a standard 25mm thick fan has plenty of room to squeeze in-between the heat sink and the memory in the first slot. It is important to note that the fan in its natural position on the TRUE does sit slightly below the top of the OCZ Blade heat sinks. In the second photo above, the 38mm thick fan illustrates this point as it would have to be resting on the first memory stick should they be close enough, and some boards will have that first slot close enough. In the EVGA X58 3X SLI, the second DIMM slot is far enough away for the 38mm fan to fit with ease. So despite a little bit taller than normal heat sink, the OCZ Blade memory should have no issues with a TRUE. If you happen to have a heat sink as big as the TRUE but cooling fins positioned lower than the TRUE does, you might run into issues with the Blade heat sinks.
The most important aspect of this OCZ Blade PC3-16000 kit of memory is the lack of an XMP profile. Normally we get all over the memory manufacturer for leaving out an XMP profile or show our disdain when a motherboard doesn't support XMP profiles. This case, however, is a little different. Running memory at DDR3-2000 isn't as easy as plugging in specific settings. Every setup is going to require different variables to be adjusted accordingly. Some processors won't be able to run DDR3-2000 with certain memory ratios. Some may need a lot of VTT, some may not need much at all and too much may cause instability. With an XMP profile, it is impossible to cover all of the variables for every setup. Because of this, we are actually pleased to not see an XMP profile on the OCZ Blade PC3-16000 memory. What you do get is a great support forum ready to help you out should you need it in order to get your memory up to spec. Test Setup
Our setup hasn't changed from out last memory review with the Mushkin Redline Ascent memory with one exception, another processor has been added to the fold. We recently completed an overclocking review of the new Intel i7 975 EE processor and will be using it in parts of reviews from here on out. In fact, during the course of this review, our i7 965 EE processor had to go in for repairs so the i7 975 is responsible for the benchmarks as well as portions of the overclocking.         | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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