OCZ Blade 3x2GB PC3-16000 CL7 Memory Review

Benchmark Methodology

As we just outlined in the stability testing section, these modules do not come with an XMP profile, nor can we simply set a memory ratio to run them at the specified DDR3-2000. This means that we really don't have a stock setup to work with. We have also decided to do things a little differently with this kit of memory for the benchmark comparisons today. Instead of comparing similar high clocks, we wanted to see just what kind of difference we get from memory at industry standards from entry level to mid-range to high-end. Here is how our testing setups break down. At the low end we will set the memory to run at DDR3-1333 with 7-7-7 timings. These results will be indicated by the color blue in the graphs. This is a common entry level timing set and frequency for triple channel DDR3 kits.

The next memory set will be run at DDR3-1600 with 8-8-8 timings. Again, this is an industry standard with very reasonably priced memory kits falling into this category. The results will be represented with the color grey in the graphs. Our first set of red results will be from the OCZ Blade at their specified frequency and timings. Now, in order to run these all head to head with the same CPU frequency, we had to raise base clock in order to reach DDR3-2000. So in reality, we will be comparing DDR3-1428 7-7-7-24 to DDR3-1720 8-8-8-24 to DDR3-2000 7-8-7-20, all at the same CPU frequency of 3287MHz or 3.3GHz. This should lead to some interesting results as we cover the entire gamut of standard memory clocks.

We have also thrown in results from the OCZ Blade memory at the impressive 7-7-6 overclock that we were able to achieve in the stable overclocking section. These second set of red results in the graph will depict performance at DDR3-2000 with 7-7-6-20 timings and the CPU frequency bumped up to 4.2GHz. To ensure an accurate comparison, here is how we prepare our OS for the benchmarking.

1. Windows Vista x64 w/SP1 is installed using a full format
2. Intel Chipset drivers and accessory hardware drivers (audio, network, GPU) are installed followed by a defragment and a reboot
3. At time of benchmarks the latest drivers were downloaded from their official web sites as the latest drivers, most notable, NVIDIA GeForce Release 185.85 WHQL
4. Programs and games are then installed followed by another defragment
5. Windows updates are then completed installing all available updates followed by a defragment
6. Benchmarks are each ran three times after a clean reboot for every iteration of the benchmark unless otherwise stated, the results are then averaged