Specifications In previous memory reviews we haven't tried to disguise the fact that memory really doesn't have a lot of specifications to it, yet memory specification questions continually come up in forums. I think the fact that there is conflicting information about frequency/speed of memory is part of the problem. There are three ways to identify memory frequency/speed and getting them all straight is a bit confusing at first. Add in the timings and the confusion just multiplies.
With that said, seeing the specifications to the left of 2133MHz means this memory runs at DDR3-2133 (we won't go into a rant about speed naming scheme OCZ uses as we think our point was made in the Blade PC3-16000 review). At DDR3-2133 the memory is specified to run 8-9-8-24 timings at 1.65v, nothing confusing about that really. What DDR3-2133 means though is that this memory runs at astonishingly fast frequencies, so fast that many i7 processors will not even be able to run the memory at the specified clocks. We will discuss this in length in the Stability Testing section a little later on.
The image to the right is a photo of the now infamous IC's that run this particular kit of memory. Elpida J1108BASE-MNH-E, most recognizable as Elpida Hyper. The last couple weeks have been headline grabbing for Elpida Hyper due to the recent announcement by many memory manufacturers to cease production of modules with Elpida Hyper because of abnormally high failure rates in the field. OCZ hasn't seen the same issues as other manufacturers but has also decided to cease production of modules with Elpida Hyper for the time being. Here is the official statement from the OCZ support forums regarding this issue...
OCZ Support Forum - "In regards to the potential issues relating to Elpida Hyper IC’s, OCZ has not yet seen extended failures in the field, and the Elpida Hyper IC’s we have used came from earlier batches so we do not yet know if this is the reason why we are not seeing field issues but as a proactive measure based on the latest information from media reviewers like AnandTech we have officially held the use of any Elpida Hyper IC’s at this time. Any customers that are seeing issues are encouraged to contact us and we will absolutely take care of all customers with a no questions asked refund or exchange for another OCZ product of equal value, whichever the customer prefers. We want to make sure that our customers have peace of mind and the confidence that we will take care of any and all issues related to modules that utilize Elpida Hyper chips."
This obviously isn't a good situation for anyone involved but here at Hardware Canucks, we haven't had any issues with our kits of memory sporting Elpida Hyper IC's from either OCZ or Corsair. We have only three kits but they have seen extensive use and are still as good as the day they came out of the package. So there are two ways to look at it, either be scared of buying any remaining stock of memory with Elpida Hyper IC's because you are worried they are going to die. Or buy up all the kits you can find because they are going to be very rare and potentially a collector's item...not to mention the best benching memory out there. With that said, other manufacturers have already announced the re-introduction of Elpida Hyper based memory. So this "issue" looks to be corrected or at least on it's way to being corrected.
We will now move on to the Installation & Test Setup section but if you have any questions regarding "Hypergate", feel free to pop into our forums and let us know what is on your mind. We will do our best to provide accurate information and not speculation or sensationalized news.
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