OCZ 2x1GB DDR3 PC3-12800 Platinum EB Review

Memory Installation & Test Setup:

The opening arguments have been heard in their entirety and we will now hear from the prosecutors witnesses. The prosecutor calls "the ease of installation" to the stand.


When looking at the modules a little earlier, it was noted that installation would not be an issue and as the images show above, that statement was 100% true. The XTC heatspreaders really do not add any kind of bulk to the modules at all. It goes without saying, that any motherboard/CPU cooler combo that will fit standard memory modules, will have no problem with this OCZ Platinum memory.

Once the memory was installed, booting with the P5K3-Dlx set to its BIOS defaults was not a problem. With many DDR2 performance memory kits, it had become a known issue that a number of memory modules would not boot with the BIOS defaults because the voltage being supplied to the memory was only 1.8v and a lot of the kits needed 2.0v or more requiring users to try single sticks in various memory slots or having a stick of generic memory simply to POST and raise the voltage in the BIOS for the performance memory. So far, all the DDR3 kits we have tested seem to show no signs of this issue on the P5K3-Dlx. The SPD programming or motherboard may be the reason for this issue seemingly disappearing but it might just be that these Micron DDR3 ICs are more tolerable to low voltage allowing systems to boot.

Either way, upon booting with BIOS defaults set, the memory registers in at 667MHz with 7-7-7-20 2T timings on the 1:2 ratio using a 1333FSB E6850. Obviously manual adjustments are going to be required to get this memory running at even the rated frequencies. This is one of the major drawbacks of high-performance DDR3 memory, overclocking the system bus is required to get the memory to run at full speed because of the highest FSB:RAM ratio being only 1:2. This means that the memory runs at twice the frequency of the FSB so a 1333FSB (333MHz) processor like the E6850 can only run the memory at the fastest frequency of 667MHz (DDR3-1333) without increasing the FSB. As a result, to run DDR3-1600, the FSB has to be running at 400MHz at a minimum.

Obviously with 1600FSB (400MHz) CPUs just around the corner, this issue will disappear for users running these processors because the system FSB will be defaulting at 400MHz providing the ability to run the memory at 800MHz (DDR3-1600) without having to overclock anything.

Test Platform:

• Motherboard: Asus P5K3-Deluxe Wifi-AP
• Processor: Intel C2D E6850
• Processor Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 w/AD1212MS-A73GL 2050RPM/80.5CFM
• Memory: OCZ Platinum EB 2x1024MB PC3-12800
• Power Supply: Silverstone Zeus ST56ZF
• Video Card: Biostar 8600GTS 512MB
• Additional Fans:
  120mm AD1212MS-A73GL 2050RPM/80.5CFM
  120mm Vantec Stealth SF12025L 1500RPM/50CFM
• Hard Drive: 1 x Seagate 7200.9 80GB SATAII 8MB cache
• OS: Windows XP SP2 (with recent updates)

A small disclaimer: The motherboard used for testing the abilities of this OCZ Platinum DDR3 has been modified to provide more voltage to the MCH (Memory Controller Hub), also known as the northbridge. This was required because the P5K3-Dlx used for testing has a limited vMCH setting in the BIOS that restricts voltage to 1.70v. Through extensive testing with this motherboard, it was proven that higher MCH voltages led to much higher memory overclocks. There are many P5K3-Dlx motherboards that clock memory better than this one but keep this information in mind when going over the results. In the screenshots in the following section, the voltages used for each overclock are outlined in a small visible text file.

The only other piece of information worth noting is the use of additional fans. It is the popular belief of many that any and all memory should have some sort of active cooling to remove the heat being generated to not only aid in overclocking but to help keep the memory at safe operating temperatures for a long and healthy life. Heatspreaders aid in removing heat from the ICs but that heat still has to go somewhere and that is where active cooling steps in. At all times during this review, the memory was actively cooled with a 120mm fan overhead. We can now finally get to the best part of memory...overclocking.