Conclusion:
If you are looking to make the jump to a DDR3 based system, the OCZ Technology PC3-10666 Gold Edition 2GB DDR3 Kit shouldn't fail to impress you. What impressed me the most was being able to overclock my processor from 2.1GHz to 2.67GHz while running the CPU in sync with this memory. Attempting to do the same thing with the DDR2 kit resulted in a maximum CPU speed of 2.5GHz. While this overclock seems to be tiny, it did allow the DDR3 memory to run at its full speed.
Faster DDR3 memory is already available at clock speeds higher than 1333MHz, and the systems to run it effectively will be available very soon. When it is available, DDR2 will seem like it is crawling along.
OCZ Technology never fails to impress. The Gold series is designed for gamers, while the Platinum series is designed for enthusiasts. A similar market because both groups demand high performance. However enthusiasts typically like to overclock, and push their equipment harder than gamers do. Comparing an enthusiast grade DDR2 kit to a gamer grade DDR3 kit would appear to be an unfair comparison, especially since the DDR2 kit has much better timings. However, as the benchmarks showed, there is very little difference in performance when they are run at the same speeds. DDR3 is only able to surpass DDR2 when it is run at the higher clock speeds it is capable of.
If I was to have a complaint about the memory, it would be the timings. With DDR2 we have come to expect very tight timings. If the DDR3 memory had tighter timings, it would be able to surpass the performance of the DDR2 at any speed. This is not limited to OCZ Technology memory, as most of the current DDR3 memory kits have similar timings.
A search of PriceGrabber finds the OCZ Technology PC3-10666 Gold Edition 2GB DDR3 Kit for just over $400.00 (US), which is quite expensive when compared to DDR2. When DDR2 was first available it was just as expensive, but quickly dropped in price, and I would expect the same to happen with DDR3. When comparing apples to apples, the price for this kit is in line with other DDR3 2GB kits.
Given the performance, innovative features, and lifetime warranty, I award the OCZ Technology PC3-10666 Gold Edition 2GB DDR3 Kit the rating of "Recommended".
Pros:
» High speed
» Great performance
» EVP
» Lifetime warranty
Cons:
» Expensive
» Loose timings
Special thanks to OCZ Technology for providing the OCZ Technology PC3-10666 Gold Edition 2GB DDR3 Kit to Bigbruin.com for review!
Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to post any comments or questions.
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