| OCZ Technology 4GB PC2-5400 Vista Upgrade Edition DDR2
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Conclusion:
While it should be obvious that you aren't going to dominate the current system memory on the market with PC2-5400 DDR2, the OCZ Technology 4GB PC2-5400 Vista Upgrade Edition DDR2 didn't do poorly at all. Certain synthetic tests showed that it could hang with a 2GB kit of PC2-6400, and in some cases the extra capacity more than made up for the lack of speed. In real world, memory intensive applications, the extra memory proved to be a life saver, as tasks that had to be broken up into smaller steps with 2GB of memory were able to be completed in one step with 4GB installed.
While this memory kit did not overclock like most OCZ Technology products I have used, I suppose that didn't really come as a surprise. This kit isn't intended for the enthusiast looking to tweak their system to the pinnacle of performance, but simply to provide a plug and play upgrade for anyone with a compatible system looking for an extra boost in the memory department. And that is what it delivers!
The biggest negative, and one that is partially Microsoft's fault, is that just because you have Windows Vista does not mean that your system will be able to take advantage of all 4GB of memory in this "Vista Upgrade Edition" kit. I tried a handful of operating systems; including two from the Vista series, good old Windows XP Pro, and Fedora Core 7 x64 Linux. Only the Linux distribution was able to come close to taking advantage of all the memory available, and it didn't require any tweaks found on the Internet. Maybe they should call this the "Penguin Upgrade Edition" or something similar to be more accurate.
ClubIT.com currently offers this memory for $159.90 after a $25 mail in rebate. You will be laying out $184.90 up front, which isn't a bad price for two 2GB modules of DDR2, but the final price made possible by the rebate really does make it more attractive.
Looking around the ClubIT.com site shows they have tons of memory in stock, and one similar kit caught my eye as perhaps being a better value if you are in the market for a 4GB dual channel DDR2 kit like this. At $170.90 after a $25 rebate, they have a PC2-6400 OCZ Technology kit that may have slightly more relaxed timings, but offers a stock frequency of 800MHz. At just $11 more, it might be worth it to those who have a system able to take advantage of PC2-6400 memory. While the PC2-5400 kit doesn't show up on PriceGrabber at all, this PC2-6400 kit does, and it shows that the pre-rebate price at ClubIT.com is about the best you will find, and that getting $25 back really makes it a great deal.
Given the respectable performance in benchmarks and real world memory intensive applications, the OCZ Technology 4GB PC2-5400 Vista Upgrade Edition DDR2 kit is "Recommended" to anyone with a compatible system looking for a boost.
Pros:
» Provides plenty of capacity for memory intensive applications
» Performed very well in real world applications
» Performed reasonably well in benchmarks
» OCZ Technology lifetime warranty
Cons:
» No guarantee that any Vista system will be able to recognize all 4GB
» Not much overclocking possible, and no timing optimizing possible
» $11 more to get a 4GB OCZ Technology kit at 800MHz
Special thanks to ClubIT.com for providing the OCZ Technology 4GB PC2-5400 Vista Upgrade Edition DDR2 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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