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[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC 2GB (250 MHz/DDR500, 3-4-3-8 timings) memory kit is part of OCZ Gold series, targeted to users that like playing last generation games and need high performance memories but with a more affordable price. This kit main feature is its new beehive-shaped heatspreader design, called XTC (Xtreme Thermal Convection), which OCZ claims to be more efficient than other heatspreaders available at the market. Let’s see how this memory kit from OCZ goes on our tests.
Figure 1: OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC 2GB Dual Channel kit.
The new heatspreader is really beautiful and has an excellent finishing. It has two parts: a beehive-shaped metal plate, which is attached to the memory module using a thermal tape, and a golden aluminum metal plate with merely aesthetic function.
Figure 2: Label detail.
The reviewed modules use a printed circuit board (PCB) designed by BrainPower and Samsung UCCC 552 memory chips.
Samsung UCCC’s are part of a new memory chip generation manufactured under 110 nm process, allowing high capacity modules (1 GB per module) with operating frequencies of 250 MHz/DDR500 will low voltage (2.7 V).
OCZ guarantees that the reviewed modules can run up to 250 MHz/DDR500 with 3-4-3-8 1T timings and 2.75 V.
Before going to our benchmarks, let’s take a look at the main technical features of the reviewed modules.
[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]
Dual Channel OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC 2GB kit main features are:
- Rating: DDR500/PC4000.
- Capacity: 2 x 1,024 MB.
- Type: Non-ECC, Unregistered and Unbuffered.
- Recommended voltage: 2,75 V.
- Programmed timings:
| Clock (MHz) | 250 |
| CAS Latency Control (TCL) | 3 |
| RAS# to CAS# delay (TRCD) | 4 |
| RAS# Precharge (TRP) | 3 |
| RAS# Active Time (TRAS) | 8 |
- Extra Features: XTC heatspreaders, dual channel-optimized and lifetime warranty.
- More Information: https://www.ocztechnology.com.
- Average Price in the US*: USD 226.49
* Researched at Shopping.com on the day we published this review. [nextpage title=”How We Tested”]
All memory modules were tested under dual channel configuration (2x 1,024 MB). Since the goal of our review is to measure the memory performance, all benchmarks were conducted with the CPU as close as possible from its original clock speed of 2.2 GHz (Athlon 64 3500+). This insured that the results from our benchmarks were influenced only by the memory clock and by the memory latency.
We ran our benchmarks using the configurations listed below, always configuring the memories with the lower supported latencies with stability.
| CPU Clock | Memory Clock(DDR) |
| 200 x 11 = 2.200 MHz | 200 MHz (DDR400) |
| 220 x 10 = 2.200 MHz | 220 MHz (DDR440) |
| 245 x 9 = 2.205 MHz | 245 MHz (DDR490) |
| 275 x 8 = 2.200 MHz | 275 MHz (DDR 550) |
If the memory was able to go beyond 275 MHz we controlled the CPU multiplier in order to keep its internal clock as close as possible from its original 2.2 GHz.
During our benchmarking sessions, we used the configuration listed below. Between our benchmarking sessions the only variable device were the memory modules being tested.
Hardware Configuration
- Motherboard: DFI LANParty UT nF4 SLI-D (nForce4 SLI).
- BIOS version: B14 – November 14th, 2005.
- PCB revision: A00.
- CPU: Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2 GHz) with 512 KB L2 memory cache and Venice core.
- Cooler: In-a-Box.
- Hard Disk Drive: Samsung SpinPoint SP0411N (7,200 rpm, 40 GB, ATA-133).
- Video Card: NVIDIA Geforce 6800 GT 256 MB PCI Express.
- Video Resolution: [email protected]
- Power Supply: Seventeam ST420BKV-03F.
Software Configuration
- Windows XP Professional, installed on NTFS.
- Service Pack 2.
- Direct X 9.0c.
Driver Versions
- NVIDIA video driver version: 81.98 WHQL.
- NVIDIA nForce driver version: 6.70 WHQL.
Used Software
We adopted a 3% error margin; thus, differences below 3% cannot be considered relevant. In other words, products with a performance difference below 3% should be considered as having similar performance.
[nextpage title=”Benchmarking at 200 MHz/DDR400″]
We used four programs to measure the performance of the memory modules: Sandra Lite, 3DMark2001 SE, Quake III and Super Pi Mod 1.4.
The following memory modules were selected to be compared with OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC 2GB dual channel kit, all containing two 1 GB modules each:
- Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO
- Patriot PDC2G3500LLK
We separated our tests according to the memory clock we configured. Let’s see the results achieved by the reviewed modules running at 200 MHz/DDR400, i.e., at the system default configuration.
Sandra Lite 2005.SR3 10.69
We used the Memory Bandwidth Benchmark module from Sandra to measure the maximum transfer rate that the memory was able to achieve. The result published is an arithmetic average from the Buffered Integer Stream and Buffered Float Stream results.
You can check the results on the graph below.
| Memories – 200MHz/DDR400 1T | Sandra – Int and Float Average | % |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 5773 | +1.32 |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 5731 | +0.58 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (2.5-3-3-7) – 2.6 V | 5698 |
Even though it has a higher latency OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC achieved a performance similar to the other memory modules we tested.
3DMark2001 SE Build 3.3.0
3DMark2001 SE simulates older games based on DirectX 8.1 and it is very sensitive to changes in the hardware configuration of the system.
You can check the results on the graph below.
| Memories – 200MHz/DDR400 1T | 3DMark2001 SE (Build 3.3.0) | % |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 22690 | +1.26 |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 22676 | +1.20 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (2.5-3-3-7) – 2.6 V | 22408 |
At 3DMark2001 SE all tested memories achieved the same performance level.
Quake III Arena 1.32
Even though this is an old game its importance comes from the fact its engine is used by several other games, like Jedi Knight II and Medal of Honor, and also because this game is very sensitive to any changes on the hardware configuration.
We used the demo four available on version 1.32 of Quake III to make our benchmarking with this game. We ran this demo three times at 1024x768x32 resolution and all image quality settings on their default configuration and we picked the middle value for our comparisons, i.e., we discarded the highest and the lowest values.
Check the results below.
| Memories – 200MHz/DDR400 1T | Quake III Arena – FPS | % |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 456 | +2.61 |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 453.6 | +2.07 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (2.5-3-3-7) – 2.6 V | 444.4 |
Even though it has a higher latency OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC achieved a performance similar to the other memory modules we tested.
Super Pi Mod 1.4
Super Pi is a benchmarking software created at Tokyo University which measures the time spent to calculate Pi up to 32 million decimal places. In our tests we calculated Pi with 1 million decimal places.
Check the results below.
| Memories – 200MHz/DDR400 1T | Super Pi Mod 1.4 | % |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 38.640 | -1.36 |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 38.750 | -1.08 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (2.5-3-3-7) – 2.6 V | 39.172 |
On Super Pi the lower the result, the better, since it means seconds. Even though it has a higher latency OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC achieved a performance similar to the other memory modules we tested.
[nextpage title=”Benchmarking at 220 MHz/DDR440″]
We lowered the clock multiplier of our Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2 GHz) from 11x to 10x and increased its memory bus from 200 MHz to 220 MHz, making the memories to run at DDR440 keeping the CPU running internally at 2.2 GHz. Let’s see how the reviewed kit performed under this configuration.
Sandra Lite 2005.SR3 10.69
We used the Memory Bandwidth Benchmark module from Sandra to measure the maximum transfer rate that the memory was able to achieve. The result published is an arithmetic average from the Buffered Integer Stream and Buffered Float Stream results.
You can check the results on the graph below.
| Memories – 220MHz/DDR440 1T | Sandra – Int and Float Average | % |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (2.5-3-3-7) – 2.6 V | 5899 | |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 5894 | -0.08 |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 5894 | -0.08 |
On this test all memories achieved the same performance level.
3DMark2001 SE Build 3.3.0
3DMark2001 SE simulates older games based on DirectX 8.1 and it is very sensitive to changes in the hardware configuration of the system.
You can check the results on the graph below.
| Memories – 220MHz/DDR440 1T | 3DMark2001 SE (Build 3.3.0) | % |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 22922 | +1.33 |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 22866 | +1.08 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (2.5-3-3-7) – 2.6 V | 22622 |
On 3DMark2001 SE all tested memories also have achieved the same performance level.
Quake III Arena 1.32
Even though this is an old game its importance comes from the fact its engine is used by several other games, like Jedi Knight II and Medal of Honor, and also because this game is very sensitive to any changes on the hardware configuration.
We used the demo four available on version 1.32 of Quake III to make our benchmarking with this game. We ran this demo three times at 1024x768x32 resolution and all image quality settings on their default configuration and we picked the middle value for our comparisons, i.e., we discarded the highest and the lowest values.
Check the results below.
| Memories – 220MHz/DDR440 1T | Quake III Arena – FPS | % |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 465.3 | +2.81 |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 462.6 | +2.21 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (2.5-3-3-7) – 2,6 V | 452.6 |
Even though it has a higher latency OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC achieved a performance similar to the other memory modules we tested.
Super Pi Mod 1.4
Super Pi is a benchmarking software created at Tokyo University which measures the time spent to calculate Pi up to 32 million decimal places. In our tests we calculated Pi with 1 million decimal places.
Check the results below.
| Memories – 220MHz/DDR440 1T | Super Pi Mod 1.4 | % |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 38.423 | -0.92 |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2-3-2-5) – 2.6 V | 38.438 | -0.88 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (2.5-3-3-7) – 2.6 V | 38.781 |
On Super Pi the lower the result, the better, since it means seconds. Even though it has a higher latency OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC achieved a performance similar to the other memory modules we tested.
[nextpage title=”Benchmarking at 245 MHz/DDR490″]
We lowered the clock multiplier of our Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2 GHz) from 11x to 9x and increased its memory bus from 200 MHz to 245 MHz, making the memories to run at DDR490 keeping the CPU running internally at 2.2 GHz. Let’s see how the reviewed kit performed under this configuration.
Sandra Lite 2005.SR3 10.69
We used the Memory Bandwidth Benchmark module from Sandra to measure the maximum transfer rate that the memory was able to achieve. The result published is an arithmetic average from the Buffered Integer Stream and Buffered Float Stream results.
You can check the results on the graph below.
| Memories – 245MHz/DDR490 1T | Sandra – Int and Float Average | % |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2.5-3-2-5) – 2.7 V | 6202 | +1.16 |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2.5-3-2-5) – 2.7 V | 6190 | +0.96 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-3-7) – 2.7 V | 6131 |
On this test all memories achieved the same performance level.
3DMark2001 SE Build 3.3.0
3DMark2001 SE simulates older games based on DirectX 8.1 and it is very sensitive to changes in the hardware configuration of the system.
You can check the results on the graph below.
| Memories – 245MHz/DDR490 1T | 3DMark2001 SE (Build 3.3.0) | % |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2.5-3-2-5) – 2.7 V | 23245 | +2.28 |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2.5-3-2-5) – 2.7 V | 23180 | +2.00 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-3-7) – 2.7 V | 22726 |
On 3DMark2001 SE all tested memories also have achieved the same performance level.
Quake III Arena 1.32
Even though this is an old game its importance comes from the fact its engine is used by several other games, like Jedi Knight II and Medal of Honor, and also because this game is very sensitive to any changes on the hardware configuration.
We used the demo four available on version 1.32 of Quake III to make our benchmarking with this game. We ran this demo three times at 1024x768x32 resolution and all image quality settings on their default configuration and we picked the middle value for our comparisons, i.e., we discarded the highest and the lowest values.
Check the results below.
| Memories – 245MHz/DDR490 1T | Quake III Arena – FPS | % |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2.5-3-2-5) – 2.7 V | 474.8 | +3.06 |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2.5-3-2-5) – 2.7 V | 474.4 | +2.97 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-3-7) – 2.7 V | 460.7 |
In order to reach 245 MHz the memory modules from OCZ had to use very high latencies, what lowered their performance on Quake III: Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO was 2.97% faster and Patriot PDC2G3500LLK was 3.06% faster.
Super Pi Mod 1.4
Super Pi is a benchmarking software created at Tokyo University which measures the time spent to calculate Pi up to 32 million decimal places. In our tests we calculated Pi with 1 million decimal places.
Check the results below.
| Memories – 245MHz/DDR490 1T | Super Pi Mod 1.4 | % |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (2.5-3-2-5) – 2.7 V | 37.860 | -1.94 |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (2.5-3-2-5) – 2,7 V | 37.953 | -1.70 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-3-7) – 2.7 V | 38.609 |
On Super Pi the lower the result, the better, since it means seconds. Even though it has a higher latency OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC achieved a performance similar to the other memory modules we tested.
[nextpage title=”Benchmarking at The Maximum Clock Rate”]
We lowered the clock multiplier of our Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2 GHz) from 11x to 8x and increased its memory bus from 200 MHz to 275 MHz, making the memories to run at DDR550 keeping the CPU running internally at 2.2 GHz. The reviewed memory modules from OCZ were the only ones that worked under this configuration. So we included the results achieved under this configuration together with our maximum clock rate results.
The maximum clock rate test is exactly what it says: the higher clock rate we could achieve with the module being tested. On the results we included memory voltage, memory clock, CPU clock multiplier and CPU internal clock that were used to achieve the posted results.
Sandra Lite 2005.SR3 10.69
We used the Memory Bandwidth Benchmark module from Sandra to measure the maximum transfer rate that the memory was able to achieve. The result published is an arithmetic average from the Buffered Integer Stream and Buffered Float Stream results.
You can check the results on the graph below.
| Memories – Maximum Clock Rate | Sandra – média – Int e Float | % |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (3-4-3-7) – 2.8 V – 270 MHz x 9 – 2.43 GHz | 6734 | +9.32 |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (3-4-3-8) – 2.8 V – 260 MHz x 9 – 2.34 GHz | 6281 | +5.13 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-4-8) – 2.8 V – 280 MHz x 8 – 2.24 GHz | 6281 | +1.96 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-3-8) – 2.8 V – 275 MHz x 8 – 2.2 GHz | 6160 |
Since under this test the CPU clock varied according to the memory module being reviewed, it isn’t fair to make direct comparisons using the published results. Anyway, you can have an idea of the maximum clock rate you can achieve with each memory module included in our tests and also it is a good opportunity to see how a higher clock does not necessarily translates into a higher performance because of the latencies used.
Not taking the performance data into consideration, the reviewed memories from OCZ were the ones that achieved the highest clocks on our tests.
3DMark2001 SE Build 3.3.0
3DMark2001 SE simulates older games based on DirectX 8.1 and it is very sensitive to changes in the hardware configuration of the system.
You can check the results on the graph below.
| Memories – Maximum Clock Rate | 3DMark2001 SE (Build3.3.0) | % |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (3-4-3-8) – 2.8 V – 260 MHz x 9 – 2.34 GHz | 23390 | +1.36 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-4-8) – 2.8 V – 280 MHz x 8 – 2.24 GHz | 23209 | +0.57 |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (3-4-3-7) – 2.8 V – 270 MHz x 9 – 2.43 GHz | 23200 | +0.53 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-3-8) – 2.8 V – 275 MHz x 8 – 2.2 GHz | 23077 |
On 3DMark2001 SE all tested memories achieved the same performance level, even though different CPU clocks were used.
Quake III Arena 1.32
Even though this is an old game its importance comes from the fact its engine is used by several other games, like Jedi Knight II and Medal of Honor, and also because this game is very sensitive to any changes on the hardware configuration.
We used the demo four available on version 1.32 of Quake III to make our benchmarking with this game. We ran this demo three times at 1024x768x32 resolution and all image quality settings on their default configuration and we picked the middle value for our comparisons, i.e., we discarded the highest and the lowest values.
Check the results below.
| Memories – Maximum Clock Rate | Quake III Arena – FPS | % |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (3-4-3-7) – 2.8 V – 270 MHz x 9 – 2.43 GHz | 505.8 | +8.12 |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (3-4-3-8) – 2.8 V – 260 MHz x 9 – 2.34 GHz | 483.1 | +3.27 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-4-8) – 2.8 V – 280 MHz x 8 – 2.24 GHz | 471.9 | +0.88 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-3-8) – 2.8 V – 275 MHz x 8 – 2.2 GHz | 467.8 |
Since under this test the CPU clock varied according to the memory module being reviewed, it isn’t fair to make direct comparisons using the published results. Anyway, you can have an idea of the maximum clock rate you can achieve with each memory module included in our tests and also it is a good opportunity to see how a higher clock does not necessarily translates into a higher performance because of the latencies used.
A very good example of this is the memory kit from OCZ, where 5 MHz more with higher latencies meant nothing.
Super Pi Mod 1.4
Super Pi is a benchmarking software created at Tokyo University which measures the time spent to calculate Pi up to 32 million decimal places. In our tests we calculated Pi with 1 million decimal places.
Check the results below.
| Memories – Maximum Clock Rate | Super Pi Mod 1.4 | % |
| Patriot PDC2G3500LLK (3-4-3-7) – 2.8 V – 270 MHz x 9 – 2.43 GHz | 35 | -8.31 |
| Corsair TWINX2048-3500LLPRO (3-4-3-8) – 2,8 V – 260 MHz x 9 – 2.34 GHz | 36.594 | -4.13 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-4-8) – 2.8 V – 280 MHz x 8 – 2.24 GHz | 37.672 | -1.31 |
| OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC (3-4-3-8) – 2.8 V – 275 MHz x 8 – 2.2 GHz | 38.172 |
Here extra 5 MHz even with higher latencies gave an 1.31% performance gain to the OCZ memory modules.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
Nowadays with games like Battlefield 2, F.E.A.R and Quake 4 and memory-hungry programs it isn’t any extravagance to say that 1 GB is not enough for an advanced user.
A limitation on the first 1 GB modules was the lower clock rates and higher latencies when compared to 512 MB parts. Today this limitation is practically gone and we can find DDR500 (250 MHz) 1 GB modules working with lower latencies than older DDR500 512 MB modules.
OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC 2 GB modules achieved an excellent performance, achieving the higher clock rate between the memory modules we tested (280 MHz).
The manufacturing quality of OCZ modules is impeccable and their beehive-shaped XTC heatspreader gives a very sophisticated look to the modules, perfect for the enthusiast market.
If you need a great amount of RAM memory and excellent overclocking performance, OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC 2 GB Dual Channel kit is an excellent option.