Patriot PDC32G1866LLK
Benchmark Reviews is especially proud of the large collection of DDR3 we have collected for this series. In our High-Speed DDR3 Overclocking and Review Series primer article, we mentioned more than ten different DDR3 kits will be tested and overclocked. At the top of the pack is the Patriot PC3-15000 High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz 2GB PDC32G1866LLK RAM kit.
Some keen readers will wonder why we started with the fastest product of the bunch, and ask why we didn't save it for last. Put very simply: the Patriot PDC32G1866LLK kit may have the fastest sticker attached to the product, but it isn't necessarily the fastest overall. Even when I approach a term like "best", not even I can tell you which DDR3 product is "the best kit" because at this early stage of product release the concept of "best" takes on a relative meaning.
There is one thing I would like to remind everyone right up front, and that is the nature of DDR3's pricing on the current market. With High-Speed (1333MHz+) parts new to the industry, it should not be a surprise that they cost significantly more than the standard DDR3 component.
Many of the readers will probably not consider DDR3 an important part of the hardware market just yet, and in a very few ways I can agree with them. It's expensive, and it's not going to change their system from a 2 to a 10. But I think that this argument only exists if you have missed the point: DDR3 is a more efficient replacement over DDR2, but high-speed DDR3 is intended for overclockers and enthusiasts almost exclusively. In a year from now, expect to have DDR3 pressed into your new motherboard. However for today, the demand behind DDR3 and its high-speed variants is best met by the growing number of hardware enthusiasts which push their equipment well past the stock settings.
All of this is great news for the overclocker, the hardcore gamer, and the hardware enthusiast; which has been the case every time high-end system memory parts arrive to the market. It wasn't all that long ago we all had SDRAM with 1 and 1.5CL timings, and then DDR arrived with CL3. Nobody complained then, so I'm not sure why they are starting now. It was the exact same story when DDR2 arrived to replace DDR; which nearly doubled the timings. So from a technical standpoint we should appreciate that the timings have only gradually increased with the clock speed, because history has proven this to be difficult.
Patriot's Extreme Performance (EP) Low Latency line is engineered to expand your gaming options. These modules are designed to operate at 1866MHz clock speeds with astonishing low 8-8-8-24 timings and are available in 2GB kit capacities. They are equipped with Patriot Aluminum Bladed Heat Shield Technology to improve module stability and performance while operating under extreme overclocking conditions. Engineered with quality and performance in mind, Patriot Extreme Performance line is the ultimate solution for extreme overclockers, gamers, and PC enthusiasts.
EDITORS NOTE: Benchmark Reviews has also published the article DDR3 RAM: System Memory Technology Explained
About the company: Patriot Memory (PDP Systems, Inc.)
Established in 1985, Patriot Memory builds a full range of memory module and flash memory products, offering a perfect blend of quality and value. Patriot products include Extreme Performance (EP), Signature Lines (SL) and Flash Memory solutions (FM).
Patriot has sales offices located throughout the U.S. and Asia. Patriot sells through the distribution channels throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
Patriot's development and manufacturing facility are located in Fremont, California USA. Our manufacturing segment is composed of a highly skilled production staff and multiple production lines optimized for modules, giving Patriot the ability and resources necessary to provide a full line of memory module solutions.
Patriot Memory is a trademark of PDP Systems, Inc.
PC3-15000 DDR3 Features
PDC32G1866LLK Specifications
Closer Look: Patriot PC3-15000
While the idea of upgrading to DDR3 first brought me thoughts of newer, neater-looking modules, I was surprised by the familiar Patriot design when I tested their PC3-15000 kit. This High-Speed DDR3 comes equipped with their aluminum heat spreader, with ribbed "blades" running across it. The added surface area allows this 1866MHz 2GB RAM kit to operate at a cool and stable temperature.
In comparison to many of the last-in-line DDR2 products released, namely the OCZ Reaper HPC kit and the Winchip PC2-9600 kit, this Patriot PC3-15000 High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz kit appears fairly mundane. There are no heatpipes, and there aren't extremely large heatspreaders rising well above the circuit board. Instead, Patriot kept to a simple and effective design with a single attached spreader on each side.
The upside to this design is that the compact footprint allows the PDC32G1866LLK kit to fit anywhere; including extremely shallow HTPC systems.
The downside to the Patriot Aluminum Bladed Heat Shield Technology is that it isn't coming off without a fight. This means that add-on products such as Scythes Kama-Wing won't work without a lot of extra (careful) effort. However, I discovered that the Patriot High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz kit worked at a temperature that was only lukewarm to the touch. Likely a result of the low 1.9V used with this DDR3.
In terms of looks, Patriot is above the average; but not by far. This really comes as a surprise, at least to me, since this PC3-15000 kit is presently the fastest DDR3 product offered. I'm not suggesting heatpipes or anything, but this kit looks exactly the same as my DDR2 800MHz kit purchased over a year ago. I suppose that the saying "if it isn't broke don't fix it" certainly applies here.
DDR3 Comparison Review Progress
Ultimately DDR3 offers a faster design which allows all hardware enthusiasts to take advantage of it. Current high-speed DDR3 memory doesn't offer any benefit when installed into computers running at the stock JEDEC standard speeds of 400 (800), 533 (1066), 666 (1333), and 800 (1600).
Instead, the new generation of DDR3 is meant to avoid a bottleneck between the CPU and the system memory; especially in highly overclocked scenarios. With the high-speed variety of DDR3, which presently includes everything beyond the highest 1333MHz JEDEC standard, you increase the Front Side Bus (FSB) and CPU clock speed without being forced to slow the system memory to remain stable. It should be noted that as of late October 2007 the JEDEC 1600MHz speed is still in draft in standard JESD79-3A, but once finalized high-speed DDR3 will include parts beyond this new speed.
System Memory is labeled with a new generation for each interval of Front Side Bus development. In terms of DDR, or double data rate memory, the first generation was designed for 100 MHz to 200 MHz speeds (DDR-200 to DDR-400). Later, DDR2 arrived and started production at 266 MHz (DDR2-533) and officially ended (by JEDEC standards) at 400 MHz (DDR2-800). This is where DDR3 begins, starting with 533 MHz (DDR-1066), and scale up to 800 MHz (DDR3-1600).
Each generation of DDR is more than just an update to the memory speed, it is also a more technologically advanced production process and a lower operating voltage and better heat dissipation. The previous generation of DDR2 is manufactured on a 110nm node, whereas the new DDR3 has receives a fab process shrink down to a 90nm node (although some use 80nm) with either 55/45nm prepared for later into 2008. Together, this all helps the hardware enthusiast reach higher clock speeds at the expense of higher latencies. This is why the new DDR3 generation of memory needs a significantly higher clock speed deliver better performance than the preceding generation of DDR2 technology.
In additional to the logically progressive changes, there are also improvements made to the architectural design of the memory. One particularly important change introduced with DDR3 is in the prefetch buffer: up from DDR2's four bits to an astounding eight bits per cycle. This translates to a full 100% increase in the prefetch payload; not just a small incremental improvement as there have been in the other area's.
DDR2-400 Memory is equal in performance to DDR-400, which is why it must operate at DDR2-667 speed to carry incentive. The same scenario is true with DDR3 when compared to DDR2. While in theory DDR2-1066 offers the same performance as DDR3-1066, this generally means that DDR3 requires a DDR3-1333 speed to show any benefit over DDR2-800. Memories within the same generation (DDR/DDR2/DDR3) are downwards compatible, meaning that if you have DDR3-1600 RAM, you can configure it to operate at 1066 and 1333 MHz speeds.
Unfortunately, without the proper chipset to support high-speed DDR3 memory, anything beyond DDR3-1333 (the fastest selectable memory multiplier setting with most motherboards) will be relegated to overclocking. Intel has designed the entire 3 Series of motherboards to be DDR3 compatible; but even though the G33, P35, X38, and the upcoming P45/X48 chipsets all support the newer standard they are still encouraging DDR2 support. This is going to be a power struggle between standards until Intel launches yet another new Front Side Bus.
But aren't we forgetting someone? Oh, that's right, Advanced Micro Devices. These days it's almost as if AMD has been late to dinner so often they don't even get a table setting anymore. While little brother (AMD) may have made claims back in 2006 to support DDR3 in their products this year, they appear to eating their words as the move has been stalled until the last half of 2008 when they will likely introduce the 45nm AM3. Which is what brings about the purpose of this article... is it all worth it?
DDR3 Test Products:
One of the nice benefits of owning a computer sales and service company is that I get to have my hands on a whole lot of inventory that I would never purchase for myself. The other benefit is that I get to make contact with many of the top names in the industry, and can often persuade them to lend us product for testing. Over the next several weeks, you can expect to see top-tier names like: Aenenon, Corsair, Crucial, GeIL, Kingston, Mushkin, OCZ, Patriot, Winchip, and Super Talent in our featured DDR3 reviews for this mega-comparison round-up. The list below is just the beginning...
Benchmark Reviews DDR3 Testing Group
This review focuses on the Patriot PC3-15000 High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz PDC32G1866LLK 2GB RAM kit, but as soon as the individual series of reviews have been completed I will address the collective conclusions in a single finale article. The comparison results displayed below are updated in real time as they are completed.
Benchmark Reviews DDR3 Series Natural Overclock Results - Stock Voltage and Latency
Test System
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Motherboard: ASUS P5K3 Deluxe (Intel P35 chipset) with 0604 (06/27/2007) BIOS
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Processor: Intel E6550 Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz with 1333MHz Front Side Bus
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Hard Disk 1: Western Digital WD360GD 10,000 RPM SATA
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Optical Drive: Toshiba Samsung SH-S203 SATA 20x DVD R/W
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Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP-2 (optimized to 16 processes at idle)
Testing Methodology: DDR3 RAM
Before the testing really begins, there are several settings to be adjusted in the BIOS. Many combinations of the CPU's front side bus are matched to a specific memory multiplier, giving us the desired RAM (and CPU) operating speed. When high-speed DDR3 is tested, a 1:1 memory multiplier is combined with the highest CPU front side bus speed available to obtain baseline readings; the fastest FSB is presently 1333MHz found in select Intel Conroe and Kentsfield series desktop processors. When I first begin this process and start benchmarking for a baseline, the memory voltage and timing are always left at the manufacturer's default values.
After each and every change to the BIOS, the system is restarted and all RAM modules are automatically tested with MemTest86+ for one full pass. Since the modules are not yet overclocked, one pass is usually sufficient to determine if a bad part exists. Later, once I begin to overclock the memory, these tests are a good way of quickly pre-screening stable configurations. Once the test pass is complete, I move onto the synthetic benchmark tests. Here at Benchmark Reviews we use the following test suites and applications:
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SiSoft Sandra Lite v2008.1.12.34
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Lavalys EVEREST v4.00.976
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Passmark Performance Test v6.01.1001
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RightMark Memory Analyzer v3.72
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World in Conflict v1.0.0.1 (Build 81)
After all of the tests have been performed at the default memory clock speed (or highest JEDEC standard), which establishes the baseline reading for our comparisons, I then increase the front side bus to overclock the RAM without adding any additional voltage. My theory is this: a module that overclocks without additional voltage is going to perform better than a module which requires you to potentially damage it or void the warranty. Another way of looking at this is that if a module overclocks well without added voltage, it is likely that there will be more headroom if addition voltage is applied.
I am fully aware that many sites turn up the voltage and apply dangerous amounts of power to the modules so that they can unlock that last megahertz; but if I begin down that road where will it end? Do I then start writing reviews where I apply liquid nitrogen cooling to the RAM? Do I volt-mod the motherboard and apply so much power I ruin expensive parts and equipment? In the end, I decided that overclocking will be done at the stock voltage for benchmarks, because I believe most enthusiasts are going to aim for the same goal. If on some rare occasion I determine that adding voltage would potentially return large performance gains, then I will add up to 0.2V to the default volt rating.
In each synthetic benchmark test Windows XP was booted fresh and the application was opened. Task manager was then utilized to end the explorer.exe (Windows) process so that only the most essential services were running and a trim 16 processes total were consuming system memory. This procedure allowed the RAM to be as isolated as possible for our testing. Once the system was ready, I perform a single test-run of the benchmark, followed by three recorded tests. At the end of the series, I average the three results for the final score.
Sometimes it is very difficult to get broad results between the memory modules tested, so we use several different speeds of memory from participating manufacturers. Benchmark Reviews is very serious about performance, which is why we test the products against as many benchmarks as reasonably possible. Not every test suite is effective in these reviews, and some often calculate processor and other system components into the score. This is what makes a RAM review difficult: unless all of the modules compared have the exact same rating and the CPU operates at the exact same speed for each and every test, the comparison is always going to be subjective.
Test Results: PDC32G1866LLK
Testing RAM is a subject which requires a bit of technical knowledge. I have recently found many other sites using nothing by video games to benchmark the RAM product they are reviewing, and this whole practice made no sense at all t me. Video games are GPU and CPU dependant, and RAM has a very small impact on framerate performance as I will prove to you in my own tests. So keeping all of this in mind, I use the tools that belong in a system memory review; I use system memory tests for my benchmarks. Additionally, I don't spend three (usually tiny) pages discussing how I overclocked or how I made it to tighter timings. Every memory module comes with its own limit, so one size doesn't fit all.
As it turned out, this Patriot DDR3 1866MHz kit could overclock to 1880MHz without adding additional voltage, and maintaining the default clock values of 8-8-8-24. With nearly no overclocking headroom, this kind of memory overclock isn't much in the big scheme of things. It's also a good idea to keep in mind the default memory voltage for this kit is already +0.4V over spec at 1.9V; which means that there isn't a whole lot of room for safe voltage increases, either.
Our first results were recorded from Lavalys EVEREST using the Cache and Memory Benchmark tool. The results shown below represent the average measurement obtained from the Patriot PC3-15000 High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz 2GB RAM Kit PDC32G1866LLK at the 1:1 RAM to CPU multiplier of 1333MHz and then overclocked to 1880MHz. The results for the average read, write, and copy bandwidth from EVEREST are displayed below.
Everest is among my most trusted benchmark programs, and the Cache and Benchmark tool is one of the more reliable in terms of consistent results. The chart above shows that the extra 547MHz over the 1333MHz baseline certainly amounts to a significant increase in added bandwidth; the read bandwidth improved by nearly 25%.
With both CPU-Z and EVEREST reporting memory clocks at 8-8-8-24, I will believe that the ASUS P5K3 BIOS settings were configured correctly. While Patriot rates this High-Speed PDC32G1866LLK kit for 8-8-8-24, I have discovered that the ASUS P5K3 motherboard sets the clocks to 9-9-9-25 when using the AUTO setting.
Next up was the PassMark Performance Test benchmark which runs several different system memory tests in a row. Although some of the tests are specific to the performance of the RAM, others take the CPU clock speed and front side bus into account when developing a score. Most important are the memory read and write tests, and the score based tests are bias towards CPU speed and other hardware factors.
Passmark's Performance Test offers the most consistent memory test results of the entire group, with each of the test runs resulting in a score nearly identical to the previous test run. Ideally, all of these programs should be this consistent, but until they are I would consider Performance Test to be the best tool available for testing system memory bandwidth.
SiSoftware Sandra Lite XIIc offered identical results nearly the same in regards to increased performance; according to the chart above. Although the bandwidth tests are of a different nature, the improvement of 1880MHz over 1333MHz still resulted in nearly 24% in both the integer bandwidth and float buffered tests.
The last of our memory testing applications to run is RightMark Memory Analyzer. This program may not offer the same level of consistent test results that Performance Test does, but offers a more technical approach to testing the system memory. Plus, this is a shop favorite because it's free.
RightMark Memory Analyzer offer nearly the same tests that EVEREST and Performance Test have, and could be considered a bit redundant, but then again this is a technology article and us geeks like our redundancy. While it's true that Memory Analyzer hasn't been updated in over a year and seems out of development, it's still not a bad tool since it gives the second most consistent results every single run (unlike Sandra). It also offers an average "real" RAM read and write bandwidth result which most enthusiasts don't appreciate because it combines the results of dozens of tests. This is the layman's alternative to the Sciencemark v2.0 test suite, which is also gone but not forgotten.
Finally, I tested with the memory multiplier set at 1:1 for 1333MHz against the overclocked 1880MHz setting in the game World in Conflict. Realizing that games can be either CPU or GPU bound, this made it difficult for me to compare all of the memory sets since the clock speed of the processor would change as I adjust the front side bus for the desired RAM speed. In the end a 547MHz system memory improvement gave the framerate in World in Conflict only 2 FPS more in both the minimum and maximum frame rates. This result is evidence of how insignificant the system memory speed is in relation to video game performance.
But don't misunderstand me, because system memory could have a much larger impact on game performance if you use it to overclock the processor. Obviously, if you are using Patriot PC3-15000 High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz RAM, you aren't going to keep the CPU at the stock speed anyway; and you probably use a video card that more than makes up for the very small gains of overclocked system memory. This means that faster RAM allows for a faster CPU, and in turn produces a faster framerate. But in the world of system memory benchmarks, comparing the different sets of RAM in a game is pointless.
Final Thoughts
I am going to begin this section by stating that the Patriot PC3-15000 High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz 2GB RAM Kit PDC32G1866LLK is not going to be something system builders and casual users should purchase for vanilla systems. Make just one visit to the Patriot website and you discover that they make a memory kit for every single application imaginable. The Patriot PC3-15000 kit however is strictly for the overclocker, enthusiast, and anyone else who wants to modify settings. I say this because of one simple fact: you cannot go beyond 1333MHz without changing something in your BIOS.
So do you overclock? That question is really the only one that matters when it comes to Patriot's PC3-15000. There's just no way around it: if you want High-Speed DDR3 operating at 1866MHz, then overclocking your system is exactly what the PDC32G1866LLK 2GB RAM kit demands. For what you get, which is 1880MHz worth of CL8-8-8-24 stable bandwidth, this is the perfect part for those looking to take their CPU way beyond the normal range of operation. So long as you have the proper cooling, Patriot's high-speed DDR3 kit is going to open up front side bus speeds you never imagined possible.
I think that most enthusiasts will probably presume that High-Speed DDR3 isn't really an important part of the hardware market. After all, it's expensive; and Patriot's PC3-15000 High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz kit isn't going to be a plug and play improvement to system performance. High-Speed DDR3 may not be market-critical, but remember that this high-speed DDR3 is intended for overclockers and enthusiasts almost exclusively. Presently the demand for High-Speed DDR3 is relegated to those enthusiasts who push their equipment well past the stock settings and are willing to pay extra for the privilege.
Patriot PDC32G1866LLK Conclusion
New to our ratings system is the performance score. In our system memory reviews, we offer this score to represent the overclocking potential and memory timing capability of the product reviewed. Patriot managed to break the PC3-15000 barrier with the PDC32G1866LLK kit while still maintaining a stable CL8-8-8-24 timing, and this is actually a notable achievement with 1866MHz DDR3. While the overclocking headroom was pretty much non-existent at a mere 14MHz with default voltage (1.9V), the product bandwidth is already more than enough for most applications.
You may have caught on to my subtle dissatisfaction with the less than captivating module appearance earlier in this review. While Patriot's choice of Aluminum Bladed Heat Shield Technology for the heatspreader is not as awe-inspiring as some of the other DDR3 products I am testing, it is still more than functional at maintaining thermal stability and looks better than nothing at all. Some of the modules I handle manage to look a mess after you touch them, but in this regard the Patriot bladed heat shield shines. In all honesty though, Patriot has kept this design for the past few years, and I think that the launch of DDR3 would have been the perfect time to roll out a new look to separate this from the DDR2 product series.
On the opposite of the coin is construction. I may not be impressed by the heatspreaders dated appearance, but the solid bond it makes with the RAM modules gives this memory the most rugged durability you will ever find. In fact, I scored the construction a perfect 10 for the PDC32G1866LLK kit since it could easily survive harsh abuse (although I still recommend you handle with care).
For the time being, Patriot appears to have the only PC3-15000 kit available on the entire market. High-Speed DDR3 is going to grow more popular with time, but for early adopters who don't want to wait another year this means that the 1866MHz guaranteed to perform at CL8-8-8-24 in the PDC32G1866LLK kit will give them the chance to dramatically overclock their system... right now. Patriot is no stranger to holding records, and this PC3-15000 kit just adds to the list.
Standard rate DDR3 pricing is nearly in-line with DDR2, but in terms of standard Patriot's PC3-15000 High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz kit surpassed the term about 547MHz ago. Presently priced for $549.99 at NewEgg.com ($514.99 after $35.00 mail-in rebate), the 2GB PDC32G1866LLK RAM kit is actually not the most expensive DDR3 product available. In fact, this pricing places Patriot's 1866MHz in the same price range as slower 1600MHz modules.
In conclusion, the Patriot PDC32G1866LLK PC3-15000 High-Speed DDR3 1866MHz 2GB RAM kit may have set the world record for fastest DDR3 RAM, but until overclockers grow in number these modules won't be setting the world on fire. They are excellent for pushing the rest of your system well beyond the manufacturer's intended specifications, but at the current market price it may be a while before the masses can afford these modules.
Pros:
+ Offers extremely high CPU overclocking potential
+ 1866MHz of available bandwidth
+ Memory overclocks to 1880MHz
+ Conservative CL8-8-8-24 memory timings
+ Low 1.9V power results in cool operation
+ Compact profile means universal fit
+ Lifetime Product Warranty
Cons:
- Very expensive niche product
- Only 14MHz of memory overclocking headroom
- Bigger heatspreaders would allow better thermal management
Ratings:
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Performance: 9.5
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Appearance: 8.25
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Construction: 10.0
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Functionality: 9.75
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Value: 6.25
Final Score: 8.75 out of 10.
Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.
Questions? Comments? Benchmark Reviews really wants your feedback. We invite you to leave your remarks in our Discussion Forum.
EDITORS NOTE: Benchmark Reviews has also published the article DDR3 RAM: System Memory Technology Explained
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