Overclocking
The SuperTalent T1000UX2G5 PC2-8000 memory was a decent overclocker, but it could not match the overclocking capabilities of the Corsair DOMINATOR XMS2-PC8888 ($671) nor the OCZ Flex XLC PC2-9200 ($449) that we had recently reviewed - but keeping in mind that at $289 it is significantly cheaper than those higher speed modules and offers tremendous value. (Prices listed as of March 12, 2007 at leading web shops)
Raising the memory voltage did not appear to significantly improve the overclockability of the modules, and no matter how hard I tried I was unable to run them with any real stability at frequencies higher than 1100MHz with a 5-5-5-15 timing - and I had to reduce the processor speed just to hit even this target.
The modules are rated at 1000-5-5-5-15 but they readily ran at 1000-4-4-4-12 which in my opinion is significantly superior to 1100-5-5-5-15
As a matter of fact, the SuperTalent modules were able to run at up to 1069-4-4-4-12 at the default 2.2V, so they exceeded PC8500 at 4-4-4-12 - which in my opinion is excellent performance for memory only rated at PC8000 5-5-5-15!
Conclusion
The SuperTalent PC2-8000's are best described as mid-range memory.
They cost more than the lower end PC5400 / PC6400 dual channel kits, however, they do cost significantly less than the higher end very high speed/low latency modules. Given where they are in the price/performance range, I cannot help but be very well satisfied with their performance.
Any time you can get a pair of modules that are rated for 1000MHz at 5-5-5-15 timing, and you are able to run them at 1069MHz at 4-4-4-12 timing, you ought to be quite happy.
Frankly, a pair of these modules provides more theoretical bandwidth than a Socket 775 processor boasting a high 1333MHz FSB. Current chips cannot even begin to touch these speeds due to inherent FSB limitations - even if we were to ignore cache coherency traffic and the bus overhead, a 1333MHz FSB has a empirical bandwidth ceiling of 10.6GB/sec; but in reality a 1066MHz FSB is limited to less than 8.5GB/sec - and a dual channel memory controller, again ignoring latencies and overhead issues, could approach 16GB/sec at 1000MHz!
Basically, these modules are a great deal and earn our Value award for excellent bang for your buck.
Our friends at OverClockersClub also
reviewed these PC2-8000 T1000UX2G5 modules from SuperTalent and awarded it a Recommended award.
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