-- BuffaloTech PC3500 512MB DDR
-- 04.17.2003
-- By: GideonX
-- Page: 1 2
Ram is about as important as the processor itself. Without it,
you may as well not use the computer. At this current date,
there are numerous ram modules to choose from, made by dozens of
companies. Is it really necessary to buy the latest PC3500 rated
module? Do you even need it? Let's see what it really means...
With faster CPUs comes a need for faster ram. If
your memory can not keep up, you create a bottleneck, thus limited
your performance. Today we're going to take a look at a PC3500
rated module from the folks at
BuffaloTech.
Founded in 2000, BuffaloTech has been providing memory
products for system builders and manufacturers all over the US.
One of their newest modules is the PC3500 DDR SDRAM module, utilizing
Winbond 5ns chips. Let's take a look at what it can do.
The clear plastic packaging is simple in
design. As you can decipher from the label, it is rated at
DD433, 512MB module. But what does DD, but rather DDR, really
mean? DDR activates output on both the rising and falling edge of a
system clock, hence the naming of DDR. DDR433 is actually 433 /
2, which results in 216MHz. But 216MHz? most CPUs can not even
go that high?! But that does not mean you can't utilize this
larger speed increase.
Often times, motherboards allow for
CPU/Memory dividers. This allows you to seperate the depency of
CPU bus speed in relation to memory. For example, if your
motherboard has a 1:1 divider (ratio), that just means if your CPU is
running at 133 MHz FSB (front side bus), your memory will run 133. But
with DDR, this equals 266MHz, as explained earlier.
There are also other dividers like 3:4,
which is often desired. It is desired, because it allows you to
run the ram asynchronous to your CPU speed. For example, if you
have your CPU running at 133 MHz FSB, using your 3:4 divider, you will
get (133 X 4) / 3, which yields 177 Mhz, at double rate, this equals
354 Mhz. Operating your CPU at 133 MHz FSB, you can see why
memory ratio plays a rather large roll in performance, just compare
354 MHz to 266 Mhz. If you overclock, the raising of the FSB
will also raise the speeds of your memory. So having a ram
module that can meet these requirements is definitely an important
task in a high performance system.
These modules do not come with heat
spreaders. What this means is, the manufacturers are not wasting
their money and raising your price by adding on worthless pieces of
metal. These modules are here to perform, not to look pretty.
Here are some quick specs:
- Winbond 5ns chips
- DDR 433 Support
- 3-3-3-7 Rating
- 256 or 512MB samples
- Lifetime Warranty
Enough of the technical talk, we want to
see how well this module can do.
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