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OCZ Technology gives enthuisasts more choice ... with low latency Platinum XTC Extreme Edition

Introduction

A few years ago OCZ technology was a relatively small company producing ram modules for the very competitive enthusiast PC market. They were known to produce some very good overclocking ram, and many PC enthusiasts considered them as an alternative to the more expensive Corsair memory. Nowadays, the enthusiast market has grown over the years, and now OCZ technology are probably one of the brand names that's being noticed among enthusiasts.

OCZ Technology produce a wide range of memory products including their high perforamnce DDR and DDR2 ram for gaming and overclocking. Their Platinum range includes modules that offer low latency and good overclocking abilities. Memory aside, OCZ also manufacture and produce other products within the enthusiast PC market ... these include power supplies and CPU cooling.

When I first heard about DDR2 memory, I was pretty confused how they class and labelled them. OK, I'll try and give you some DDR2 terminology ...

• PC4200 : DDR2-533 : 133FSB : 266Mhz
• PC5300 : DDR2-667 : 166FSB : 333Mhz
• PC6400 : DDR2-800 : 200FSB : 400Mhz
• PC8000 : DDR2-1000 : 250FSB : 500Mhz
• PC8500 : DDR2-1066 : 266FSB : 533Mhz
• PC10000 : DDR2-1200 : 300FSB : 600Mhz

Thanks to OCZ Technology, today we take a look at their 1Gb kit ... DDR2 PC2-8000 Platinum EL XTC Extreme Edition. What makes these modules so different is that they offer a lower latency of 4-5-4-15. Hence the EL stands for (E)nhanced (L)atency. Enhanced Latency memory modules are specifically designed to run at lower latencies than normally possible on most standard memory modules.

Another added feature is the amazing good looking mesh heat speaders. They call it the XTC (eXtreme Thermal Convection). If offers optimised convection, increased heat dissipation and enhanced stability.

It all sounds very appealing ... but how well will it compare against other memory kits?

Let's take a look at the specifications ...