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OCZ DDR2-800 Enhanced Bandwidth Edition MemoryMarketing stunt or the real McCoy? |
By Dan Frincu, Hardware Editor
27th of April 2007, 09:04 GMT
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If it wasn't for marketing, you probably wouldn't buy all of the junk food from your local supermarket, you would drive a Toyota, instead of a Maseratti, and so on. But the marketing machines lead by marketing "geniuses" is what drives the world's moneymakers. In this line of ideas, OCZ
Technology has introduced two new products in their memory line, which use their special heat-pipe cooling system HPC.
Heat Pipe Conduit (HPC) heatspreader takes the excess heat from the memory modules and transmits it (via a heat-pipe) to a passive cooler made out of an array of fins. The modules are also dyed in black, using the color to give them a stylish look. Both memory kits are made out of 2x1GB combinations, both run at the same 800MHz frequency, the difference being that OCZ2RPR8002GK is rated to run at CL4-4-4, while OCZ2RPR800EB2GK has the benefit of the "legendary" Enhanced Bandwidth (EB) profile, which allows the dual channel kit (only on NVIDIA nForce 680i chipset-based motherboards) to run at lower latencies CL4-3-3.
Well, my guess is that it has a little bit of marketing linked with a little bit of performance, all mixed together and presented in a nice package. If you ask me, the usage of these custom heatspreaders has more to do than just looking good, it's about using cheap IC's in the manufacturing process, which also means that the memories will heat up more than usual, and require extra cooling, and increased voltages. I remember talking a while back about the memory manufacturers not respecting the JEDEC standards, and soon after NVIDIA said that prolonged exposure to 2.4V voltages on 680i-based motherboards will cause damages. So why the big fuss about these memories? Well, if manufacturers would use higher prices IC's for the memories and respect JEDEC standards, the cost of the modules themselves will also rise, perhaps even more than their current pricing solutions, but those memories will, in lack of a better word, look dull; and the interest is for the computer and its components to be as unique as possible, ergo, the trend.
Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology said: "Advanced thermal solutions are only good if they are actually put to use. At the same time, some solutions like OCZ's patent-pending Enhanced Bandwidth technology require the best thermal management available. The result is the first release of 800 MHz EB modules in the market, enabled by the embedded Enhanced Performance Profile. The EB series is accompanied by a similar mainstream product for the more price-conscious user who still wants to take advantage of the looks and performance of one of the most advanced thermal solutions for system memory in the business."
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