OCZ launches fastest 4GB DDR2 kit

Author: Richard Swinburne
Published: 14th April 2008
Comments (9) Stumble
OCZ's Flex II - now available in a 4GB kit at PC2-9200.

OCZ's Flex II - now available in a 4GB kit at PC2-9200.

We know many of our readers are looking to buy 4GB kits of DDR2 because of the recent price drops: it provides an affordable space to expand into, yet is still cheaper than 2GB of DDR3. However, up until now, we've been mostly limited to PC2-6400 to 8500 speeds (800MHz to 1,066MHz) so if you're looking for some extreme CPU FSB's or just considerable memory overhead to stretch into you've been limited to buying four 1GB DIMMs.

OCZ has just pushed the boundaries though and launched its PC2-9200 4GB (2x2GB) kit with the Flex II heatsinks. PC-9200 is rated at 5-5-5-18 @ 2.1 Volts although OCZ includes a lifetime warranted overvoltage protection (EVP) up to 2.15V if you want to push them even further.

The Flex II's are upgraded from the original FlexXLC range - now there are two separate water channels and they flow right over the DRAM chips.

We previously covered these at CeBit where we found out the Flex II's now come in a fantastic retail package that not only looks better, and is more detailed about the product, but it and also ships with watercooling parts: 40" of tube and a pair of 4-Way manifolds that splits either a 1/2" or 3/8" barbs (both are provided) into the four smaller flows used between both modules.

“One of the side effects of extreme memory speeds is an increase in performance robbing heat, and the new Flex II modules are among the most powerful memory solutions in the market place yet are able to remain cool and stable with an innovative new cooling design,” commented Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology. “The thermal power is addressed using what we believe is the most advanced memory cooling solution currently available, suited for either liquid or air cooling system configuration to unleash the full power of 4 GB of DDR2 at the highest possible frequency.”

No word yet on price though - we'll find out for you soon.

Interested in fast 4GB kits of DDR2? Do you like the new Flex II or do you prefer Corsair's Dominantor or other brands? Let us know, in the forums.

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Quote Naberius 14th April 2008, 07:37
I can't see the advantage of buying these over 4x 1gb dimm's, they look to wide for most motherboards to accept 4 of them so you are limited to 4gb anyway.
Quote Bindibadgi 14th April 2008, 08:35
They aren't too wide and not every board overclocks using 4x1GB sticks as much as just a pair of DIMMs.
Quote mrb_no1 14th April 2008, 10:16
oc's has them on pre-order

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-111-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817

peace

fatman
Quote E.E.L. Ambiense 14th April 2008, 13:23
Sheesh! Makes me wonder how much these things weigh. Thoughts of them falling out of the slots from their own weight, lol.
Quote TreeDude 14th April 2008, 13:51
Man the tubes necessary for 2 sticks of these. It would make a mess of your nice tubing having to run that much.

not to mention that it has been proven in benchmarks that the actual performance difference between the lowest speed RAM (DDR2 667) and the highest (DDR3 1333) is at max 10%. I bought 4gb of DDR2 800 @ 5-4-4-12 for $80. A strait conversion for mrb's link puts this kit at $277. That is over 3 times the prices for a 10% gain.
Quote eternum 14th April 2008, 18:27
A lot of people would pay 3 or maybe even 4 or 5 times as much for a 10% performance gain - it just depends on what corner of the enthusiast community you fit into and what components you are talking about. I do like that the companies are trying to innovate, though. It may not always result in practical products, or in value for money, but it certainly pushes things forward.
Quote HourBeforeDawn 14th April 2008, 19:38
sweet I have been waiting for something like this well now I just have to sit and wait. ^_^
Quote boggsi 15th April 2008, 14:43
They aren't necessarily being brought for the increase in memory benchmarks. The article states that if you want to overclock your cpu into extreme speeds, you need your memory to be able to take the FSB. Lifetime warranty with over voltage protection... that's pretty sweet!
Quote BigPoppaJNutZ 15th April 2008, 16:03
Damn those look big!
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