TEAM Xtreem Dark + Asus Commando : quick test

TEAM's "Xtreem Dark" series comes as an cheaper alternative for the high-performance regular "Xtreem" models. It is more geared towards gamers and entry-level overclockers, as they offer fast ratings at a very good price. Here are the main technical specs that define the TEAM Xtreem Dark line:

- ProMOS chips;
- blue heatspreaders;
- working voltage 2.0-2.2V
- ultra-low noise 8-layer PCB.

There are two speed ratings, DDR667 3-4-4-8 and DDR800 4-4-4-12, and both come in 2X512MB and 2X1024MB kits. The most special thing about them is the ultra-low noise 8-layer PCB, most of the DDR2 on the market using regular 6-layer PCB that seems to affect the maximum clocks.

The testing setup was as follows:

Intel E6600
Asus Commando
TEAM TXDD2048M800HC4DC-D
Tagan U25 700W
ATI X300, WD 1600JS, etc

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/4...mentdq5.th.jpg http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/3...mentsr7.th.jpg http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9...menteq3.th.jpg

But before i'll show the results, a few words about the Asus Commando. The board is a good clocker, a bit better than the P5B Deluxe, and it's more smooth; very nice bundle and gimmicks (i love the power/reset/clear CMOS lighted switches) but the debug LCD is show-off only, with no practical use. The Vcore voltage, even if it comes from a digital PWM, is unstable and the expected Asus-style Vdroop could not miss the party: 1.50V set in BIOS produces ~1.487V in idle and ~1.460V with both cores loaded. And that is with a 3.6Ghz Conroe, wonder what will happen with Kentsfield on phasechange :D.
But, the thing that worries me the most is too much Vdimm available straight from BIOS settings, with no warning. 3.375V will kill any DDR2 in under half of hour, this board is a damn RAM exterminator in the wrong hands. Who knows how to use 3.375V for DDR2 definetely knows how to voltmod.

Anyway, back to testing now, i have tested the DDR800 4-4-4 model, code TXDD2048M800HC4DC-D. I thought i should try tight timings first, where normally Micron D9GMH shines, and see if the ProMOS chips could even come close. Surprize :D

2.20V 3-3-3-8 380Mhz OK
2.35V 3-3-3-8 400Mhz OK

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6...mentgk5.th.jpg http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5...mentrg2.th.jpg

DDR800 3-3-3 with 2.35V is excellent for ProMOS, especially for the price. They've basically matched the default ratings of TXDD2048M800HC3DC wich costs two times as much.




Further, testing the default 4-4-4 timings wich we all know 965 loves so much. Good clocking, again:

2.20V 4-4-4-12 480Mhz OK
2.35V 4-4-4-12 500Mhz OK

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9...mentxd8.th.jpg http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2...mentir2.th.jpg




And finally, playing a little with relaxed timings ... sadly, as the timings get sloppy and the frequency increases, voltage response decreases, at 5-5-5 2.35V didn't help at all.

2.2V 5-5-5-15 530Mhz OK

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9...mentmr6.th.jpg

Overall i think they're a good choice, considering they're ~15% cheaper than the Micron equivalent and they match very well with the 965. Enjoy !

nice test man... did you tried over 2.35v? Cause I found some promos chip that gets better till 2.6v but others that with more then 2.4v gets worse..

Marco

Nice result for promos chip, it good speed for not D9 chip :toast:

Principino1984> I guess it's luck of the draw, more than 2.35V on this kit made it clock worse.

Looks very good for the price , thanks for sharing

Quote:

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Originally Posted by principino1984

nice test man... did you tried over 2.35v? Cause I found some promos chip that gets better till 2.6v but others that with more then 2.4v gets worse..

Marco

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Nice Marco

Thanks for the share :) they look good. Do the IC's get hotter than micron at same volts?

seems to be around the same temp? i use a pretty high cfm fan for cooling, so it's hard to really tell.


Micutzu, i hope you don't mind me posting some of my results here :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by principino1984

nice test man... did you tried over 2.35v? Cause I found some promos chip that gets better till 2.6v but others that with more then 2.4v gets worse..

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i've been testing the DDR2-667 version of this kit.. past 2.29v on my DFI, there are hadly any gains.. though it does scale up like 1mhz per .1v until 2.6v.. i didn't go any higher

http://www.eclipseoc.com/image/memor...x1gb/shot3.jpg
http://www.eclipseoc.com/image/memor...x1gb/shot4.jpg

with my dfi nf590 sli m2r/g, max 32m stable at various voltages and timings:

http://www.eclipseoc.com/image/memor...2x1gb/vvta.png

and with a (rather crappy) P5WD2:
http://www.eclipseoc.com/image/memor...2x1gb/vvti.png


i couldn't get any higher mhz with looser timings, but i am not sure if this would be the case if i had a 965x based mobo.

I don't mind ozzimark ;). The 667's are a bit lower bin, you might not get as high as the 800's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TraX

Thanks for the share :) they look good. Do the IC's get hotter than micron at same volts?

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ProMOS are cooler than Micron from what my finger is telling me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Micutzu

The 667's are a bit lower bin, you might not get as high as the 800's.

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yes, considering the difference in price, i definitely advise getting the ddr2-800 over the 667. :D

Thanks ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Micutzu

Principino1984> I guess it's luck of the draw, more than 2.35V on this kit made it clock worse.

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ok! thanks man!

Marco

Looks great, nice testing - very professional.