DDR3-1,800 and DDR3-2,000
DDR3-1,800 (PC3-14,400)
2GB kits (2x 1GB)
OCZ Gold
Series - 9-9-9-27 latencies - 1.9V - XTC
heatspreaders - £111.91
@ eBuyer.co.uk (£90.34)
4GB kits (2x
2GB)
OCZ
Platinum - 9-9-9 latencies - XTC heatspreaders - 1.9V - £230.39
@ MemoryC (£186.34)
Interestingly, DDR3-1,800 kits are more expensive than two months ago,
and we reckon the poor dollar-to-pound rate is primarily to blame for
the substantial increase in price of this low-volume selling set.
Also, there's a lack of Core i7 kits (three modules) but that should change in the next two months.
DDR3-2,000 (PC3-16,000)
DDR3-2,000 remains the domain of the enthusiast that, well, isn't motivated by value for money. The super-niche product is validated for NVIDIA's nForce 790i Ultra chipset (EPP2.0) and used to promote the ability of the manufacturer to keep up with the latest technology.
We may see a handful of Core i7 kits released but don't hold your breath
2GB kits (2x 1GB)
OCZ
Platinum - 9-8-8-28 latencies - 1.8V - XTC
heatspreaders - £88.92
@ MemoryC (£122.96)
4GB kits (2x
2GB)
OCZ
Platinum - 9-9-9-28 latencies - 1.8V - XTC heatspreaders -
EPP2.0 - £241.51
@ MemoryC (£224.18)
It's interesting to note that OCZ kits are significantly cheaper than
other vendors' and that the 2GB price is cheaper than, say, the
DDR3-1,800MHz pack whilst the 4GB set has gone up in price.
Again, these modules are hard to recommend to anyone other than a very
select niche of users who value - or not, as the case may be - the last
ounce of performance.
Summary
We've also seen the emergence of 8GB kits in the last three
months, although, for the most part, they're simply four
2GB modules packaged together, rather than two 4GB sticks.
The pick of the bunch is the would be either the 3GB G.Skill
DDR3-1,333MHz pack at £81 or the 4GB Crucial DDR3-1,333 set
at
£108.
As it stands, even now, the speed benefits of DDR3 are still outweighed
by the
cost; we'd rather but the extra money towards a larger hard drive or
better graphics card, unless, that is, you really need some Core i7
lovin' in your box.
