Final thoughts and rating
DDR3 will become the de facto memory standard within a year and the steady decline in price, launch of Intel's Core i7 processors and AMD's imminent move on over to a compatible memory-controller, make looking at a DDR3 platform all the more relevant in December 2008.Crucial's pricing of Core i7-optimised kits is amongst the most aggressive, leading with 6GB packs - 3 modules of 2GB - for around £145. Our review set, a DDR3-1,066MHz CL7 set, shows little pure benchmark difference when compared to a 3GB pack of the same timings and speed, but, and it's a big one, feels smoother when playing games and loading up apps. in a frenzy.
The difference isn't as marked as going from 2GB to 4GB on a Windows Vista machine, yet the extra ~£75 outlay is worth it if, obviously, you use a bunch of memory-heavy programs.
Should you buy sets that are rated at DDR3-1,333MHz and above? The answer is yes if bleeding-edge performance is required, and more bandwidth is always better, especially on an architecture that can make the most of it, but we doubt you'll see the benefits when using day-to-day applications. Crucial's low-latency timings help mask pure speed deficits to some extent, and the cost of 6GB's of DDR3-1,333 CL7 is considerably higher than the £145 asking price here.
Overclocking, too, is impressive, yielding over 1,450MHz (7-7-7-20) with a few changes in the BIOS. Crucial's excellent customer service and speedy dispatch help the decision-making and recommendation process, as well.
Want to go down the Core i7 route? We'd recommend a 920 CPU, any choice of X58 motherboard, and 6GB of Crucial DDR3-1,066MHz CL7. The triumvirate will set you back around £575, but that's the entry price to Core i7 land.
Keen pricing and rock-solid stability makes Crucial a good a choice as any for (relatively) cheap-ish DDR3.
The good
Keen pricing for the 6GB set, priced at around £145 (12/12/08)
Bullet-proof stability
Low-latency timings help performance
Crucial is viewed, rightly so, as a leader for customer service
Decent overclocking on the sample set
The not so good
DDR3 is still intrinsically expensive when compared to DDR2
6GB pack didn't show a pure performance increase over a 3GB set in our benchmarks
HEXUS Rating
HEXUS.net scores products out of 100%, taking into account technology, implementation, stability, performance, value, customer care and desirability. A score for an average-rated product is a meaningful ‘50%’, and not ‘90%’, which is common practice for a great many other publications.
We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
Crucial DDR3-1,066 CL7 6GB kit
HEXUS Where2Buy
The Crucial 6GB DDR3-1,066 CL7 kit can be purchased for around
£144.89,
which includes free shipping.
