Crucial PC3200 DDR RAM

Company: Crucial
Product: 256MB PC3200
Street Price: ~$45
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2003
Reviewed By: Joey Chao

SPD Timings:

The SPD (serial presence detect) values are pre-programmed into the modules. Manufacturers use these timings to make sure their memory is stable. End users can plug the memory in and use the SPD timings without worrying about stability issues. CPU-Z detected the timings as 3-3-3-8. These are very passive timings. Using these timings gives the memory much more stability, which of course Crucial wants, being a large provider for OEM's. The scores at a stock 400 MHz are somewhat on par. As you can see from the screenshot above, the memory scores lower than Sandra's PC3200 at CAS 2.

Overclocking with the SPD timings was very easy. The memory ran all the way up to 470MHz DDR. We had to use 2.65V to make the memory stable at this speed. By stable, we mean being able to run through endless loops of MemTest86. It is very clear from the Sandra scores, how much an improvement running at 470MHz makes. Going anywhere over this speed resulted in errors in MemTest86. We also tried increasing the voltage, which did not help either. The machine could even boot into Windows at 500 MHz and run Sandra but the memory was not 100% stable.

2.5-3-3-7 Timings:

The next set of timings we tested were 2.5-3-3-7. These are a little bit more aggressive than the SPD values but not by much. Little performance was gained at 400MHz DDR when compared to the SPD timings. Sandra only showed 60 points higher at what we would call our medium timings.

The highest overclock we could achieve using 2.5-3-3-7 was 420MHz DDR. Again, 2.65V was where the memory maxed out. The scores at this speed are much lower in respect to the scores at 470MHz DDR 3-3-3-8 timings. To be precise, the scores are 508 points lower. Obviously the loss of FSB and memory speed is not worth the gain of the slightly more aggressive timings. Going any higher than 420 MHz DDR caused MemTest86 to immediately show errors.

We tried to do CAS 2 but no matter what voltage was applied, we could not get CAS 2 to run at 400MHz. The system would not even boot at 400MHz DDR, 2-3-3-8. Even still, the speeds are so fast using the SPD values, it makes up for the passive timings.