PNY Technologies 512 MB PC2700 DDR RAM - Can you ever have too much memory?
Written: Jun 18 '03 (Updated Aug 02 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast and cheap. PNY is a cool name.
Cons: None that I can find.
The Bottom Line: Not the greatest RAM available but no slouch at all. You can't go wrong.
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| rice75's Full Review: PNY 512MB PC2700 DDR DIMM 184 Pin Memory Module D5... |
During my life as a graduate student in Electrical Engineering, memory was my meal ticket. As I stated in an earlier review, I ate, drank, and slept memory. But I don’t claim to be an expert on all types of memory. My area of expertise was low power SRAM (static RAM). When it comes to DRAM (dynamic RAM) I know enough to get by but I am in no way an expert. I have, however, read a lot about the topic, so I think I can make an informed opinion on this particular memory module, the PNY Technologies 512 MB PC2700 Optima Memory Module.
Here we go with numbers again
One of the most daunting tasks of building (or upgrading) your computer is the complexity of all the choices available. As you are considering your motherboard and processor combo, you must decide on what type of memory you want to employ. Currently, there are a lot of choices, such as PC2100, PC2700, PC3200, and RDRAM (Rambus DRAM). There are others, but these are the most prominent types used. The numbers after ‘PC’ correspond to the speed of the memory module. If you have a computer that’s more than a couple years old you probably have PC100 or PC133 memory. Deciphering this number system was easy. PC100 ran at 100 MHz and PC 133 ran a 133 MHz. Now we have a totally new system. PC2100 runs at 266MHz, PC2700 at 333 MHz, and PC3200 at 400 MHz. The speeds for PCxxxx are a little misleading, but once you understand the basics, you’ll understand what they mean.
I don’t know much about RDRAM because I don’t use it due to its cost (and the fact that you need an Intel processor). It is great for performance, but only Intel processors and their chipsets are fast enough to maximize its power.
Two lane highway traffic
PCxxxx memory is also referred to as DDR RAM, which stands for Double Data Rate RAM. Memory used to be a one-way street, meaning you could only read data or write data during a clock cycle. With some fancy timing and circuitry, you can now read data from a cell on the up-tick of the clock and write data on the down-tick. So while PC2700 is actually running at 166 MHz in one direction, with the DDR tricks, we get an overall speed of 333 MHz. Hence, PC2700 is also known as DDR 333.
Confused? I hope not, but if you are, fear not, you don’t need understand what’s going on under the hood. Just realize that the bigger the number, the faster your memory is. And we want fast memory. With processors running at 2 GHz, memory has always lagged the speed of processors. As the gap is narrowed, performance is improved.
What you see is what you get
The packaging of the PNY Technologies 512 MB PC2700 Optima Memory Module is nothing more than a blister pack with the stick of memory safely nestled in an inner protective case. Opening these darn blister packs can be frustrating, so take your time when you remove the stick from the case. Be sure to touch something metal to eliminate any static charge that may have built up on your person.
The only information included with the packaging is a small installation guide and the description of the warranty. I would like to point out that PNY Technologies RAM comes with a lifetime warranty and free technical support. In a world of shrinking warranties and expensive technical support, this is a breath of fresh air.
Installation
I would refer you to my guide on building a computer from scratch for nitty-gritty details of RAM module installation. It’s actually extremely simple, but there are precautions, such as the discharge of static electricity, that must be taken.
The most important thing you can do is ensure that you motherboard and processor both support your memory speed. It won’t do any good to put PC2700 into a board that only supports up to PC2100 because you’ll be running your memory at a slower speed. And don’t mix memory types, either, because the slower of the two will determine the clock speed.
There are different memory settings that you can tweak in your BIOS program but I just recently read an article that most of the system tweaks have a minimal impact on your overall performance, so I suggest that you just leave all those settings to Auto Detect or whatever your BIOS default setting is
How does the memory perform?
Here is the current setup of my system:
Asus A7N8X Motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 2600
512 MB PC2700 RAM, PNY Technologies
Asus V9280/TD GeForce-4 Ti4200 8X 128 MB Video Card (AGP)
Western Digital 120 GB HDD, WD1200JBRTL
Cendyne 48x24x48 CD-RW
ViewSonic A90 19” Monitor
Antec Lanboy Case with 350W SmartBlue ATX12V power supply
Antec 80mm Blue LED Fan
Memory benchmarks are a little harder to decipher, but for those of you who know what these numbers mean, here is a sampling of my memory performance:
PCMark2002 (default settings) Memory Score: 6153
Quake 3 Arena Demo (Demo001): 216.2 fps
SiSoftware Sandra Memory Bandwith Benchmark: Int. Buffer 2294 MB/s, Float Buffer 2152 MB/s
In other words…
I give high marks to PNY Technologies 512 MB PC2700 Optima Memory. While I wouldn’t consider PNY Technologies the best in Memory manufacturers (I would have to say that title belongs to Corsair or Crucial), I will say that I am in no way disappointed with this memory module. It has been running stable from day one, it never hiccups and it really enhances the overall performance output of my new system. I heartily recommend this memory stick to anyone needed solid performance at a reasonable price.
(Note:Some of the RAM modules (including most of the new PNY offerings) are found in Computers & Internet - Other Components. Just wanted to let the powers that be know that they might want to move these listings to the Memory section.)
Recommended:
Yes
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rice75
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Member: Tony Rice
Location: Columbus, OH
Reviews written: 73
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Resident Evil 4 will own your soul. Do not resist.
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