DDR-2 RAM was first introduced nearly two years ago, with speeds only equivalent to the 200MHz DDR RAM at the time. It evolved slowly at first because of the very low demand at the time. The recent introduction of socket AM2 processors from AMD marked the forthcoming demise of DDR. DDR-2 is now mature, more efficient, cheaper and faster. Today we have for review a dual DDR-2 kit from SuperTalent, which is 2.5 times faster than a standard DDR module, rated at 500MHz (1000MHz DDR) operation with 5-5-5 timings. The timings may appear quite slow (and they are) but at such a high speed and especially on Intel’s chipsets, it isn’t so imperative.

Many people may think that Super Talent is a new company. That is entirely inaccurate as the company already counts 20 years in the memory industry and has a good R&D and manufacturing capacity. Looking at their products line-up you will probably notice that Super Talent seems to focus on Flash products, offering a great deal of different designs and capacities. They even are ranked among the top memory solutions manufacturers in terms of total patents applied under memory device categories for their Flash products. Their DDR and DDR2 modules also come with a lifetime warranty and are 100% stress tested on a motherboard at their rated specifications to ensure their quality, stressing them beyond their rated specifications however is our job, so let us see what these babies can really handle.

Manufacturer specifications

• 1000MHz DDR2 Over-Clocked Memory For Gaming Enthusiasts
• 1GB (512MB x 2) / (2pcs) 64M x 64, non-Reg., no-ECC, CL 5-5-5-15
• Dual Channel Kit of 2
• Lifetime Warranty

Although the modules are rated at 1000MHz, their part number implies that they are suitable for 1066MHz operation. So we decided to test them at 1066MHz directly, since it is the ideal speed rating for accompanying today’s most powerful processors. Also, there is no voltage rating, so we will use the somewhat mild voltage setting of 2.1V – this ensures we won’t fry the modules and it gives enough voltage to ensure good overclockability.

Packaging and bundle

The modules come supplied in a small plastic package. There is nothing special about it as it does not even name the detailed specifications of the modules. The retail packaging of the modules could use some enhancement if it is to appeal to people who are browsing inside a store.

The modules are built on a standard green PCB and have aluminium heatspreaders thermally attached to them. Although the heatspreaders are simple they certainly add to the aesthetics and are well attached to the chips, enhancing their cooling. The rear side of the modules is completely bare, no heatspreader or chips present. As you probably know, due to reduced voltage DDR2 RAM does not get very hot, not nearly as much as DDR modules did, but good cooling is always welcome and will also lengthen the life of your components. The heatspreaders only have the company logo on one side and a label with their model number. As the heatspreaders are thermally attached on the chips we did not remove them and we advice you not to do that either, since you are most likely to pull the chips off along with the heatspreader. This heatspreader is only mounted on one side of the module which looks rather unusual and those of you with window style PC modifications may find them rather unattractive when viewing. It’s not a major issue for most but worth mentioning.