OCZ Gold XTC Triple Channel Kit 3 x 2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz - Review - OCZ Gold 6GB RAM - Blisteringly quick and a huge overclock potential!

Reviews for OCZ Gold XTC Triple Channel Kit 3 x 2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz

OCZ Gold XTC Triple Channel Kit 3 x 2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz

Newest Review: ... the heatsink means you don't feel afraid forcing it into the motherboard slots when installing. OCZ products generally seem to have a ve... more

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OCZ Gold 6GB RAM - Blisteringly quick and a huge overclock potential! (OCZ Gold XTC Triple Channel Kit 3 x 2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz)

Member Name: neillya1

Product:	OCZ Gold XTC Triple Channel Kit 3 x 2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz
Date:	15/03/09 (366 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amazingly fast even at stock speeds, great ability to overclock, good solid construction + warranty

Disadvantages: The RAM will auto-set the voltage to 1.9V on installation - change it to 1.45V or it may damage CPU

First off, this RAM is designed to work with Intel's new i7 series of processors, so if you don't currently have an i7, I'd go for a cheaper set of RAM sticks.

Now that that's out the way, lets get on to reviewing the actual RAM itself.

Well, to start with the first thing anyone thinks about just now, especially with money being tight:

Price:
These aren't cheap by any means, 6GB will set you back a hefty sum of £120 over at ebuyer.com, but you do get what you pay for, and believe me, this RAM is worth it. That's only £20 per GB mind you, which isn't too bad, but when added to the rest of the cost of an i7 system, it fair adds up.

Installation:
As with all RAM, it's incredibily easy to install. Just slot it in the correct RAM slot (Note: if using 3 RAM sticks, they all go in the same colour of slot on the motherboard - your motherboard should have 6 slots, 3 of one colour and 3 of another. If using all 6 slots then it doesn't matter where each stick goes).
The RAM feels sturdy when being installed due to the (rather nice looking) heatsink on them. This really does help keep the temperatures down, especially when overclocking. Be warned that on some motherboards though, the heatsink makes the RAM too big to fit in the final slot next to the CPU cooler - check how close this slot is before you buy! Each stick is 0.5cm wide for reference.

Reliability:
Well I've only had these sticks for around a month, but so far not a thing has gone wrong with them - and I've pushed them quite far in terms of overclocking.
The temperatures are always fairly low (as expected with RAM), even when overclocked.
They come as 1600MHz sticks, and can easily be overclocked to 2000MHz each no problem, without needed to raise the voltage at all, so there is only a very little increase in heat produced. The sticks come with a 10 year warranty (RAM hardly ever fails once in the machine).

Noise:
Silent. All there is to say about that really.

Speed:
As mentioned before, I have these overclocked to 2000MHz, and they are blisteringly quick, yet also completley stable.
Vista performance raiting is 5.9 (maximum) and even with several memory intensive programmes open (Photoshop, Internet, Music, Video) I noticed no slowing in the response of the system at all. Games perform flawlessly, Crysis and Far Cry2 are 100% smooth and even FSX, a game known for it's poor frame rates and high levels of stuttering, now runs 100% smooth.

**A word of warning though**: The RAM will automatically set to a voltage of 1.9V, but anything OVER 1.45V can damage an Intel Core i7 CPU PERMENANTLY! So you will need to manually change the voltage level in the BIOS settings to avoid damage. It is still perfectly stable at 1.45V

Quality:
The RAM feels very well built, and the heatsink means you don't feel afraid forcing it into the motherboard slots when installing. OCZ products generally seem to have a very high standard of build quality, and the 10 year warranty reflects this. I have had no problems what so ever with them, even clocked at high speeds.

Overall, I would highly recommend this RAM to anyone building a new i7 system, it has amazingly quick performance even at stock speeds, and has a lot of headroom for overclocking.
Remember though that you need a DDR3 compatiable motherboard for this RAM, and it should be an i7 triple channel one (The ASUS P6T is a good option - this is what I use).

Fantastic for gamers, graphic artists and performance users. Perhaps a little too powerful for the casual user though, as most of the performance would just be wasted - Casual PC users would notice little to no difference over 4GB of £40 DDR2 RAM.

For refence, the system I am running this on is:

1000W PSU
Intel Core i7 920
6GB OCZ 1600MHz RAM
8800GTS 640MB (Now showing it's age)
Asus P6T Motherboard