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News Drop us an idea, win 6GB of DDR3 memory!

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Sifter3000, 3 Jul 2009.

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  1. Scirocco

    Scirocco Boobs, I have them, you lose.

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    Will it BLEND?

    Short summaries are likely fine, with longer "reviews" for RAM worthy of note. Quality of chips used and overclockability are probably the most important factors. Heat dissipation based on various heatspreader styles would be nice, i.e. are those fancy heatspreaders only for looks or do they actually function better than others.
     
  2. Primoz

    Primoz What's a Dremel?

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    Definetly thorough reviews. After all, that's what they are for. I think doing entertaining reviews of PC hardware would be kinda pointless. That's what Top Gear is doing, but they can close a Dubai highway and put 3 million pounds of cars head to head. 10k pounds of PC hardware on a closed highway? I don't think so.

    Oh, it would be very, very, very VERY nice of you to write down the ICs used. At the moment this is a painfull rpocedure if you want to know. It's either googling, asking on the forums, fiding out the hardware revision, etc., etc. If you wrote it in a review i think it would be a step forward in memory reviews.
     
  3. Gunnerbob

    Gunnerbob What's a Dremel?

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    There is a danger in changing your memory reviews, as I'm sure you're aware.

    Memory companies want to brand things differently, want to make whatever will sell. They'll use funky heatspreaders and such to try to sell their product. Essentially their are 2 types of people: those that care about the looks, and those that don't.

    The problem is that almost all RAM performs similarly. Even super-dooper-uber timings will simply not make a noticeable difference in real world usage. Synthetic benchmarks are a vehicle to mathematically show the differences between supposed performance differences in memory products. But who notices? Who cares? The guy looking to hit DDR3-2350 I suppose and break a world record.

    Case in point: take a cheap set of Crucial DDR3-1333. Overclocks almost as well as any OCZ, Patriot, Corsair, Kingston, etc DDR3-1600 set, yet costs significantly less. But will anyone NOTICE the performance difference? No. Is Coke or Pepsi better for you? Neither. That's the point: companies WANT you to think otherwise, which is why you get fanboys, otherwise more properly known as Brand Loyalty.

    So the danger here is that a site may actually expose this, and come out and say, "You know what, it doesn't matter what brand or speed you buy unless you're looking for some world record or e-peen willy-wagging because they're all essentially the same. They all perform well, they all can overclock reasonably to the point you won't notice a performance difference in anything but synthetic tests, so just go ahead with whatever looks the best or is the cheapest."

    THAT........now THAT........is an approach that is realistic but it is an approach that will scare the pants of memory companies because you've effectively rendered their entire advert/marketing purpose null and void. And THAT will make companies loathe to send you products to test.

    And with the problem that Tim S notes about sample sets potentially being better than retail sets, you're left in a very tough position: your review can't solely focus on overclocking because the results would be skewed for everyone reading the review. Your review can't focus on performance numbers because they're all essentially the same in the end. You can try focusing on temperatures but the new DDR3 tri-channel kits simply do not run hot at 1.5V, and only get really warm when highly overclocked, which brings us back to the narrow focus of a review (not to mention a $5 fan can do far more than those fancy $50 heatspreaders anyway). You can try focusing on aesthetics but that's subjective so no point going there. You can focus on price but that changes so bloody quickly that by the time you get the modules and the review hits the front page, your info is no longer correct for pricing. So even a peformance-to-price analysis is then buggered.

    What's that leave? Ah......therein lies the question. Which is the whole purpose of this contest, isn't it?

    Not sure I have the answer, but you need to address different things to different people, since all types read the reviews. So it needs to be accessible to all, but you can delve deeper into specifics. Those that don't want to read about ICs and nanosecond latency can move onto the shiny photos of heatspreaders. Something for everybody, as it were.

    Cover:

    -heatspreaders / aesthetics
    -heat produced (just use an IR gun)
    -overclocking
    -price (at time of review)
    -stability / ease of use (some modules are more touchy to voltages for example. People want to know if memory modules are stable and easy to work with)

    That covers something for everyone. Performance benchmarks in synthetic apps to show a 0.3% increase in SuperPI? Meh. Don't bother. Great price? For sure! Look sexy for that newly modded rig? For sure! Overclock like a champ for those needing an e-peen boost? Okay! Easy to use and aren't picky about voltages? Yes!

    That's the stuff people want. That's the stuff that gives someone for everyone. But perhaps more importantly, that's the stuff that keep companies happy; you address their marketing/business concerns without pissing them off, but you can still be objective and honest at the same time. Now that.......THAT is a winning formula right there.
     
  4. thehippoz

    thehippoz What's a Dremel?

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    yeah blend it with your girlfriends/wives in bikini's.. and bring in the orbit girl- be like a harley davidson shoot but with ram.. they could toss it around and see if anyone can catch sticks with their boobs.. or the squat trick like picking up a dollar- only it's ocz with heatpipe cooling

    make sure you bring out joe with 2 ram sticks taped to his ears like a elf

    *edit corrected my spelling mistakes.. I got excited
     
    Last edited: 3 Jul 2009
  5. Teknokid

    Teknokid Minimodder

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    Overclocking and how well the heatsink performs are the two main ones for me, although testing a heatsink could be tricky, you'd have to connect a probe to the ram chips.
     
  6. indigo_prime

    indigo_prime What's a Dremel?

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    Stress test the RAM for a certain amount of time then place a stick on top of a slab/pack of butter to see how far it melts through it.

    Alternately, see how easy it is to cut through a block/pack of butter when the RAM is hot.
     
  7. RotoSequence

    RotoSequence Lazy Lurker

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    Take off the heat spreaders and see whose are gimmicks and which ones are necessary to prevent failure.
     
  8. DriftCarl

    DriftCarl Minimodder

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    we definatly need the microwave test.
    I always want to be sure that my RAM can withstand a 3 minute cook in the microwave.
     
  9. samkiller42

    samkiller42 For i AM Cheesecake!!

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    Oh, got some more ideas.
    What's the Maximum and Minimum altitude that i can use my RAM at?
    How many Posotive and Negative G's can you pull off while it's in use?
    The Maximum and Minimum Operating Temperatures?
    And, How fast can the Stig get it round the test track? haha

    Sam
     
  10. evilfox

    evilfox What's a Dremel?

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    Any old website can review memory. What I'd like to see set apart Bit-tech from the rest is on chip reviews. Removal of the heatsinks isn't generally recommended for public use due to the fact you can break the contact points on some of the newer RAMs. But some in-depth reviews of the chips on the sticks and maybe even some thermal reviews of how well the heatsinks are doing (e.g. minor tests with the heatsinks off - not enough to fry the chips :p).

    After all, RAM is only as good as what's under the hood (heatsink!).
     
  11. Combatus

    Combatus Bit-tech Modding + hardware reviews Lover of bit-tech Super Moderator

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    Hmmm. Checking a certain person's IP points him within ten miles of the office. :hehe:
     
  12. lord_moggo

    lord_moggo long time reader, short time poster

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    From the little i have read no one seems to mention anything about shape and size. One can read the specs of the modules quite easily so all that is needed is:

    -> Achievable frequencies and timings at DIFFERENT VOLTAGES

    -> SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE MODULES, this is very important as they might not comply with the cpucooler. This is the only issue that i have encountered with ram. This includes:
    ---> Width (how much it goes outside the socket on either short side (two values)) 1 and 2
    ---> Height (preferably from mobo pcb to tob edge of heatsink)
    ---> Depth (how much it goes outside the socket on either long side, aka thickness)

    example: (X is heatsink and O is ram)
    ______________________________________________
    |XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX|
    |XXXX ____________________________________ XXXXX|
    |XXXX|OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO|XXXX|
    |<-2--|OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO|--1->|
    |XXXX|OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO|XXXX|
    |XXXX|_____________________A______________|XXXX|


    I am currently at my parents house with a computer that can hardly even run paint:wallbash: so my photoshop skills are useless and thus: tadaaa!:D

    also, first post EVER after reading at bit-tech for several years :D
     
    Last edited: 4 Jul 2009
  13. lenne0815

    lenne0815 What has been seen cannot be unseen

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    Lets try an logical aproach:



    1 - Performance between different kits doesnt differ much.

    2 - Price differs between Kits

    3 - Appearance and features beside plain performance numbers is very important.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Solutions:

    1 - In an review on bit - tech performance cant be neglected, because were enthusiasts, if a kit gives me 10 % more speed, ill buy, other factors aside.

    Create an easily comprehensive standart suite of real world Bench apps, but not too many, as performance is just one of the three main factors ( 2 Games / 2 Office apps / 2 Content Creation apps )
    Just use two different platforms for benching, which are always in the same config ( one DDR2 /one DDR 3 )

    Create a score out of the results ( score 1 )


    2 - Find the cheapest available price online, create a score from the price range of other available kits withe nearly the same performance score ( score 1 )

    Create a score out of the results ( score 2 )

    3 - Heatspreaders, water cooling, running temps, colors, bundle, appearance, build quality
    all these factors accumulate in the last score, ( score 3 )


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Create 3 Categories for ram Rating

    1st Enthusiast

    (weighting ration of scores Score 1: 70% / Score 2: 10% / Score 3: 20% )

    2 Bang for buck

    (weighting ration of scores Score 1: 30% / Score 2: 40% / Score 3: 30% )

    3 Features and Appearance

    (weighting ration of scores Score 1: 20% / Score 2: 30% / Score 3: 50% )

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In every Category a kit can either win a gold or silver award, outstanding kits will be clearly recognisable by winning more that 1 award.

    I think like that everyone will be happy, as an enthusiast, ill be able to compare the numbers quickly that matter most to me as an bargain hunter aswell and if im out for a nice looking rig ill know straight away which kits i have to have a closer look at.

    thats it :)
     
  14. dark4181

    dark4181 Ero-sennin-tebayo

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    Just accumulate a shitload of RAM and then have a shootout that evaluates the price:performance ratio
     
  15. notatoad

    notatoad pretty fing wonderful

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    add a poll to this thread asking if people read ram reviews. use the results of that to convince that awful boss of yours that nobody reads ram reviews. problem solved.

    or just spend 8 pages talking about the sexiness of the heatspreaders, because that's really all anybody cares about.
     
  16. morocotopo

    morocotopo What's a Dremel?

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    I know that this kind of hardware are made mostly for gamers and overclockers, but most of the time in reviews you forgot about people like me, who work with 3d apps.
    We are always looking for this kind of hardware too, so maybe, aside from the usual benchmarks, and test, you can include some 3ds max and maya benchs, and tests like the FPS in a 3ds or maya scene with 10M polygons, how many polygons can Zbrush handle, some photoshop tests with really big pics, after effects, or even how any of this programs runs having all the others open at the same time plus a winamp or an itune and a firefox, i believe that that's how most of the people works.
     
  17. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    Compatibility testing is impossible. Not only does it require x amount of motherboard but it requires x amount of BIOS too - the time to test all that is far too much. It's for manufacturers to do in their QVL lists.

    Burn in test is also pointless because if memory works - it works - and it has a lifetime warranty. The ICs are guaranteed up to 85C which is almost impossible to reach for standard DDR3.

    Overclocking testing - much the same - kits vary largely, especially if manufacturers change ICs mid-run.

    And performance.. meh. We've already said it makes a percent or two difference at most. :(
     
  18. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    Could you send us some larger 3ds scenes to render?
     
  19. sushrukh

    sushrukh What's a Dremel?

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    I want to know how much overclockable a ram is.So, i would be happy if i see you are overclocking & stress testing a ram module to its max.
     
  20. GuavaSauce

    GuavaSauce What's a Dremel?

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    when overclocking, no 2 items will give the same results, so with your normal overclocking review, ide like to see what it takes to fry the part. Run it till it blows kind of a thing. if it holds steady at 2.1v, up it untill it dies. (after stable tests of course) show us how much we can abuse it before yours failed.
     
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