Super Talent DDR3-1866 Review - DDR3 grows up? - PAGE 1

Supertalent sent us their new DDR3-1866 dual channel memory kit, the W1866UX2G8. Will this finally be the turning point for DDR3 where it starts to outperform DDR2?

I was pleased to see the small, light modules with the heat spreaders conforming to the standard DIMM dimensions; and I was also pleased to see that the modules were single sided modules using merely eight chips per module.

The high 1866MHz data rate speed combined with the (for DDR3) low latencies of 8-8-8-24 should make for excellent performance, however given how far the modules push the state of the art, and how recent the P35 chipset is, I had my doubts about the modules being able to hit their advertised speeds - at least on some motherboards.

I was glad to receive these modules, as in the past we have observed that there is really no point in running DDR3-1333 which are slower than high performance DDR2 memory modules.

While skeptical, I really looked forward to putting these modules through the wringer - as finally these should run at high enough a clock rate that they could theoretically significantly outperform the best of the DDR2 modules we've tested in the past.

Features

• 2 x 240 pin DDR3 DIMM's
• Unbuffered, no ECC
• 2x 1GB modules
• DDR3-1866
• 8-8-8-24 timings
• single sided module
• 8 chips per module
• cast aluminum high efficiency heat spreader
• 7-7-7-18 latency at 1066MHz
• lifetime warranty
• made in USA

Factory Test Specifications

• DDR3-1866 (PC3-14900)
• 8-8-8-24 (CAS, tRCD, tRP, tRAS)
• 1.9V dram voltage
• hand tested on Asus P5K3 Deluxe as matched pair

SuperTalent also has an interesting disclaimer:

"You may achieve better or worse results depending on your other system components"

Frankly, the disclaimer makes a lot of sense. DDR3-1866 is WAY WAY out of the specifications of the P35 chipset, which is spec'd for a maximum of DDR3-1333 - although I am sure Intel intended DDR3-1600 support from the start.