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My Life On Lin

My Life On Lin

Some users might be worried about the PC2-6400 2GB Viper memory's 2.3 volt operating voltage and think that things will get hot. This isn't a problem at all given better heat spreaders. Many a PC2-6400 enthusiasts have been operating their memory at 2.4 volts up to 2.6 volts especially the overclockers.

The biggest improvement to Patriot's PC2-6400 Viper memory is the 3-4-3-8 lower timings. If the memory's CAS Latency, which is the first number in the timings, hadn't been tuned to 3, then performance would be unnoticeable. The memory's CAS Latency (CL) is what most dramatically affects a memory module's bandwidth performance. The lower timings simply equate in to more performance.

The Viper Kit

This kit has the new Viper heat spreaders. These spreaders look more like fangs which naturally coincide with the reptile nomenclature. Compared to previous heat sinks, these have a much more aggressive appearance. It'll definitely go well with their Extreme series modules such as their DDR2-1066 and higher, as well as DDR3-1600 and higher.

It's a little tricky trying to design a spreader that actually works. If you recall OCZ's original Flex XLC heat spreaders, water cooling may looked really cool when connected, but didn't offer any performance benefits in terms of overclocking. It just makes since something a little more creative and effective be in order all over the industry.

Top Spreader

Fins Up Close

IC Contacts

During testing, the modules actually felt like they were doing some thermal good. The original heat spreaders took quite a bit of time to actually warm up. But, once they got hot, they were really hot and didn't cool off quickly either. The new spreaders didn't get quite as warm to the touch and seemed to spread out a bit more evenly throughout the aluminum.

I'd have liked to open that memory kit to show you what's underneath. But, just as many other vendors, Patriot is using a pretty good method of attaching the heat spreaders. Pulling them off would most likely damage the spreaders, or worse, the ICs. After a little searching, we know that the modules are either very good Elpida or Micron. It wouldn't surprise me to see Elpida ICs under there since they have been able to produce some very strong modules. More on that later.

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