Introduction

Its not everyday you change your ram, but with the increase in game performance you need to, OCZ Technology are proud to announce their Voltage Extreme series. you might have some of there ram in your hotted up machine but have you over clocked it? well today were going to show you not only how well it performs in Real Time environments but also when run at a over clocked speed, thanks to OCZ they sent us a DDR Booster to totally beefy this beastly ram out. Though currently I am unable to use the DDR Booster as My Motherboard is not listed in the compatibility chart, if you do buy a DDR Booster make sure, 100% sure that it will work correctly, the easiest way is to read the comparison chart.

http://www.ocztechnology.com/displaypage.php?name=DDRBoostermobocompatibility

OCZ are not only RAM manufactures but they mostly specialise in over clock ability but performance too, cause they know you want to void your warranty! OCZ are also well know for their beautiful power supplies, but when competing with other top companies like Corsair its hard to keep on top of Just RAM let alone Power Supplies as well. But not only do they do that but they do it in style.

Packaging

Well it all starts with the presentation, nobody wants their new ram to be crushed by a Elephant or dropped off a 10 store high building, now do they? That's why you send it with insurance! but you can't just expect them to have one person drive their car and deliver it to you, so you wrap it up with shrink wrap, or as what some people like to call it bubble wrap, you also get 1 hour free entertainment for anyone!

The DDR Booster is all neat looking, in cased in a box, which is also in cased in a box, inside the box holding the Booster is foam Yep Soft cloth like foam, included is the Boost itself and a Manual and The Special Power Connector, I will say this cause its very true, Please READ the compatibility Page located on the Website. http://www.ocztechnology.com/displaypage.php?name=DDRBoostermobocompatibility
Its not wise to run it as there is very know conflicts with the A7N8X Motherboard which could cause Damage, to the power circuit of the motherboard.

What you get

Ram and a DDR Booster isn't a show pony but it does look pretty nice, the ram Gold Heat spreader allows cooling of the ram and also good looks. The DDR Booster on the other hand has a nice little LED Display some of the older versions have different colours. The Sink are placed nicely on the Voltage Editor to keep it cool, as you may know it does get quite hot when changing voltages. I might also say this now, AMD have said not to pass the 2.65v on your VDIMM as it may wear out your Athlon 64 Chip due to onboard Northbridge / memory interface.

The OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel Gold VX Specs:
> 400mhz (200 Bus) At DDR(Double Data Rate)
> CL 2-3-3-8 @ 2.6 Volts
> CL 2-2-2-8 @ 3.2 Volts (Not recommend for AMD 64 machines Socket 939)
> Twin 512mb Sticks
> Unbuffered
> Gold Mirrored Copper Heat spreaders
> Lifetime Warranty
> 3.2 Volts
> 184 Pin DDR Module
> Optimised for AMD 64 Machines
> EVP Technology
> ULN2 Technology

Special Features:
> OCZ EVP® (Extended Voltage Protection) is a feature that allows performance enthusiasts to use a VDIMM of 3.5V ± 5% without invalidating their OCZ Lifetime Warranty.
> ULN (Ultra Low Noise) technology uses various printed circuit board (PCB) techniques to reduce the amount of electrical noise that is present in all high-speed ICs. This results in faster and more stable memory.

OCZ Gold PC-3200 VX is not recommended for use on legacy NForce 2 platforms.

DDR Booster Specs:
> Patented Power Clean Technology™ allows for better power filtering
> Fully adjustable VDIMM control up to 3.9V*
> Digital LED VDIMM readout updates three times per second
> Compatible with most DDRI motherboards (Please check the Compatibility)
> Easy to install, easy to use
> Powered by computer power supply
> Fits in 184 Pin DIMM slot

*Certain chipsets/motherboards may allow lower or higher voltage.

Opposition

The opposition this time around is 1 Stick of Mushkins PC-3200 Level II Version 2 CAS 2 with very tight timings of 2-2-2-6. Although that is only at the standard non over clocked state.

This ram Costed me $200 AU, which rounds to $115 US on newegg (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-353&depa=1)

The Test Computer

A AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939 3000+
Gigabyte K8N Ultra SLi
OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel Gold VX
Mushkin PC-3200 Level II Version 2 CAS 2
Gigabyte ATi X600PRO 128mb
Single IDE 20gb 5400rpm Hard Drive
Standard 450w Power Supply.

Installation

Well most people know how to install ram so there's not much point covering that, but as for the DDR Booster.

> Use the Special Power cable to insert between the 20 Pin ATX power connectors on the motherboard.
> Plug the DDR Booster into the Spare DIMM spot which can properly house the Boost without being connected to the Ram Modules.
> The Cables from the ATX Adapter into the DDR Booster making sure the Blue is in the Blue and the green is in the Green plugs.
> Make sure the Dial it turned full down.
> Run Machine if the voltage display is different to the one shown then use a screw driver to adjust the display.

Over clocking you say?