Kingston's DDR3-1066 Value Ram ... Affordable DDR3 ram for the mainstream?

Kingston Technology are among the first manufacturers to release their DDR3 memory modules. They have two product lines, which include the Value Ram and HyperX range. The Value Ram series is primarily aimed at the mainstream market, focusing on compatibility, performance and reliability. While the HyperX series offer performance and overclocking ability for enthusiast and high-end users. In this review we'll be taking at Kingston's DDR3-1066 Value Ram 2Gb Kit.

There's been much talk about DDR3 ram in the past few months ... the pros the cons, and the advantages and disadvantages. Some have even said that you would get more performance out of DDR2 over DDR3. And one of the possible reasons could be the higher CAS latency of DDR3 ram. A typical DDR3-1066 would have a CAS latency of 7-7-7-20 ... compare that to DDR2-1066 which is at 5-5-5-15. We had a similar situation a few years back, when DDR2 ram first became available.

Whatever the rumours, there's only one way to find out ... and that is to conduct our own real-life tests and benchmarks. In this review we'll be taking at Kingston's DDR3-1066 Value Ram 2Gb Kit. These modules uses high quality Elpida memory chips and are rated at PC3-8500 spec with a CAS latency of 7-7-7-20. 

Appearance wise, DDR3 ram looks virtually identical to DDR2. They uses the same number of pins as DDR2, a total of 240-pins. However, the "insertion notch" is located in a different position, so that you can easily identify between the two.

When I first heard about DDR3 memory, I was pretty confused how they class and labelled them. OK, I'll try and give you some DDR3 terminology ... More information can be found HERE

PC3-6400 : DDR3-800 : 200FSB : 400Mhz
PC3-8500 : DDR3-1066 : 266FSB : 533Mhz
PC3-10600 : DDR3-1333 : 333FSB : 667Mhz
PC3-12800 : DDR3-1600 : 400FSB : 800Mhz

The availability of DDR3 ram is still very questionable. I didn't manage to find many even from some of the most popular e-tailers in the UK. However, the only thing I could find was some Corsair DDR3 ram online from a US website ... but they cost over £210.00 (USD $420) for a 2Gb kit. Ouch! ... Until DDR3 ram become widely available at a price which is affordable, I don't think many consumers would switch over just yet.  

Right, let's take a closer look at Kingston's DDR3-1066 Value Ram 2Gb kit ...