The tipping point for DDR3 memory is steadily approaching and the DRAMeXchange predicts that by the end of this year the latest memory standard will have captured 30% of the market. This is not all that surprising given how DDR3 pricing has tumbled in just the last six months. Helping to move DDR3 memory in greater volumes is the new Intel Core i7 platform, which requires not two but rather three modules working in a triple-channel configuration.

Before the almighty Core i7 processors rolled into town there was really no reason to purchase DDR3 memory, as it does less than nothing for Core 2 users. Furthermore, at the time AMD was not supporting the memory standard at all, making it even more pointless. While DDR3 memory still offers very little in the way of added performance to AMD users on the new AM3 platform, it is the only memory that is compatible with the AM3 socket, so performance is really not the issue here.

Inevitably DDR3 is going to replace DDR2, it was always going to, and DDR4 will likely replace DDR3 down the track. However the fact that DDR3 prototypes were announced in early 2005 means that we have been hearing about what is becoming the latest memory standard for what seems like forever now. Early on in 2007 we got our first real taste of DDR3 memory when Intel released their P35 "Bearlake" chipset.

At the time we were left with somewhat of a bitter taste, as DDR3 memory provided no real performance gains and cost as much as an Aston Martin. Finally the Intel Core i7 was released in November 2008 and featured a completely new design that saw the processor connect directly to the memory rather than via a chipset, which allowed for astonishing memory bandwidths.

Still, even then DDR3 pricing was a little out of control, and was one of the key factors that placed the Core i7 platform well out of reach for most. However now finally, 9 months since the introduction of the Intel Core i7 platform supporting the lavish triple-channel DDR3 interface, it is possible, and I say this with utter amazement, to buy a high-speed, high-quality, 6GB DDR3 memory kit for just $95 US.

As you may have suspected, we have such a kit here today, as we will be putting the new Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 (DDR3-1333) to the test. There is nothing particularly impressive about this memory, as it is only designed to work at 1333MHz using relatively loose timings of CAS9-9-9-24 at 1.65v. However with a retail price tag of just $95 US for the 6GB kit, it is considerably cheaper than anything we have tested to date.

Interestingly Patriot also offers a G-Series kit that operates at 1600MHz, using the same timings at a price premium of just $5 US. For such an insignificant price increase it is likely that their 1333MHz and 1600MHz kits use the same memory IC’s and therefore we should be able to overclock the Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 memory modules to at least 1600MHz.

This memory kit is only available in 6GB capacities, at least for now, which means the user gets three 2GB modules. They are covered by the Patriot Memory lifetime warranty, which will see them operate at 1.65v, which is the maximum safe voltage for the Intel memory controller anyway.

Despite the budget price tag, Patriot has given their new Gamer Series memory a high-end look by dressing them in oversized heatspreaders, while also dumping the traditional green PCB for a more menacing black version. Although appearances are hardly everything, especially when talking about memory modules, these G-Series sticks do look quite impressive.

What we really like about the G-Series memory is how light it is, as there is almost no weight in those lightweight aluminum heatspreaders. Still they do a good job of keeping the modules cool, and did allow us to push them way past their indented frequency, which we will get to shortly.

The reason why we like how light these modules are is because they do not add much weight to a gaming system. In the past we have tested memory modules with large heatsinks that weigh considerably more than a standard memory module, and while it might sound silly, do add unnecessary weight to the computer. Those that attend LAN events will know that making a gaming system as light as possible is important.

Hardware - Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition (LGA1366) - OCZ Reaper HPC PC3-12800 (6GB) - A-Data XPG Plus PC3-12800 (6GB) - G.Skill Trident PC3-12800 (6GB) - Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 (6GB) - Patriot G-Series PC3-12800 (6GB) - Seagate 500GB 7200-RPM (Serial ATA300) - ASUS GeForce GTX 285 (1GB) - Asus P6T Deluxe (Intel X58) Software - Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 (64-bit) - Intel System Driver 8.4.0.1016 - Nvidia Forceware 185.85 WHQL

The Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 memory is clocked at just 1333MHz, which limited the reported memory bandwidth in SiSoftware Sandra 2009 to just 22.8GB/s, which is roughly 16% slower than the same memory clocked at 1600MHz.

EVEREST Ultimate Edition reports that the Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 memory provides a 13% lower bandwidth when writing data, and 19% when reading.

Finally we see a similar performance difference when comparing the 1333MHz and 1600MHz Patriot G-Series in Futuremark’s PCmark Vantage.

The lower memory bandwidth of the DDR3-1333 configuration meant that the WinRAR single thread test was at least 9% slower. However the Patriot G-Series PC3-12800 memory was not particularly good in this test either, and it appears that WinRAR really favors lower latency memory.

The Super PI results are not all that influenced by the memory timings or frequency on the Core i7 platform and therefore the Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 memory performs rather well.

It also appears that when testing with CINEBENCH R10 the memory frequency and timings make little difference. The Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 was just 4% slower than the fastest test configuration in the OpenGL rendering test.

This is where expensive DDR3 memory and the Core i7 platform do not make a whole lot of sense. Given that most games are predominantly GPU limited, slightly more memory bandwidth for the CPU is going to make very little difference. While a few more frames per second can be scored at the lower resolutions, at the resolutions that we are likely to play our games there is virtually nothing to be gained.

When clocked at 1333MHz we were able to run the Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 at CAS7-6-6-16 timings, which is quite amazing given the standard timings of CAS9-9-9-24. Then by increasing the memory multiplier and the base clock, we were able to reach a maximum operating frequency of 1750MHz with CAS9-9-9-24 timings. Again this frequency is impressive given these modules are designed to work at 1333MHz.

The low latency DDR3-1333 configuration was slower when testing with WinRAR when compared to the standard configuration, while the overclocked 1750MHz configuration was much faster. When testing with Unreal Tournament 3 this all made little difference, and at 1920x1200 it was the standard configuration that worked the best, albeit by 1fps.

Looking over our gaming performance results when overclocking the Patriot Gamer Series PC3-10666 memory, we saw no difference in performance when testing Unreal Tournament at 1920x1200 or 1024x768 with DDR3-1333 memory using CAS7-6-6-16 or CAS9-9-9-24 timings. However WinRAR did show quite a significant difference, particularly upon boosting the memory frequency.

Again when testing with Unreal Tournament 3 we saw nearly no difference in performance at either resolution when comparing the Patriot Gamer Series PC3-10666 memory at 1333MHz and the overclocked 1750MHz frequency. Therefore we believe that Patriot has hit the nail on the head with their G series memory.

By creating a high capacity memory kit with average timings, Patriot is able to offer users DDR3 kits on a budget. That said, the Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 memory does not look like a budget product, and therefore will still appeal to the target audience being gamers. Priced at just $95 US, the Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 memory is a great way to get your hands on a 6GB triple-channel DDR3 memory kit.

Despite the affordable price tag and the lack luster specifications, we were pleasantly surprised by what the Patriot G-Series PC3-10666 memory could do when fine tuned. Although the memory is designed to operate at CAS9-9-9-24 when clocked at 1333MHz, we were able to reduce these timings to CAS7-6-6-16 which is remarkable.

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Reviewed By Steven Walton