G.Skill is a Taiwanese manufacturer of high performance memory modules that has been in business since 1989, and a review sponsor at Bigbruin.com since 2005. They might not be the biggest name in enthusiast grade system memory, but the performance, styling, and pricing of some of their latest kits should help with their popularity in the US.
The kit provided for this review takes what seems like an aging product, 800MHz DDR2, and adds some interesting features to appeal to those running systems that still support this memory technology. The G.Skill 4GB DDR2-800 Pi Black Series dual channel memory kit provides two 2GB PC2-6400 memory modules rated for 4-4-4-12 timings at 1.9V.
The promotional image above provides an overview of the DDR2 modules in question. In addition to tight timings at PC2-6400 speeds, we see that the appearance also caters to the enthusiast crowd with the interesting heatspreader design we first saw on a PC3-12800 kit of DDR3 memory in a
previous review.
Before taking a closer look at the memory provided for review, let's take a look at some published data regarding it, as taken from the official
product page on the G.Skill website.
Features and Specifications:
» Main Board: Intel
» System: Desktop
» System Type: DDR2
» Main Board Chipset:
» Intel X48
» Intel P45
» Intel X38
» Intel P35
» Intel 965
» nVidia n6xx I (For Intel series)
» nVidia nForce 5 series (590SLI, 570 Ultra. Others For AM2)
» CAS Latency: 4-4-4-12
» Capacity: 4GB (2GB x 2)
» Speed: DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
» Test Voltage: 1.8~1.9 volts
» PCB: 6 Layers
» Registered / Unbuffered: Unbuffered
» Error Checking: Non-ECC
» Type: 240-pin DIMM
» Warranty: Lifetime
The list may imply that this kit is intended only for use with Intel based systems, but there is no reason someone with an AMD AM2 system wouldn't be able to use it. While most testing in this review will be conducted on an Intel P35 motherboard with an Intel Xeon X3210 processor, the modules were installed on an NVIDIA GeForce GF8200 motherboard with an AMD 5400+ X2 processor, and it was confirmed that the system did operate properly.
