Wed Hardware Reviews

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The DDR Booster is an incredible device. Even at stock voltage of 2.9V, what I realized was when the DDR Booster was in the slot and running the DDR would overclock 2 FSB more than when it is not on the slot. This maybe OCZs patented PowerClean Technology at work. The PowerClean Technology gives the memory a cleaner and more stable power supply, resulting in more stable DDRs. Highest stable overclock speed on the Mushkin Level II was 252FSB (504MHz) with a 1:1 divider.

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As you can imagine, the choices can be confusing with new technologies, and that is why today we are going to be testing out a pair of Crucial PC4200 DDR-2 DIMM's which have just rolled off the production line. Each module is 256MB in size, and the FBGA DRAM (the small back memory chips) are rated to run with 4-4-4 memory timings, at 200 MHz, while drawing just 1.8V.

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AOpen has achieved a low price by running with a completely reference card in every way, shape and form. The associated bundle, however, is non-reference. AOpen manages to bundle in a couple of reasonable retail games. That's more than can be said for a number of NVIDIA's other partners. Benchmark performance, by dint of the card's default 350MHz core and 1000MHz memory clocks, was also strictly reference, although reference equates to a massive step up from the previous generation's cards. Purchasing the second-highest card in the range often leads to decent overclocking results, as it often uses the same technology and setup as the premier card but runs at slightly slower speeds. That was the case here. 411MHz core and 1100MHz memory put the Aeolus GT above a default Ultra's clocks.

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If you consider yourself a tweaker and like to muck around overclocking, you'll appreciate the Port 80 diagnostics card. Using numbered codes, it displays information about memory errors, problems with the CPU, or even faults relating to the videocard. In fact, after using a board with the Port 80 card, it's often difficult to move back to a motherboard without it!

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The first thing I did was set it up for 400MHz at CAS2 to ensure there was no problem with that, there wasn't. I compared my Sandra Memory test results at 400MHz against a GB of PMI RAM at the same settings and the results were within 3 points, so I knew the speeds of the Ultra RAM were valid.

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The card on the review bench this time is the Sapphire Toxic X800 Pro VIVO, and it is an entirely different kind of beast. Under the hood, it's still a X800 Pro of course, but Sapphire has tweaked more than just a couple things that will undoubtedly make you raise an eye-brow or two. For those of you keeping track at home, the Sapphire Ultimate series is out, and the Toxic series is in.