PDP Systems PDC22G4200+XBLK DDR2

One thing we wanted to note before starting the benchmarking phase was that while PDP Systems sent us a 2GB Dual Channel kit for review, we did not have any other 2GB sets on hand to compare it to.  So, we cannot give a real apples to apples comparison in the peformance section of this review.  What we did do, however, was include the results from a recently released 1GB DDR2 review to give a frame of reference, which still can offer a good comparison.

Performance Comparison with SiSoft SANDRA 2004 Raw Bandwidth

We began our testing with SiSoftware's SANDRA, focusing our attention on the Memory Benchmark.  We started by setting the memory by SPD, running at 3-2-2-4 timings.  As we noted above, for comparison, throughout the review we compared the peformance to 1GB of Corsair's XMS2 PC5300 and PQI PQ24200 memory as a reference point, matching timings and speed as close as possible.

PDC22G4200+XBLK (3-2-2-4)

PQI24200-1GDB (3-3-3-8)

XMS2-5300Pro 1GB (3-3-3-8)

The Patriot Dual Channel PC4200 was the fast set out of the bunch, with the Corsair coming in a close second.  The PDC22G4200+XBLK posted a lead of approximately 30MB/s over the Corsair XMS2 series, as it should with more aggressive timings.  We did try both comparison DIMMs to see if they could run at 3-2-2-4, and they could not, even if we increased the voltage to 2v.

Performance Comparison with PCMark04 Overall Memory Score

Continuing the synthetic testing, we loaded PCMark04's memory performance module exclusively of its other components.  Each set of memory was set to run at its SPD timings as noted.

The PDP Patriot Memory walked away with a more sizeable lead than we saw in SANDRA, topping the Corsair memory by 46 points thanks to its lower latencies.

In-Game Performance Comparisons With Wolf: ET System Memory Affects Frame rates?  You Bet!

In our next test, we ran Wolfenstein: ET TIMEDEMO with the graphics qualities set to their lowest settings.  This helped remove the effects of the video card from the equation, focusing more on the actual memory and CPU performance.

In this batch of tests, the Corsair memory slipped to the last position as the PQI modules took close to a 4 FPS lead.  The Patriot memory added an additional 3.5FPS to that, taking the top seed at close to 120FPS.