DDR2 may be the most common memory type on the market today, but the future of high performance memory has already arrived.  DDR3 promises to take memory to the next level of performance.   Who better to show us the future of DDR3 than OCZ technology with their PC3-12800 Intel XMP Ready Titanium Edition Modules?  Using Intel's own XMP profiles, these 1600 MHz modules promise to be the easiest overclock yet through an automated setup.  We take this 2 GB set of memory optimized for the Intel X38 chipset to the latest ASUS motherboard to see what they can do here at the Club.

     The Titanium Edition modules are part of OCZ's Intel Extreme Series designed to work specifically with the latest X38 and X48 based motherboards.  These attractive modules share the award winning XTC heat spreaders marked with the 3 to differentiate them from their DDR2 brothers.  These modules can be found in both 1 GB single module and 2 GB ( 2x 1024) kits.  Today we will be looking at the 2 GB kit for the X38 but another version is offered for the X48 chipset.

 Specifications:

• 1600MHz DDR3  
• CL 8-8-8
  (CAS-TRCD-TRP) 
• XMP Profile 1: 1600MHz 8-8-8*  
• XMP Profile 2: 1600MHz 7-6-6       
• Available in 1GB modules and 2GB kits   
• Unbuffered    
• Titanium Z3 XTC Heatspreader**  
• Lifetime Warranty  
• 1.8 Volts      
• 240 Pin DIMM 
• Optimized for the Intel® X38 chipset
• 1.95V EVP***

* Intel qualified specification

**XTC (Xtreme Thermal Convection) heatspreaders optimize the thermal management of memory modules by promoting greater airflow by means of micro-convection throughout what is usually the dead air space inside conventional heatspreader designs. In this manner, build-up of heat is avoided and thermal dissipation of the memory components is offloaded more efficiently through the honeycomb design. At the same time, mechanical stability is maintained.

***OCZ EVP (Extended Voltage Protection) is a feature that allows performance enthusiasts to use a VDIMM of 1.95V without invalidating their OCZ Lifetime Warranty.

    The XTC heat spreaders on the Titanium Edition combine OCZ's now classic design with some serious shine.   These modules definitely look good.  The addition of two Intel XMP profiles is a pleasant surprise as well.  The XMP profile spec is pretty new to DDR3 and it is still difficult to find modules supporting a single profile, let alone two.

Intel Extreme Memory Profiles or XMP for short, are defined in the recent Enthusiast Extension of the JEDEC DDR3 SPD specifications.  The goal behind this addition is to allow the memory's built in SPD chip to provide settings for the automated setup of your DDR3 at what would normally be considered experienced overclocker territory.  Lets take a closer look at this new DDR3 performance specification.

     Intel Extreme Memory provides a simple and robust high performance, DDR3 based memory solution forIntel based platforms. Modules are designed around this specification. The XMP Spec was developed By Intel and it’s memory partners to enable a enthusiast performance extension to the traditional JEDEC SPD Spec.

Intel Extreme Memory Profiles are traditionally designed with two performance profiles. Profile 1 is used for the Enthusiast / Certified settings and is the profile that is tested under the Intel Extreme Memory Certification program. Profile 2 is designed to host the Extreme or Fastest possible settings that have no guardband and may or may not work on every system.

Intel Extreme Memory end user benefits

Intel Extreme Memory DIMM vendor benefits

     As you can see in the picture of the label above, the timings are defined by the CAS-TRCD-TRP with the rest of the settings handled by the motherboard based on the XMP profile.  OCZ provides the second more aggressive profile specifically for enthusiasts.  Nice!