Introduction

Hardly less than a year ago when DDR333 was the standard, hardcore users were already scrounging for the highly limited DDR400 RAM modules, not for general use but specifically to overclock their systems to the next performance level. Even then, it was hardly a guarantee that motherboards with DDR400 certified memory can operate their memory controller reliably at those speeds. Fast-forwarding to present times, DDR400 has become the mainstream memory standard, be it single or dual-channel motherboards and this same group of hard-core users are again on the hunt for memory modules that can surpass the official JEDEC specifications.

A single module of Kingmax SuperRAM DDR433.

Today, most well-known memory vendors offer a variety of memory modules tailored especially for the overclocking enthusiasts. To start off the first of many memory module reviews planned in our pipeline, we take a look at Kingmax’s latest DDR433 modules. These are part of their high performance SuperRAM lineup of memory modules that utilize the traditional TSOP packaged RAM chips. Thus, the SuperRAM series is easily differentiated from their normal mainstream offerings that use TinyBGA RAM chips. If you recalled the heyday of PC133 memory, Kingmax was among the first vendors that push forward new high speed memory such as PC150 and even PC166 memory which are also based on their TinyBGA RAM packaging. Even today, Kingmax is still the only major vendor offering mainstream memory modules with TinyBGA RAM.

The TinyBGA RAM packaging has a natural advantage over the TSOP packaging because they offer higher signal integrity (due to the more direct contact path to the PCB) that is vital for high-speed operation. This is why, we were actually surprised that Kingmax SuperRAM series preferred the use of TSOP RAM packaging, though there is nothing wrong since all other memory vendors are still churning out good memory modules based on TSOP RAM packaging. Let's take a close look of the new Kingmax memory in the following page.