I was not aware of the memory brand Team until a chance meeting with one of our partners brought it to our attention. Now it seems it was remiss of me not to research more into the brand, as it is setting record upon record in the hands of many enthusiasts who go after the ultimate speed crowns of the computing world.

                                             Team has seemingly come out of nowhere to claim multiple awards and performance firsts.

My initial impression was that the Team brand was a recent startup, but from the looks of the accomplished packaging, good attention to detail, and of course speed records listed down on the retail box, I began to adjust my instant judgment of Team. In today’s case, I get to lay my hands on some great-looking memory in the form of the Team Xtreem DDR2 1066 2GB Dual Channel kit.

                                             The whole package.

The brand is definitely young when compared to more mainstream competitors – Team Group was formed in 1994. It is their decision to concentrate on the gaming and extreme overclocking crowd that has brought it attention, especially since this enthusiast group often influences buying decisions in the more general public. Their insistence on producing and catering to only the highest end of consumers continues to the Xtreem.

                                             Specs are listed on the opposite.

This dual channel kit has standard timings of 5-5-5-15 at 2.3 to 2.4 volts, although as with all Team memory, it is very flexible in its configuration, especially when a good – quality motherboard is used. Latency timings can be adjusted lower when compensated by the appropriate changes in multiplier / front side bus settings. Voltage is undoubtedly adjustable as well – just make sure to explore maximum tolerance of your particular model online if you intend to go all-out and go for the record.

                                             Putting aside the spelling, it looks pretty cool.

The Xtreem modules are clad in a dark gray heat spreader that looks like heavy armor, and sports a design that integrated the “X” in Xtreem into an arrow design that looks sleek and techie. The heat spreader extends around half an inch higher than the memory itself, and incorporates a cross-shaped bracket that looks like it can accommodate a cooler or similar; not that Team mentions anything like that in its website.

In its effort to help enthusiasts achieve good overclocks, Team even posts their recommended settings to get the most out of a memory kit – it is left up to the user whether they want to take the overclock further. A side effect of Team’s insistence on good overclocking performance is the assurance that their products will surely work without a hitch when used at conventional speeds, plus the quality required to achieve good overclocking is of course retained.

From the relatively new brand Team, the Xtreem series of memory benefits from Team’s focus on enthusiast-level performance – within a small portion of other memory maker’s tenure, Team has garnered multiple awards and more importantly, the recognition as a serious player in the memory market – I now count myself as one of those who recognize Team’s capabilities.