Team Group TXDR1024M500HC3-S DDR-500 Memory

Introduction
It is now known that every Tom, Dick n Harry is only interested in the Intel C2D. The C2D uses DDR2 hence most reviews of memory is of the DDR2 variety nowadays. My review today is about DDR though. Why? Because there are still a lot of people out there with decent systems running DDR and there's nothing better than to pair those systems with some really good DDR for better overclocking. Also, now is the perfect time for buying more memory as Vista chews up so much memory. So those who are still using older systems and are not keen to upgrade to a new motherboard and CPU, now's a great time to upgrade to 2gb of DDR for use with Vista.




Here's a picture of the RAM in the packaging. 4gb of nice juicy RAM.







Look at all those World Records!




The Company
Team Group may sound like an unknown brand to most people as it was not widely available in LYP before this. Team does not have a big presence like Kingston, OCZ, Corsair, Mushkin or Patriot locally but it's actually a well known brand among hardcore computer enthusiasts. Here's a lil bit of info I took off the Team website.

"Team Group Inc. is a manufacturer and wholesaler of computer components. The company is established in 1994. They manufacture and sell high quality memory modules with wafer chips made by Samsung, Infineon, Micron, Hynix, Mosel and Nanya. In addition to the modules, they also manufacture flash memory cards, and USB flash drives incorporating fashionable design and excellent quality.
The company is recognized as one of the leading memory product manufacturers in Taiwan. Team Group covers many business regions all over the world, and has four logistic distribution centers: Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the USA. We are also planning to establish more logistic centers in other regions.
Our company in the USA, Team Research Inc. was founded back in 1990 in Milpitas (Silicon Valley), California, USA. Team Research is one of the top-ranking companies with excellent business experience in the computer components industry.　We have developed successful buy and sell models to better serve our customers in this highly competitive field. Team Research inc. also maintains the R&D office for our entire group in order to further support our customers.
Our goal is to become one of the leading providers for memories, flash cards, and pen drives in Asia in the near future.
Through our four international offices, we can easily provide fast, reliable inventory access worldwide. Having developed close and long term relationships with many leading manufacturers and OEMs, we are able to provide various products even during the shortage and allocation periods."


You can see from the company introduction that Team has been around for quite a while. 13 years to be exact. Team is a really good brand for enthusiasts as you can check on their website for the type of chips they use in the particular sticks of RAM you're interested in. You can also email them and they'll fully disclose what type of chips they use. No guesswork involved, just ask and you shall get the answer. Now, that's what I call great support.



Specification
Now, let's get down to looking at the RAM I'm reviewing. It's called Team Xtreem Cronus Series. This is the best DDR kit that Team has as of now.

Here's a quick look at the features-

1. PC4000 DDR500 mhz 3-3-3-8
2. Micron 5B chips
3. 184 pin, non ECC. Unbuffered DDR SDRAMM
4. Aluminum heatspreader
5. 6 layer PCB
6. 2.7-2.9V
7. Lifetime warranty
8. Packaged together as matched pair after stability testing
9. Benchmarked using Nforce3, Nforce4 and ATI chipsets



Here's how the Team Xtreem ram looks like out of the box and installed in the motherboard.



It's got a nice gold aluminum heat spreader on it. The good thing about Team RAM is that we don't have to peel off the heatspreader to find out what chip it's using. It's already stated in their website as Micron 5B. No guesswork involved for the hardcore overclockers who must know the type of chips used before deciding to buy.




This RAM is capable of running at 500mhz at 3-3-3-8 timings and can take up to 2.9V as can be seen in this picture.








Test System
CPU- AMD64 X2 4200+
Motherboard- Asus A8N32SLi-Deluxe
Memory- Team Xtreem TXDR1024M500HC3-S
Hard Drive- WD Raptor 150gb
Graphics cards- 8800GTX
Cooling- CM GeminII
PSU- Silverstone Olympia 1000W
Case- Silverstone TJ07
Operating System- Windows Vista Business 32bit

Testing programs n benchmarks
I'm using an Asus A8N32SLi-Deluxe and AMD64 X2 4200+ for the testing of this RAM. All I did was plug in the RAM and it boots up with no problems. I only needed to manually set the BIOS to run it at the settings that Team guarantees. So I proceeded to set the CPU to run at 250x10 to get it to run at 2.5ghz for this test. All tests were run with the CPU at 2.5ghz. RAM divider was set at 1:1 so that I can max out the RAM at the rated 500mhz. Voltage set to 2.9V. Timings at 3-3-3-8. Everything went perfectly well. To test stability of the overclock I then ran dual instances of Prime95 and I'm happy to report it's totally stable. No errors whatsoever.

After making sure the RAM works perfectly at the rated 500mhz, I dropped it to 400mhz n then 450mhz for benchmarking. The CPU remains at 2.5ghz, RAM timings at 3-3-3-8 and 2.9V to keep all the benchmarks running at same settings except for the RAM speed.

Here's the results for 3DM06 at 400mhz. 8961 marks.






3DM06 at 450mhz. 9046 marks.






3DM06 at 500mhz. 9251 marks.




As you can see from the above 3DM06 test. There's a pretty fantastic gain of 290 marks by going from 400mhz to 500mhz.





Now I'll move on to Super PI. Super PI at 400mhz.





Super PI at 450mhz.





Super PI at 500mhz.



This post has been edited by ianho: Jun 14 2007, 01:50 AM

Finally, it's on to the Everest Memory test. Everest at 400mhz.






Everest at 450mhz.






Everest at 500mhz.







After all the benchmarks were concluded I then went for the highest overclock I can get out of the RAM. I tried to get the RAM to run at 530mhz. It wouldn't boot. So I tried 3-6-6-10 and 3.2V. Still wouldn't boot. 530mhz is over the limit I guess. Then I tried 520mhz, 3-3-3-8 and 2.9V. Booted up nicely. So I ran dual instances of Prime95 and everything runs perfectly for hours on end with the RAM running at 520mhz. The maximum OC of 520mhz is pretty disappointing. I was hoping to get it to go up to about 550mhz but it just wouldn't budge. My motherboard can only pump in 3.2V to the RAM though. Perhaps the people who have voltage boosters for the RAM can squeeze more out of them but on my A8N32SLi, it's maxed out already.


Conclusion
Well, I have to say I'm really impressed by the guaranteed timings and speed. It runs at 500mhz, 3-3-3-8, 2.9V straight out of the box. No compatibility issues with the motherboard and all. Rock solid stability. As can be seen in the benchmarks, the difference between 400mhz n 500mhz is quite impressive. It shows a fantastic 290 point increase in 3DM06 which is quite substantial. Those who play with 3DM06 will know it's pretty difficult to squeeze out the last few hundred points so a 290 point increase is really quite fantastic. You can also see the improvement in Super PI and the Everest memory benchmarks.

There is one minus point though. I would have liked the RAM to go much higher than the 520mhz I achieved. Something like 550mhz would have been a really nice bonus. However, taking into account these are 1gb sticks, 500mhz is already really fast and a 290 point increase in 3DM06 is nothing to be sneezed at. So from a gamer's point of view, there's not much to complain about. It's only the really extreme overclockers who will be disappointed by the slight overclock of 20mhz over the guaranteed speeds. Bear in mind though, that anything over the guaranteed speeds is always a lottery and I may just have been really unlucky to get a pair of RAM that will only do 20mhz over the guaranteed speed.

So, in conclusion, if you own an older system running on DDR, this is a really good investment. Perfect timing too if you're also upgrading to Windows Vista as it's a RAM chewing monster. For a system to run Vista nice and smooth this 2gb matched pair will be just the perfect upgrade. Of course if you have too much money to spend then by all means get another matched pair to run 4gb. As the saying goes, there can never be enough.

How much does this cost?Looks gorgoues...

I haf no idea how much it costs. U can check with the local retailers at LYP for the pricing.

can this ram compare to ddr533 to see how much different between this??

Really nice rams. Was actually looking at this ram or the crucial rams. Would be ideal for my rig as my HTT max at about 250 Mhz (DDR500).

My corsair can only max at 224 Mhz at stock voltage.

Hmm..... Maybe I can sell my rams and get these!!!

my ddr333 value ram can do ddr480 before, at 2.9v la. now running 2.8v all the time. still alive and kicking. i guess no problem.

your corsair just under utilized. feed more voltage to it. those high performance ram like voltage a lot.

, sir ianho remembered me to my DDR600 TCCD , even though it's 1GB (2x512MB) DDR600, but it's Team, most affordable high-performance DDR DRAM, well anyway... sir ianho using 3-6-6-10? that's pretty real loose timing i must say, am i? from what i'm XP with DDR600, i'm on 3-4-4-8 @2.9vDIMM, or maybe it depends on chipset? or is it, limited by the mobo?

I used 3-6-6-10 to try n c how high it can go only. I'm using it at 3-3-3-8.



This post has been edited by ianho: Jun 11 2007, 08:24 AM

Just wondering ianho, do you think this is better than those Crucial Ballistix DDR1?

Ya, I guess I should set a higher voltage..... dunno why I'm so afraid of damaging my RAMs when it is supposed to be lifetime warranty!!! Ok ok, going to increase the voltage and see!!

Ya ya, how do they compared? The crucial Ballistix DDR1 is selling for RM 7xx in bulk for 2x1Gb..... quite expensive la.... Anybody selling the team RAMs?

This post has been edited by kmarc: Jun 11 2007, 02:38 PM

Its already not expensive considering its 2 * 1gb and its Crucial. HyperX is still selling at around RM650 as well for something less superior. If this is below the RM700 mark, its definitely a very very good purchase...

So sorry. I meant expensive relative to DDR2.

LOL..Comparison to DDR2 wise, yea, the price is overkill. But comparison on DDR1 wise, its still ok. Anyway, is Team DDR1 ram available in any stores in LYP?

Ya it's available at the following locations IIRC.

PCZone, Winchance, MYPC and ATOM at LYP. Robyn Computer, Majujaya or Kogyocom at Imbi Plaza.

Thanks for the info. Just checked out PCZone's price list and they didnt list it down. Maybe i need to go there and see when i have the time...Love the bling bling gold heatspreader..

i feel you ianho ;_;
my xtreem uccc wont even do 520 3-4-4-8 1T @ 2.8v, although it work at 500 3-4-4-8 out of the box as rated.
oh well, settled at 3-4-3-8 1T 2.7v at 500

LOL! I also went to check PCZone's price list!! If you find the price, pls inform me!!!

I wonder which 1 is better, 2 x 1gb @1T or 4 x 512mb @2T; since 2T can give higher frequency than 1T at tighter timing.

Well, the set I got for review runs at 520mhz, 3-4-4-8, 1T, 2.9V. My settings now are totally dual Prime95 stable so I'm a happy camper.

For those of u who were wondering how much these RAMs cost. I've been informed by E-Devices Sdn Bhd that it costs about rm450 only. That's an extremely good price IMHO.


Wokeh........... I just received another 4gb of these RAMs from E-Devices Sdn Bhd. Newer batch which just came straight from Taiwan. I'll try n c what these 4 sticks can do. These 4 new sticks will b more indicative of what is available at retail right now. The 1st 2 sticks I had were from a much older batch.


These were the 2 sticks I reviewed earlier. As you can see, the serial numbers are 20070101816.









These are the 4 new sticks I just received today. The serial numbers are 20070504097 and 20070504098. That's a pretty big gap between the old and new RAMs I jsut received. Hopefully the newer batch goes even higher than 520mhz.



This post has been edited by ianho: Jun 14 2007, 02:11 AM

uncle, have u tried low and tight timing like 2-2-2-5 and such?

RM 450???!!! For 2Gb (2x1b)???? You're not kidding right? If so, I WILL sell my RAMs and get these!!!

Ya ya, please try them out and keep us updated.

Errr.... Where's E-Devices? Do they sell through LYN/poslaju?

Yea, RM450?Gosh...I want them badly...Got to get rid of my Corsair then..lol...

The strength of these RAMs is the high speed ability not tight timings. I will try running them at 400mhz n tight timings later when I start playing with these new RAMs to see if they can also do tight timings.


E-Devices is the Distributor.

ei, rm450 for tht pair of ram quite interesting.. anyone here in this forum can organise a bulk for this ram? since its a distributor, i dont think we can get single unit frm them

Y so susah when u can just get it from LYP?

the distributor located at LYP? its very hard to find ddr1 especially performance series nowadays, sommore i been months didnt visit to lowyat.. pm me where to get, migh visit this weekend or next,,, hehe

RM450 for 2x 1gb DDR 500........... wau nice price i will definately get 1......... where is location.........i'll go now

The answer is in post #15.

Huhu, delicious rams.
Will check it out the next time i drop by Robyn.
Looks like it's time for my old faithful TCCDs to move to my 2nd Rig.

Btw uncle, mind to post up the SPD table of the rams, wanna see whats the timings at DDR400, and also, how did the new batch OC?
Over DDR520???

If anybody finds out which shop sells it (and at what price), pls give some feedback! Any of these traders sell on LYN?

Hey dude, check post #15.
Uncle already stated clearly which shops in LY carry these rams.

Btw, regarding the question where any of these seller sell on LYN, you can contact Robyn com, they offer delivery services as well.

Ya, I know about post #15. He pm me the details too. Just that these shops don't list the rams in their price list. I'm from Kuching so can't walk down to LYP!!!

Robyn huh? Hmmm..... thx for the info!

Sry guys, E-Devices just informed me that the pricing for the newer batch is now rm500.

Anyway, here's the SPD screenie for @meno.



I havent tried OCing the new batch yet. Will get down to it soon. I will post up the results as soon as I do.

that indicate something. ram price start increasing

Ram prices had been on the rise for quite a few weeks already.
But thats only applied to DDR2 right?
DDR prices had been pretty stable so far, just hope that this higher priced new versions can clock better than the old versions...

Nope. RAM prices for DDR2 has been falling. Currently at rock bottom prices.

Prices are expected to rise within these few days/weeks.....

LOL..Dont be shock guys..Even at RM500, this is still a great bargain. Look at those Crucial DDR1 series. They are already at a crazy RM700+. So tempted to get rid of my current rams for now and get these bling bling ones..LOL..

Is Micron 5B chips better than those Micron D9 ones?

I thought the best rams for overclocking are the D9xxx series.

Micro D9Gxx are the newer ones. D9Dxx are the older ones.

Ya ya, get the bling bling ones!!!

LOL..I dont know much about ram chips so was wondering how those 5B performs as compared with the D9..LOL..

I got to know these rams in this forums too. The current preferred OC rams are the micro D9Gxx series, i.e. D9GKX, D9GMH.......

check the ram first before stating anything. D9GHH, D9GKX, etc all DDR2, how to compare with DDR?

Errr... we were talking about DDR2 la (at least I thought I was!!!) .... see, the last few posts.....

@kmarc
but the review is bout DDR ram, mate

LOL..Whatever lar..They are still good chips..LOL..

Anyway, so, whats the best DDR chips around?How good is the Micron 5B in DDR rams?

And have anyone seen them in LYP yet?Any shops in LYP taking trade in or not?

Wow! Got some really great results. I've been playing around with the 4 new sticks that I recently received. Managed to take them all the way up to 560mhz. It needed 3.6.6.10 and 3V to do 560mhz stable. In fact, I managed to get into Windows at 580mhz, 3.6.6.10 and 3.2V but it wasn't really stable.

I've settled for 540mhz though coz that gives a better compromise, at 540mhz it only needs 2.85V and 3.4.4.8 timings, not as stressful for daily use. Good stuff.
I'll post up the screenies later. Can't access my Photobucket right now.

There's only one thing I can say about these RAMs in terms of performance and price, and that is ....

Anybody wanna buy my rams? Cheap cheap......

well pair with good graphic card it can handle anything that last for 5 years then other component in the PC system ^,^

This post has been edited by chriswoo: Jun 21 2007, 06:53 PM

LOL..I have the same thinking as well. So tempted to sell off my Corsair. If only any shop in LYP take trade in..LOL...

Maybe can sell in garage sales.

However, I haven't seen anybody buying these rams at rm500 yet! Are they selling at this price in LYP?

Crucial performance rams are selling for rm7xx wor.....


This post has been edited by kmarc: Jun 21 2007, 09:12 PM

hi..
i am looking forward to buy this ram

Team Xtreem Hermes DDR1
PC4400 DDR 550MHz 512MBX2 2.5-4-3-7 2.7~2.9V [RM300]
Official Link: http://www.teamgroup.com.tw/index.php?opti...=240&Itemid=429

don't know much about ram..so what u guys think about this ram?

From what Team haf told me, only the Team Extreem Cronus 2x1gb DDR is available now. There r no other models available.

Whats the difference between the Hermes and the Chronus?DDR550 and DDR400?

Chronus for DDR500, Hermes for DDR400

So did anybody buy these nice rams from LYP? How much was it?

i think no one will be buying DDR1 2X1GB as all like moving to DDR2 liao.

i wanna get 2X1GB nowadays also susah

it's either in garage sales or you have to search thoroughly , in fact i got myself a ValueRAM instead... luckily it can be overclocked to DDR533 instead of DDR400 ...

very nice ram... hmm how much would it be?> and if its ddr is it really worthwhile holding on to DDR hmm how good is this ram compared to the hyper x's and corsairs...

Ian Ho indicated that these rams are selling for RM500 from Vertex or in LYP!!! Dunno whether true or not.....

Anyway, these are DDR500 rams, definitely better than other DDR400!!!

been asking MyPC at Lyp last month, they dont have stock, so i asked them to check the price for me, rm480 they told me... but i didnt order as i already own 2x1gb ce-5 and serving me quite nice, maybe after saving enough money will try this pair... could this pair match with my ce-5 and run a 4gb system although 32-bit windows vista just detect maximum of 3gb++

by the time that happens bro, the ram price might not be 480 anymore. hmm u probably need uncle ianho to answer the question

Yup, it seems impossible to get such rams as such price. Even the crucial ballistix DDR400 are selling for RM 7xx!!!

, technically yes, better... but still, plugged-in DDR500 onto motherboard, 1st thing detected as DDR400, you have to tweak/overclock kaw² until reach DDR500, it is guaranteed reach DDR500, but what about our motherboard capabilities? some motherboard can't even get pass 250MHz ... uncle ianho here, tried to hit 530MHz (265Mhz x 2), but can't (couldn't boot) because obviously it way too much (depends on RAM chip though) or is it because of his motherboard limitation (uncle... lend me your RAM la, who knows, i can reach DDR550 or even DDR600 )

besides that..., i'm pretty satisfied with my ValueRAM CE-5 here, made by Malaysian, but can overclock pretty impressive

Practically speaking hehe, just get ddr2 and solve the issue hehehe. No la, hmm, like my mobo doesnt even have this settings and its a pain in the a** , mine can also go up to 480Mhz and thats it.. more than that it goes boink.

If u really need all 4gb then u need to change to Vista 64bit.



The price is correct. They're at rm500 so it's a really fantastic pair of ram for such a low price.



Most AMD mobos can do 250mhz easily. All u need to do is change the voltage to 2.85V n bump the mhz up to 250 n it will run perfectly at 500mhz guaranteed. So that shudn be an issue unless it's a really cheap rm200 mobo that wasnt made for any overclocking at all.

My mobo is 1 of if not the best S939 mobos around n it is not the limiting factor. I took the new batch of ram all the way up to 580mhz. It was the earlier batch that cudn go higher than 520mhz.

About lending u the RAMs, NO! I'm not lending any1 these gems. Keep for myself.

LOLOL....better lend to me.. ill use my intel old system and push it up to more than 580Mhz but no guarantee its coming back to its normal state lol. Whatever it is, its really a great buy, that ram, looks nice, performs well and also recommended by UNCLE ianho:)