Hardcore DDR2 RAM by Corsair, G.Skill, OCZ and Patriot

OCZ FlexXLC PC2-9200(OCZ2FX11502GK, 2x 1 GB)

FlexXLC stands for Xtreme Liquid Convection, which basically means that the memory modules come with a heat sink module that is ready to be connected to a liquid cooling solution. Another improvement compared to many other memory modules is the 8-layer PCB, which improves signal integrity and thus should allow for better overclocking results.

There are versions rated for PC2-9600, PC2-9200 (which we got) and PC2-6400. Our DDR2-1150 DIMMs were rated for CL5-5-5-18 timings, and the only improvement we could achieve was CL5-5-5-15. We could increase the clock speed stably at up to 622 MHz (DDR2-1244), which required 2.5 V. All of this was achieved with conventional air cooling. Applying a liquid cooling solution is very likely to yield at least some 20-30 MHz more clock speed. We recommend going for the faster PC2-9600 part if you really want to go ballistic.

OCZ's FlexXLC is SLI-ready, meaning that it will automatically run at ideal timings on an nForce 600 platform.

Image Source: OCZ

Speeds And Timings

The memory clock speed of 571 MHz is close to the 575 MHz (DDR2-1150 or PC2-9200), at which the FlexXLC was specified. Any timing setting below CL5-5-5-15 did not run in reliable fashion.

The highest memory speed we achieved with the FlexXLC was DDR2-1244, running at CL5-5-5-15 timings and 2.5 V. However, Call of Duty crashed a few times at these settings during our testing.