Today ClubOC received a real treat from the good people at Federal Express in the form of some legendary OCZ memory. This time OCZ sent over their PC2-8500, NVIDIA SLI-Ready Series. This is a 2Gb Dual Channel kit with memory timings of 5-5-5-15. So what's so special about "SLI-Ready" memory? First there is the obvious, "exclusive NVIDIA XTC heatspreaders" that help dissipate heat and look very cool. Under those heatspreaders are memory modules that OCZ claims are programmed to boot at 1066MHz with timings of 5-5-5. OCZ goes on to say that their "SLI-Ready Series is equipped with NVIDIA Enhanced Performance Profiles (EPP) to optimize the modules’ performance on nForce® 590 SLI-based motherboards. OCZ exclusively engineered select high-performance modules with advanced SPD (Serial Presence Detect) settings to allow compatible motherboards to recognize and utilize the added information, ultimately increasing the performance potential of the entire platform." So what does that mean exactly? The word is only motherboards equipped with the custom-designed BIOS can detect the optimized SPD profiles and ensure the memory functions under the best possible conditions. The exclusive OCZ SPD specifications take out the guesswork and provide enthusiasts and gamers with significant overclocked performance with no manual adjustment or compatibility issues. Additionally, all OCZ SLI-Ready memory is backed with toll-free technical support, the exclusive EVP (Extended Voltage Protection) coverage, and an industry leading Lifetime Warranty. EPP sounds great on paper, but let's see how OCZ's SLI-Ready memory performs in the real world.

About OCZ

     Entering the memory market in August 2000, OCZ Technology was built around the determination to manufacture the best high speed DDR and RDRAM. OCZ was founded by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts, and our commitment to the end-user has not digressed. OCZ Technology has been an innovator in many areas. We were the first manufacturer to make Dual Channel optimized memory available to the public, which originally took advantage of nVidia's Twinbank or Dual DDR architecture, found in their nForce chipset. We have now taken that technology and tailored it for the Canterwood, and Granite Bay chipset's. OCZ developed and was the first to implement ULN technology, which has been a critical element in our manufacturing process for some time. We at OCZ diligently work to improve communication with CPU and motherboard chipset manufacturers prior to the release of their products. Only in this manner can we fine-tune our memory's SPD settings, ensuring a synergistic relationship between the memory module, memory controller, and microprocessor. In today’s rapidly evolving semiconductor industry, such communication is not simply research, but a necessary component of our manufacturing process.

About EPP (Enhance Performance Profiles)
     NVIDIA - Developed as an extension to the traditional Serial Presence Detect (SPD) found on today's high-performance DIMMS, Enhanced Performance Profiles allow memory manufacturers to integrate additional module performance data in the unused portion of the JEDEC standard SPD, allowing compatible motherboards to read and take advantage of added performance capabilities. Enhanced Performance Profiles were developed as an open standard, and immediate adoption is expected NVIDIA motherboard partners and PC memory suppliers.

     While memory modules with Enhanced Performance Profiles will work on any motherboard, only motherboards equipped with properly-designed BIOSes, such as those designed for NVIDIA nForce® 590 SLI media and communications processors (MCPs), will detect the presence of these new capabilities and prompt the user to set PC boot parameters for guaranteed optimized settings. End users will be able to measure the impact on benchmark performance and verify detailed parametric settings using common system utilities such as Lavalys EVEREST or Microsoft® Windows®-based performance tools such as NVIDIA nTune™.

OCZ PC2-8500 SLI-Ready Specifications

• 1066MHz DDR2 (See the ClubOC Memory Conversion Chart)
• Optimized for AM2/NVIDIA platforms
• EPP 5-5-5-15
  (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS)
• Available in 1024MB Modules and 2GB (2x1024) Dual Channel Kits
• Unbuffered
• SLI-Ready XTC Heatspreader*
• OCZ Lifetime Warranty
• 2.1 Volts
• 2.4 Volts EVP**
• 240 Pin DIMM
• Enhanced Performance Profiles (EPP)

* 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 2.4V ± 5% without invalidating their OCZ Lifetime Warranty.

Part Numbers

• 2GB Dual Channel Kit PN – OCZ2N1066SR2GK       

     The SLI-Ready XTC Heatspreaders look very nice and I love the cool NVIDIA SLI-Ready logo.

     The reverse side of the memory has the NVIDIA logo as well. Too bad the logo wont visible once the memory is installed in a motherboard.