Intel P35 Chipset: DDR2 Versus DDR3 Memory

The Test System

Testing Procedure:

All testing was done on a fresh install of Windows XP Professional build 2600 with Service Pack 2 and DirectX 9.0c. All benchmarks were completed on the desktop with no other software programs running. All of the modules were run in dual channel mode! The memory on the Intel and AMD test platforms with DDR2 memory was run with Corsair PC2-6400C3 memory running 4GB at 3-4-3-9 2T timings at 800MHz. except for the Intel quad-core system as it was run at 3-3-3-9 thanks to improved memory performance on Bad Axe 2. The memory on the AMD DDR1 motherboard was running 2GB at 400MHz with 2-3-2-6 timings. The XFX GeForce 8800 GTX used ForceWare 158.22 video card drivers and the motherboards used were both updated to the latest BIOS version by using ASUS flash.

Here is the Intel P35 Express DDR2 Test platform:

DDR2 Test Platform
Component	Brand/Model	Live Pricing
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo X6800	Click Here
Motherboard	ASUS P5K Deluxe	Click Here
Memory	2GB Kingston HyperX PC2-9600	Click Here
Video Card	XFX GeForce 8800 GTX	Click Here
Hard Drive	Western Digital RaptorX	Click Here
Cooling	Intel Retail Box	Click Here
Power Supply	Thermaltake 850W	Click Here
Operating System	Windows XP Professional	Click Here

Here is the Intel P35 Express DDR3 Test platform:

DDR3 Test Platform
Component	Brand/Model	Live Pricing
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo X6800	Click Here
Motherboard	ASUS P5K3 Deluxe	Click Here
Memory	2GB Kingston HyperX PC3-11000	Click Here
Video Card	XFX GeForce 8800 GTX	Click Here
Hard Drive	Western Digital RaptorX	Click Here
Cooling	Intel Retail Box	Click Here
Power Supply	Thermaltake 850W	Click Here
Operating System	Windows XP Professional	Click Here

Memory Settings:

DDR2 Settings:

800MHz

• 3-3-3-8
• 2.0V
• 333MHz FSB
• 10x multiplier
• CPU Clock Speed 3.33GHz

1066MHz

• 4-4-4-12
• 2.1V
• 333MHz FSB
• 10x multiplier
• CPU Clock Speed 3.33GHz

1111MHz

• 4-4-4-12
• 2.2V
• 333MHz FSB
• 10x multiplier
• CPU Clock Speed 3.33GHz

DDR3 Settings:

1066MHz

• 6-5-5-15
• 1.7V
• 333MHz FSB
• 10x multiplier
• CPU Clock Speed 3.33GHz

1333MHz

• 7-7-7-20
• 1.7V
• 333MHz FSB
• 10x multiplier
• CPU Clock Speed 3.33GHz

1480MHz

• 7-7-7-20
• 1.8V
• 370MHz FSB
• 9x multiplier
• CPU Clock Speed 3.31GHz

Now that we know how the test systems were setup we can look at the performance numbers!