Collection of Memory Chips...what you should know!

Hi All,

This guide will seek to breifly explain each memory chip and what the pros and cons are of all different sorts of chips. This is not about each memory manufacturer, rather the chips they use to make the memory they do. It will not be highly technical, but I hope it can give a good basis for what to expect out of memory. Thanks for looking. Please PM me if you have ANYTHING to add. I have a feeling this is going to be an ongoing topic

Winbond Ram Chips

BH-5 – The most famous of the Winbond chips, or possibly the most famous ram ever! These chips are known to love voltage, which in turn gets you extremely tight timings and great frequencies. Most BH-5 can do around 250 MHz at cas2-2-2-X. This usually requires around 3.2-3.4 volts. BH-5 has gone as high as 280 MHz or so, but this is very difficult to achieve. This ram can be identified as having the last three characters on the chip as BH-5. It has been out of production for well over a year now, so it is very difficult to find. If your motherboard does not offer above 2.8 volts, this ram is probably not for you. With the use DDR booster, this stuff can really shine. BH-5 can be found most notably in Mushkin Black Level ram, Kingston Hyper X, Corsair XMS, TwinMos, Buffalo and a few Value Ram varieties. The possibility of finding this ram on a store shelve today is almost non-existent.

CH-5 – This is a newer ram chip than BH-5 and on average cannot achieve the results BH-5 can. It is known to do around 220-230 MHz at cas2-3-2-X. This ram is a little different than BH-5 as it does not respond as well to voltage. Usually, anything over 3 volts does not yield any better results. This could be due to the manufacturer's PCB design, or simply the ram chips themselves. In some cases, however, this ram can achieve similar results to BH-5, it just does not happen very often. This is still great ram for the money and can most likely achieve cas2-2-2-X at 200 MHz with the right voltage applied. This ram is easier to find than BH-5 and usually costs a fraction of what BH-5 costs. It can be identified by the last 3 characters on the chip reading CH-5. It can be found in Corsair XMS, Kingston Hyper X, and many other offerings.

BH-6 – This is the 6ns version of the BH-X series. This ram performs very well, and in some cases, as well as BH-5 ram. Like its 5ns brother, it loves voltage and can achieve high frequency with cas2-2-2-X timings. BH-6 can usually clock to around 240-250 MHz with about 3.2-3.4 volts and still retain the tight timings. This is even harder to find than BH-5 as it is also out of production and was not produced for as long. One thing to note about this ram is that since it is 6ns rather than 5ns, you will mostly find it in PC2700 or DDR333 speeds. This is nothing to be worried about. As I said earlier, it can clock nearly as high as BH-5. Also, if 2.8 volts is your motherboard’s limit, you might want to look elsewhere. This ram can be identified by the last three characters being BH-6 on the chips. This is most commonly found in Mushkin Special 2-2-2, Corsair XMS, Kingston Hyper X, and various Value Ram models. It has been known to show up in Kingston Value Ram PC2700.

CH-6 – This is the 6ns version of the CH-X series ram. Although the cards are against a good overclock on this ram, it does alright. It performs very similar to CH-5 ram in most respects, despite its greater latency rating. Figure on about 220 MHz at somewhat tight timings such as cas2-3-2-X. This ram offers a great value, as it is usually found in less expensive modules. You can find CH-6 in some Kingston Value Ram, Corsair Value Ram and Mushkin Basic. For these prices, it is a steal.

UTT – This is the newest of the Winbond ram. It is very similar to BH-5, but requires a little more voltage. UTT ram can achieve the clocks that BH-5 can, but also requires more voltage. Most people recommend using around 3.4-3.6 volts for this ram. One thing this has over BH-5 is that its overclock is not hindered by the fact that it is double sided ram rather than single sided. BH-5 did its best when 2x256mb modules were used, and this UTT ram can achieve the same clocks using 2x512mb modules. This is very handy, as 2x256mb ram is considered not enough by most of today’s standards. One area where this ram falls short of BH-5 is that it is slightly inconsistent. BH-5 is as close to guaranteed results as you can get, where as this ram is somewhat of a hit or miss. It is also much more complicated to identify. Most people look for two small dimples in the ram chips themselves, as the ram will not say UTT on it. You must look for the winbond characteristics, which can be a real chore. Once you find a set of this, apply the right voltage, you could very well have a 1gb set of ram that will do 275 MHz at cas2-2-2-X. These ram chips are commonly found in OCZ Gold VX series, OCZ Value VX series, TwinMos Speed Premium series, Mushkin Blue and some other various Value Ram selections. This ram is very inexpensive if you can find it in the value series offerings. Figure on about $150 for 1gb of it. If you are not willing to take the risk, I would probably suggest finding some BH-5 on the used market. Update on UTT It seems there are two flavors to not in the UTT. There are the BH type chips and the CH type chips according to a few sources. The only real difference is the BH type requires less voltage at lower speeds such as 200mhz. The CH type requires at least 3 volts usually to boot at 200mhz 2-2-2. In the end, the two tend to overclock the same with the same amount of voltage. If you are on a lower voltage system, try to find the BH type chips.

Hynix Ram Chips

D43 – This is probably the most common Hynix ram and is easy to find. This ram offers very high frequencies, but at the cost of sacrificing timings. D43 is rated at DDR400, or PC3200. Hynix D43 ram can usually clock up to around 260-270 MHz at latencies of cas3-4-4-8. This ram is often called “Intel ram,” as Intel setups benefit from higher memory bandwidth and are less dependent on latencies. This might not be the ideal ram choice for an Athlon XP setup. Unlike Windbond ram, this ram requires relatively low voltages to operate at its best. D43 usually operates at its best at around 2.8 volts. This makes it a great choice for anyone not wishing to mod their motherboard, or get a DDR Booster. This ram can be identified by the last 5 characters of the part number being BT-D43, CT-D43 or DT-D43. There are different revisions of this ram, and usually the later revisions clock higher. In this case, the DT-D43 would be favorable. This ram is found in lots of PC4000 models such as Kingston Hyper X, Corsair XMS, Patriot and many other offerings.

D5 – This ram is similar to the D43, but offers higher clocks and tighter timings. D5 is rated at DDR500, or PC4000. This is not necessarily guaranteed, but on average, D5 seems to clock to around 270-280 MHz, and in some cases can approach the 300 MHz mark. At 250 MHz, the timings are usually around cas2.5-4-4-7, instead of the D43’s cas3-4-4-8. This makes it a better choice if you can afford it. Where D43 is usually considered as “Intel ram,” the D5 is arguably a great choice for Athlon 64 setups and Intel setups. Once again, for Athlon XP, Winbond offerings might be a better choice. Like its brother D43, this ram does best at 2.8 volts. Another area this ram shines is at lower frequencies, the timings can be tightened almost to the point of being comparable with Winbond chips. This ram is capable of cas2-3-3-X at around 210-220 MHz. Because of this, it is a very versatile ram and would make a good choice for almost any system. D5 can be identified as saying BT-D50, CT-D50 or DT-D50 in the end of the number on the ram chips. The latest revision, DT-D50 has been known to run lower latencies at 200 MHz, making it comparible to TCCD. It will not usually run 2-2-2-x timings, but possibly 2-3-3-x. It also clocks very high, sometimes above 300 MHz. This ram can be found on OCZ PC4000 rev. 2, Corsair XMS and various other offerings. It is not the cheapest ram in the world, but well worth the price for it.

Micron Ram Chips

-5B C – I'll start by saying this memory should be much more popular than it is. This memory is knows to clock well with very tight timings. This memory can usually achieve about 230 MHz at cas2.5-2-2-X. The cas latency is not the lowest of the bunch, but the TRD and the TRP latencies are quite good. There have been instances where this ram has clocked higher, much higher, but it is somewhat inconsistent according to other forum members. The nice thing about this ram is the price. It can be found in many value rams with the most notable being Buffalo Technologies. This memory also responds well to voltage. At about 3 volts is where it seems to hit its sweet spot. Much higher does not yield any better results. This ram is pretty easy to idenfify as the part number will say "-5B C" directly on the chips. This ram is found in many flavors of the PC3200 including Buffalo, Crucial, OCZ and a few others.

-5B G - This is a newer revision of the -5B C ram. It is still 5ns ram, but can clock higher than its earlier brother. This is the ram commonly found in Crucial Ballistix that has earned quite a reputation for doing very high clocks with great latencies. It can be considered as somewhat of an "in-between" ram, meaning it does pretty decent timings with pretty decent frequencies. Most revision G ram does about 250-260, but can retain the timings of cas2.5-2-2-X. This is better timings than many of the Hynix offerings, but you will pay a price for it. Currently, 1gb of the Ballistix is around $250 USD. If you can find these chips on any other sort of Value ram, it is QUITE the bargain. It also seems to be less picky of a motherboard than some of its competitors. Identifying this ram is just like the rest...the part number will be -5B G on the ram chips themselves. Like I mentioned earlier, it is found in Ballistix and some, but not many Value ram offerings.

-5B D - This memory IC has replaced the -5B G and is found in Crucial ballistix and other crucial offerings. It has also gone down in price, which everyone will agree, is a good thing. This ram performs very similar to the -5B G in that it will hold very respectable timings up to around 250mhz or DDR500. Users have reported running 240mhz at cas2.5-2-2-x (CCUABIDExORxDIE). Like the G revision, it responds well to voltage and also runs cas2-2-2-x at 200mhz. This ram runs super hot, so active cooling is a must for a decent overclock. This is a pretty good choice for the middle ground between the Samsung based modules and Winbond based modules. It will also run very high frequencies when timings are relaxed to cas3-3-3-x. DDR600 is within reach at these latencies.

Infineon Ram Chips

B5 - This is 5ns ram from Infineon. It is not very popular, as it usually only comes on Corsair XMS3200 rev. 3.1 ram. The native timings at 200 MHz are cas2-3-3-6. This is decent for 200 MHz, but certainly there are faster chips out there. As far as overclocking is concerned, this ram does not exactly impress. Results are very similar to CH-6 Winbond ram, only the CH-6 can usually retain tighter timings across the frequencies. Figure on about 220-230 MHz. This ram responds to voltage, but nothing extreme like Winbond ram. From what I have seen, anything over about 2.9-3.0 volts is somewhat of a waste of time. This ram can also be found in some Value Ram offerings, but not very likely. It can be identified as the last characters on the chip saying B-5.

BT-6 - This is similar to the B-5, but rather it is 6ns. Overclocking results are slightly less favorable than the B-5, as it is rated at 166 MHz. This ram can commonly be found on Value Rams such as Kingston KVR2700. I was able to push this ram to around 215 MHz before I encountered problems. Timings at this overclocked speed were cas2.5-3-3-11. This is as to be expected since these chips are becoming outdated and really only meant to run at 166 MHz. A benefit to the Infineon BT-6 is that most of them have no trouble at all running 200 MHz. So, you are getting PC3200 ram for the price of PC2700. This is not a bad way to go at all. It did, however, need increased voltage and relaxed timings to achieve this speed. Unfortunately, this ram is pretty uncommon, but makes a decent choice if you can get a good deal on it. Usually, KVR2700 is very affordable on the used market. These can be identified by the last three characters on the chip saying BT-6.

Samsung Ram Chips

TCB3 - This is 6ns ram from Samsung commonly found on cas2-2-2-X PC2700 modules. It can hold very tight timings, and clock somewhat high. It is found in some PC3200 modules as well, but not rated at cas2-2-2-X. At 200 MHz, latencies are increased to cas2-3-3-6. While this is still respectable, it is nothing out of the ordinary. As far as overclocking goes, this ram can usually clock to around 230 MHz, which is pretty surprising as it is rated at 166 MHz. In fact, this can be found on some OCZ PC3700 modules! This ram would make a great choice if your front side bus frequency is limited to about 180 MHz or less, as the ultra tight timings will give a nice performance boost when compared to regular ram. It would still make great ram for overclocking past 200 MHz, but there are better choices to be had. As far as voltages, it is pretty much standard in that anything past 3.0 volts do not yield any greater results. This ram can be found in Corsair XMS2700, XMS3200, Kingston Hyper X PC2700, Mushkin PC3200, TwinMos and OCZ offerings. As you can see, it is pretty common and easy to find. On the used market, you can probably get a pretty good deal on it. Like other Samsung ram chips, you can identify it by reading “TCB3” on the chips themselves.

TCCC - TCCC is the revision “C” of the “TCC” line from Samsung. This ram is very versatile, meaning it can achieve pretty high frequency or pretty decent timings. This ram can clock to around 250-260 MHz on average. Timings at these speeds are usually cas3-4-4-8, unfortunately. This ram can be run at 200 MHz, however, and still keep timings such as cas2.5-3-3-6. This makes it a good all around ram that can be had for a relatively low price. You can find TCCC in PC3200 ram up through PC4000 ram. The only draw back to getting this in the PC4000 flavor is that it is very close to the end of its frequency already. The Kingston Hyper X PC4000 module I had containing TCCC only clocked to around 255 MHz before reaching its limit. It is somewhat responsive to voltage, but didn’t seem to budge after 2.8 volts or more was applied. You can also find this ram in Corsair XMS3700, Samsung PC3200 and many other Value Ram offerings. Overall, this ram is very similar to the Hynix D43 offerings, but the D43 outclocks this ram more often than not. If you can get this in a PC3200 Value Ram, you will get a great deal. Buying this in the PC4000 speed may not be the best idea.

TCC4 - Another offering from Samsung, this ram is pretty unpopular. It can be found on various PC3200 Value rams, as well as some PC2700 offerings. This is not the best overclocking choice, as it usually tops out around 210-220 MHz at cas3-3-3-X and requires added voltage to achieve that speed. Like other Samsung ram, it does not help to give extreme voltages. Since this ram is pretty hard to find anyway, it would be a better choice to go with either the TCCC or the D43 from Hynix, as both offer more flexibility and much more overclocking head room. This ram can had in some PC2700 Value Rams, as well as Samsung PC3200 ram. If you can find it in a Value Ram, it will most likely be a good deal. It is not in production anymore, so you would need to look on the used market. Like I mentioned earlier, some of the newer Samsung and Hynix chips would be a better choice. Identifying these chips is straight forward, as they will say “TCC4” on the modules.

TCC5 - This is a newer revision of the “TCC” series from Samsung. It is superior to the TCC4 in every way. It is commonly found on PC3700 offerings, and offers pretty good overclockability. This ram is rated to run at 233 MHz, so it already starts out higher than the TCC4 can usually clock to. Timings are very respectable at cas2.5-3-3-X depending on the manufacturer. This ram can be overclocked to reach 250 MHz sometimes, if the latencies are increased to cas3-4-4-X. Once again, extreme voltages do not aide in overclocking attempts. This ram is still not as common as the TCCC or the Hynix D43, but can usually found on the used market for a great price. Not a bad choice at all for either Intel or AMD systems, as it can offer good timings at 200 MHz or higher front side bus options. Not the most versatile ram, but certainly better than a lot of other offerings. If you can get your hands on this stuff, it would not make a bad choice, but it is out of production. Update on TCC5 - It looks like some of the newer revision TCC5 is capable of 2-2-2 timings at pc3200. This revision of the TCC5 can be found in Mushkin PC3200 Level 2 V2/V3, as well as OCZ PC3200 Platinum rev. 2. It can clock very high as well. Users of this ram have reported it can run 260mhz at 2.5-3-3 with very little voltage. Not a bad choice at all if you cannot get your hands on TCCD. Also, TCC5 uses the exact same die as TCCD, but it is binned at a lower speed. This doesn't seem to have a negative effect on the newer revision "F" chips.

TCCD - TCCD is another chip that will be remembered for long after its life. This ram has said to be the “BH-5 Replacement.” While some agree, some do not. They are VERY different ram chips, and do their own things very well. TCCD is probably the most versatile ram ever made. It can run up to about 220 MHz while holding super tight timings of cas2-2-2-X. It can also be run up near 300 MHz, while holding very respectable timings of cas2.5-4-4-X. Some people have even gotten above 300 MHz with timings of cas2.5-3-3-X. This is one of the highest clocking rams available today, and is relatively inexpensive for what you get. TCCD responds to voltage, but never really needs much of an increase to do its best. People have said that running it at 3.0 volts will help, but I have never achieved higher success going past 2.8 volts. This is especially useful, as 2.8 volts seems to be the maximum offered by most motherboards. The fact that this ram can run at 300 MHz on an UN-modded board is simply amazing. It makes it a great choice for everyone, regardless of what your setup may be. It has been argued that BH-5 is still superior. While that may hold true, the ease of running this ram fast makes up for any edge BH-5 may have on it. One complaint is that this ram is very picky when it comes to motherboard compatibility. I have heard that it has a hard time running well on Intel platforms. This ram really shines on the Athlon 64 platform since it is capable of extreme bandwidth. This ram can be found in almost any manufacturer now a days, including Kingston Hyper X, Corsair XMS, Patriot XBL, Mushkin Level 2, G.Skill, PQI Turbo and even Adata. There are specific part numbers in which you will need to take a look at, so head over to the ram list and check the part number of each manufacturer to be sure you are guaranteed to get TCCD. TCCD can also be identified by saying “TCCD” on the ram chips themselves. Get this stuff while you can folks, it may become a rarity like BH-5 did. Update on TCCD - TCCD is getting harder and harder to find as it is no longer in production. It seems to have been replaced by TCC5, which has proven to clock as high in most situations. The OCZ PC3200 rev. 2 Platinum was once TCCD, and now TCC5. Many other manufacturers are using TCC5 instead now because of the exit of TCCD. The exit of TCCD sort of scared everyone, but it is good to see that something has taken its place.

Mosel Ram Chips

Vitelic 5ns - This is 5ns ram from Mosel. It is commonly found in PC3200 offerings, and at this speed is rated at cas2-3-3-6. This is not bad, but nothing out of the ordinary. It is similar to CH-5 from Winbond. This ram can clock to around 240 MHz and hold decent timings such as cas2.5-3-3-6. If timings are kept at 2-3-2-X, then this ram will typically max out around 220 MHz. This can be found in Corsair XMS3200, Geil Ultra PC3200 and PC3500, OCZ PC3200 and PC3700. This is not a bad choice of ram at all. It offers great overclockability while still holding very respectable timings. Although Mosel is not a well known name in the memory industry, you can see that the top memory manufacturers are using their ram. If you can get these on the used market, they would make a very sweet deal. I have not seen these in Value Ram offerings, but that does not mean they do not exist. Identifying these can be somewhat difficult, as many companies re-label them. Take a look at the ram list to be sure of what modules contain these chips. You can identify these chips by the last 5 characters being SAT5B.

very nice my friend... if you keep up the good work, i'll be first to nominate you for student of the month ;-)

Very nice work, Collin. Isn't your girlfriend feeing a little neglected? LOL

rseven said:

Very nice work, Collin. Isn't your girlfriend feeing a little neglected? LOL

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Hehe....she thinks I am a nerd. No doubt about that. OK, list is done. Anyone like to add anything?

-Collin-

Your hynix tab is jacked up. Iming you..

My mushkin ram says this on the chips...

20503
MUD8608a8a-5b

I would assume its Micron memory, but whats the deal with 5b? How well is this memory?

I can hit about [email protected], haven't tried it higher then that at 1:1. Right now i am at 2.9v running with a 166mhz divider.

Great guide for the noobs.

Collin just as a heads up D5 means that it is *rated* for DDR500 just like D43 means its rated for DDR400

Sentential said:

Collin just as a heads up D5 means that it is *rated* for DDR500 just like D43 means its rated for DDR400

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Fixed. Thanks again Sen.

-Collin-

Ninja, any clue what memory mine is?

20503
MUD8608a8a-5b

It's made by Mushkin. Thanks

lol u quoted me, but didn't give me an answer

Just hoping someone knows

NinjaZX6R said:

CH-5 – This is a newer ram chip that BH-5 and unfortunately does not fair as well. It is known to do around 220-230 MHz at cas2-3-2-X. This ram is a little different than BH-5 as it does not respond as well to voltage. Usually, anything over 3 volts does not yield any better results. This is still great ram for the money and can most likely achieve cas2-2-2-X at 200 MHz with the right voltage applied. This ram is easier to find than BH-5 and usually costs a fraction of what BH-5 costs. It can be identified by the last 3 characters on the chip reading CH-5. It can be found in Corsair XMS, Kingston Hyper X, and many other offerings.

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CH-5 will do high speed tight and timings. My pair can do 250mhz @ 1.5-2-2-X with 3.3~3.4vdimm. I believe the original perception that CH-5 does not play well voltage resulted from the voltage regulators installed on the memory pcb by some memory manufacturers. As of late, many have found CH-5 to be quite good if the 3.0v barrier is crossed. The main differences between CH-5 and BH-5 are CH-5 is manufactured on a smaller process, and CH-5 will not run 2-2-2-X @ 2.5-2.6vdimm.

stang8118 said:

lol u quoted me, but didn't give me an answer

Just hoping someone knows

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Don't know what the HECK happened there. I believe it is the Micron -5B C ram chips. Try tightening the timings to 2.5-2-2 instead of 2.5-3-3. Also, does it say "MT" anywhere on the ram chip?

As for CH-5 doing 250 at 1.5-2-2, that is indeed great results. Unfortunately, I have never heard of anyone's doing that. May sound stupid, but are you SURE it is CH-5? I can change the post if you want, but I honestly have never seen CH-5 do this well before. I would hate to make a generalization about this ram and have it be wrong, but I would also hate to change it just for one set. Let me know what you think.

EDIT: I tried to include your results in there the best I could.

-Collin-

Ninja, i'll pull them out either tonight or sometime this week. I am pretty sure all the numbers i listed were the ones on there, but i could be wrong. Either way i'll let you know here on via PM