Intel DDR2 FB-DIMM Performance

For our benchmarks today, we will be delivering our FB-DIMM results with Kingston memory. While FB-DIMMs are still in their infancy, and not yet widely used, several manufacturers have already begun to offer their products, or will be doing so in the near future. The partial list of manufacturers include A-Data, Apacer, Crucial, Elpida, Hynix, Infineon, Kingston, Micron, and Samsung. For testing, we are using four Kingston DDR2-533 FB-DIMM modules, with the model number being: KVR533D2SS8F4/512. Each of these modules offer a 512MB memory capacity. The AMB chip used by this memory is Intel's QG6400, and the ICs used are from Qimonda/Infineon with a part number of HYB18T512800AF-3.7.

The Kingston KVR533D2SS8F4/512 memory is designed to run at PC2-4200 DDR2-533 speeds with 4-4-4-10 timings at 1.8V. Each of the FB-DIMM modules were individually packaged inside of a cardboard container, while inside was a warranty pamphlet and the module wrapped in an ESD bag. These Kingston products continue to be backed by their limited lifetime warranty.

The Kingston modules we were working with all contained aluminum heatspreaders, which were colored black and printed on them was "FB-DIMM". The actual part number and other information were portrayed on stickers. Beneath the heatspreaders is the AMB -- or Advanced Memory Buffer -- chip and the ICs. This chip performs the various tasks mentioned on the previous page, as well as being the replacement for registers and phase lock loops.

One of the physical traits for current-generation DDR2 FB-DIMMs is a 30mm PCB height. A 38mm PCB is presently in development for DDR3 modules and for those FB-DIMMs boasting an 8GB, or even 16GB, capacity. Other than that, the bare RAM looks almost similar to standard DDR2 memory. FB-DIMM modules are available at this time in DDR2-533/667/800 varieties, while faster models will come shortly. One of the small items to point out is that with the introduction of FB-DIMM AMB chips approximately 5W of heat will be generated per memory module.