OCZ Flex XLC Memory Review

[Ryan]

Hey guys, if you get a chance, read my OCZ Flex XLC memory review posted up today:

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=368

These modules are pretty impressive!

[Ryan]

If you give it a read, please give it a DIGG here too: http://digg.com/hardware/New_OCZ_Fle...liquid_cooling

[Nicepants42]

The one thing I'd like to know and have not been able to find out (despite emailing OCZ and AT) is what metals the waster contacts when passing through the block. There's a nice picture that says "copper liquid injection system" but OCZ sure did a good job of making the barbs appear to be threaded into aluminum billet, and the words 'hybrid', 'aluminum', 'copper', and 'liquid' are thrown around in a very unspecific way in OCZ's literature, while the word 'anodized' is nowhere to be found.

"Here is the OCZ Flex XLC module in the flesh; as you can see the design is definitely unique and will surely get anyone that sees them talking and asking questions." Questions? Like what, exactly? Let me see if I can predict the questions that would be asked:

1. "Those look sweet, what speed and timings are they running at?"
2. "How much did they cost?"
3. "What are your temps like?"

Apparently no one asks:
4: "What are the blocks made of?"

Considering that this memory is supposedly being marketed to water cooling enthusiasts, it'd be nice to know if a little extra corrosion inhibitor is needed here. Being a water cooling enthusiast myself, I'd be annoyed if my Storm G4 came apart in my loop because I didn't know what kind of blocks I was using. I'm very surprised no one has addressed this yet. Please correct me if it's been clarified somewhere.

Other than that, nice review. AT didn't even test the benefits of the water blocks, so you're definitely on the right track, but I think you need to compare the maximum speed under water, the maximum speed using air, and the maximum speed using both air and water. Don't you think your readers would want to know WHY they're paying extra for water blocks? If using water doesn't increase the maximum operating speed, then the only reasons to use water would be the lower operating temperatures and possibly lower noise, which would certainly mean that SOME users would spend their $430 differently.

I'd be interested in seeing how the PC6400C3 performs under water as well - considering that the price nearly doubles from 800mhz to 1150mhz, it'd be great to see how far the PC6400 can be pushed.

[Drisler]

Nice Review. Dugg!

[Ryan]

Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated. I'm going to ping OCZ on that question now!

[Ryan]

Ask and you shall receive! Here's the answer straight from OCZ:

The barbs are indeed aluminum, and have been treated. Inside the chamber there is a circular tube that is completely made of copper. On the backside of the heatspreader the flat plate is also copper which is plated to match the platinum finish. The entire heatspreader has been treated so the two metals do not interact negatively, and so that the entire unit is more corrosion resistant.

[Nicepants42]

Ask and you shall receive! Here's the answer straight from OCZ:

The barbs are indeed aluminum, and have been treated. Inside the chamber there is a circular tube that is completely made of copper. On the backside of the heatspreader the flat plate is also copper which is plated to match the platinum finish. The entire heatspreader has been treated so the two metals do not interact negatively, and so that the entire unit is more corrosion resistant.

Well, that's good to hear, and thanks for nailing down an answer - that is a lot more than any other site (that I'm aware of) has done. Now someone needs to convince OCZ's marketing department that details like this should be clearly stated in the product literature!

[rant]
I don't mean to be an overly-technical jackass, but with all the 'luxury PC' crap going on where people are buying based on cool-factor alone, many companies are getting vague on the details. Notice that OCZ's reply doesn't specify how the aluminum was treated - not that I want to know the chemical make-up of the solutions and the amount of current used, but is it that hard to say 'anodized' or 'chrome plated'? I mean, this was a specific question that came from a review site, so it's not like the person asking the question doesn't care about the answer - so why answer with 'treated' when you could actually be specific?
[/rant]

[Ryan]

True enough -- we'll always try to get more information on the "new innovations" that these companies are putting out.

And my thanks goes to you for pointing it out to us!

[OverDamage]

Great review, I can't wait to use this memory (I have a set of PC9200 ordered)!

The mixed metal is probably the only drawback I can see with this stuff, other than the price. I will be useing Fluid XP in my loop so I'm not too worried about corrosion, but it would be nice to see a 100% copper edition, if only to ease the minds of water users.

[Nicepants42]

Ryan,

At this point, everyone knows that these ICs can run very fast. You showed us how much of a temperature decrease we could expect using water, and even compared that to the temperature we'd get using the Dominators with their custom fan. You even pretty much cleared up the issue of how the blocks were made (and even though I personally am less than thrilled with mixed metals, at least OCZ said the stuff was treated to prevent corrosion).

The only question left is how much speed does water get you? I respect your stance on showing maximum overclocks in your memory reviews due to all the variables - I even agree with you. But in this case you have a situation where the only variable is the water loop, and I think it would benefit your readers to know if there is any SPEED benefit when using water.

[downunder123]

What i was wondering: What tubing fits to the Watercooling plugs? I would like to use 11/8 tube, does it fight tight and securely?

thx in advance