Continuing on from our Athlon 64 X2 4200+ and Sempron 3400+ Linux benchmarks, today we have looked at AMD's DDR2 performance with their Socket AM2. Using the system we used to deliver our initial AMD AM2 performance results, we have run a matched pair of Corsair XMS2-5400UL DDR2 through its paces at different frequencies. Used for the memory benchmarking under Linux was RAMspeed, which is an open-source cache and memory benchmark, and has been part of our Phoronix Linux benchmarking suite for some time now.

Continuing on from our Athlon 64 X2 4200+ and Sempron 3400+ Linux benchmarks, today we have looked at AMD's DDR2 performance with their Socket AM2. Using the system we used to deliver our initial AMD AM2 performance results, we have run a matched pair of Corsair XMS2-5400UL DDR2 through its paces at different frequencies. Used for the memory benchmarking under Linux was RAMspeed, which is an open-source cache and memory benchmark, and has been part of our Phoronix Linux benchmarking suite for some time now.

It could also provide a means to help AMD put distance between itself and PC processor rival Intel Corp. which, so far, has said it does not see a need to go to SOI technology. AMD's licensing of Z-RAM could also have implications for IBM and Chartered Semiconductor, with which AMD is aligned.

?The dramatic increase in density offered by ISi?s Z-RAM embedded memory can enable much larger on-chip microprocessor cache memories resulting in improved performance and reduced I/O power consumption,? said Craig Sander, corporate vice president of technology development at AMD.

Z-RAM promises 5 times the density of SRAM so could we see dual core chips with 5MB of L2 per core? The story also alludes to this tech showing up in AMD CPUs as soon as two years from now. In two years Fab 36 will be at full capacity, and 65nm will be well in hand. I for one wouldn't mind an ?FX60 with 10MB of L2 cache, or perhaps by then a quad core FX100 with 40MB of L2? :) On the Innovative Silicon site you can find white papers and an independent analysis for their technology. Apparently it is good enough to get them financial backing from Austin Ventures. We will see what else we can discover about Z-RAM and report what we find out. Update: It appears now that current Z-RAM technology is fast enough for an L2 cache, but not for high end processors. It is possible that AMD could utilize Z-RAM for a L3 cache, or that the memory technology could improve enough so that L2 cache usage is possible.

For many people, the stock speed of their systems is more than adequate for their needs. But since you're reading this site, there is a good chance you're an overclocker. For overclockers, having components that can easily allow you to push your CPU to the max is one of the key goals in gaining a high performing system.