We see the return of an old DDR2 favourite, the Black Dragon series is back in an assortment of DDR3 flavours.
Product on Review: GeIL Black Dragon PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Manufacturer and Sponsor: GeIL
Street Price: £70
When you think memory what brands come into your mind? GeIL are certainly a brand that have been at the very top of that list for myself. Concerned primarily with the manufacturing of memory, GeIL have an extensive range of modules to choose from. Their memory product range is probably one of the biggest out there. See for yourself.
Today I will be taking a look at a kit found under the DDR3 gaming section named Black Dragon. The Black Dragon series was a keen favourite whilst under the DDR2 paradigm. The Black Dragon series is available in dual, quad, triple and hexa channel and within these bands there are frequencies 1066MHz right through to 2200MHz and a range of Cas timings – 7, 8 and 9. So plenty of options there. I will be taking a look at the PC3-12800 1600MHz CAS9 Dual Channel Kit.
GeIL’s Take:
For years, the DDR2 Black Dragon gaming memory has been one of the most popular choice of memories when it comes to PC gaming and GeIL remains active in the gaming communities. Now GeIL is proud to announce the return of the Black Dragon Gaming Memory Series in DDR3 form. Like its’ predecessor, the DDR3 Black Dragon utilize dynamically tested IC for performance, customized 8-layer Black Dragon PCB for low power noise and DBT (Die-hard Burn-in Technology) tested modules for maximum reliability, the DDR3 Black Dragon is the choice when it comes to hardcore PC gaming.
Specifications
– Available in 2GB(1GBx2) & 4GB(2GBx2) Dual Channel Package
– Available CAS: 7-7-7,8-8-8,9-9-9
– 240 pin, Non-ECC, Un-buffered DIMM
Working Voltage
– 1600MHz C7 & C8(1GBx2): 1.6/1.8 V*
– 1600MHz C7 & C8(2GBx2): 1.6/1.9 V*
– 1600MHz C9: 1.6V
Heat Spreader
– 8 Layers Custom Black Dragon PCB with LED
DBT (Die-hard Burn-in Technology) Enhanced
Lifetime Warranty
Closer Look
In similar fashion to the Black Dragon DDR2 kits, the Black Dragon DDR3 kits come in a small rectangular box with similar typography and design. Packaging is just packaging but this is indeed pleasant and attractive.
Black Dragon DDR3 box
Taking a glance at the rear of this box we discover the ratings the kit we are to review today. 1600MHz @ Cas 9 – 9-9-9-28. 2GB X 2. There are C7 and C8 kits available but this is going to be the cheapest of the bunch.
Ratings label printed on reverse of box
Being a memory kit there isn’t anything out of the ordinary included. In fact there are the modules securely placed into plastic casing and a warning leaflet which provides important information about the SPD and voltages.
Black Dragon DDR3 bundle
Removing the modules from their packaging its clear to see the distinct difference between the Black Dragon modules and other kits on the market. The Black Dragon modules appear to have no heatspreaders. Other modules that operate at similar speeds and voltages appear to have large heatspreaders to prevent the modules from overheating but since the Black Dragon doesn’t appear to have any does this mean that they will overheat? Do the lack of heatspreaders compared to other manufactured modules highlight that the technical requirement is irrelevant and this is just a marketing ploy?
Underneath a typical heatspreader you would discover a green PCB, but GeIL have used a black PCB with golden accents which sets the modules off very nicely. Visually the Black Dragon kit is a very appealing.
Beautiful black PCB with golden accents
A closeup of the memory chips on the modules
Due to the Black Dragon modules having no heatspreader this has a distinct advantage, bare modules mean less likelihood that there will be compatibility problems when installing other components such as CPU coolers. As CPU coolers get bigger, this is presenting more and more problems with getting memory into the slots on the motherboard. See below the slim-line profile on the Black Dragon modules.
Thin profile on the modules improves compatibility
Performance & Overclocking
Being a dual channel, this kit is designed for the Intel 1156 and AMD platform. In order for us to gage how well the Black Dragon performs, I will be comparing it at stock speeds against Mushkin EM3-10666 (9-9-9-24) 1333MHz and OCZ Black Edition PC3-12800 1600MHz (8-8-8-24) DDR3 kits and then overclocking it as far as it will allow me. CPU clock speed will be kept at the default of 2.8GHz so that all other parameters are taken out of the equation and the overclock can run freely without anything affecting it.
System Components
CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics MSI 8800GTX
Memory
4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 1333MHz DDR3
4GB OCZ Black Edition PC3-12800 1600MHz
4GB GeIL Black Dragon PC3 12800 1600MHz
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU OCZ Fatal1ty 750W
Overclocking
This is the part that a lot of readers get excited about, and rightly so. If you are investing in a new memory kit you want to know how much performance you can squeeze out of the modules. Sadly though, it isn’t good news. Originally I was sent a kit that was rated at 1800MHz and I could not get that kit past 1800MHz at all, I altered many variables in the hope that I might be able to get even the slightest overclock but the kit would not yield. That kit was sent back and another kit was sent out – today’s 1600MHz kit.
With a new kit sent out, hope was rekindled but again I was let down. This kit would not budge from 1600MHz at all. I could tighten the timings ever so slightly to 8-9-9-28 but nothing else. Frequency overclock was a no go, even after altering different variables like the voltage. This was quite disheartening. I browsed over to another review site that reviewed the exact same kit and I discovered the same problem had befallen them: http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/geil_black__dragon/3.htm so I wasn’t on my own. It seems that this kit is incapable of overclocking on the 1156 or AMD platform. Certainly on the 890FX that I am using it will not budge in the slightest.
Like the guys at Overclockers Club I was intrigued to find out if this kit behaves in the same manner whilst installed on an X58 board so I popped it into the ASUS Rampage III Formula. Here I was able to achieve big overclocks without any problems. 1866MHz (933MHz) @ 10-10-10-28 and 1911MHz (955MHz) @ 10-10-10-28.
So it seems this kit isn’t liking the chipset on the M4A89TD PRO. But as Overclockers Club highlighted, the 1156 platform is also affected, and X58 board that I was able to get results on isn’t even dual channel. Something is badly wrong here!
NOTE: different chipset drivers and BIOS updates were used to eliminate bugs.
AIDA64
AIDA64 Extreme Edition is an industry leading system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for enthusiasts PC users, based on the award-winning EVEREST Technology. EVEREST has since been decommissioned and AIDA has sprung back to life. During system optimizations and tweaking it provides essential system and overclock information, advanced hardware monitoring and diagnostics capabilities to check the effects of the applied settings. CPU, FPU and memory benchmarks are available to measure the actual system performance and compare it to previous states or other systems.
3DMark Vantage
3DMark Vantage is benchmark suite designed computer systems offering one-click simplicity for casual users and detailed, professional grade testing for industry, press and enthusiasts.
A 3DMark score is a measure of your computer’s performance across a variety of 3D operations.
SiSoftware SANDRA
SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software.
Sandra is a (girl) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.
It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCI-X, PCIe (PCI Express), database, USB, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.
Street Fighter IV Benchmark
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Street-Fighter-IV-Benchmark-download-2310.html
Test whether your hardware is up to scratch for the PC release of Street Fighter 4. Capcom has released Street Fighter 4 PC benchmark tool, allowing you to test how well the fighter will run on your computer or if you simply want to oggle it in motion. The 397MB download contains several bouts, filled with hadoukens and kicks to the face. You can also rate your system the old-fashioned way — against the requirements. A tool which allows you to measure the performance for your PC.
Unreal Tournament 3 Benchmark
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Unreal-Tournament-3-Benchmark-Tool-download-1816.html
Unreal Tournament is a popular FPS for the PC and has always featured highly in benchmarks. It’s engine is testing, and will endeavour to separate performance where performance is due. This benchmark tool by Guru3D allows benchmarks on many maps/environments within the game and outputs minimum, maximum and average FPS making it an excellent tool to determine performance gains.
Mafia II Benchmark
Mafia II is the undisputed gangster action/adventure game by 2K Czech. Companied with the game is a benchmark test that lasts for over 2 minutes, at the end of this action fly routine the minimum, maximum and average FPS are displayed giving you a good assumption of how Mafia II will run on the given system
Conclusion
The Black Dragon series from GeIL is good performing kit, out of the box there is some pleasing performance to be had especially if you are going to use these modules primarily for gaming. With the Black Dragon modules having no heatspreader, there is little to no worry about physical compatibility with CPU heatsinks. GeIL have dressed the modules with a lovely black PCB and splashed golden accents all over to give this kit a striking appearance.
Sadly though the overclocking is below par. As discussed in the overclocking section, this kit has big problems with 1156 and AM3 boards. This isn’t a one off or a bad coincidence either because this is the second kit that has been sent and as I identified, there are others who have reported this problem too. The Black Dragon 1600MHz Dual Channel kit would not nudge over 1600MHz regardless of various parameters being altered such as voltage or DRAM timings. Removing this kit from the 890FX board and slotting it into the triple channel ASUS Rampage III Formula (which is X58) highlights that the issue is with the chipset, because the kit responded well to the X58 board allowing me to overclock all the way to 2000MHz.
This kit can be bought for around £70. If you are thinking about buying a Black Dragon DDR3 kit be sure to keep in mind that this problem is present and you may be stuck at the stock performance which although constraining is fairly reasonable.
Pros
+ Good performance
+ Attractive styling
+ Low profile
+ DBT tested
Cons
– Poor chipset compatibility
– Will not overclock on Intel 1156 or AMD 890
+ Good performance
+ Attractive styling
+ Low profile
+ DBT tested
Cons
– Poor chipset compatibility
– Will not overclock on Intel 1156 or AMD 890
