OCZ intros DDR3 enthusiast memory

Sunnyvale (CA) - OCZ announced PC3-8500 and PC3-10666 memory modules for Intel 3-series chipset motherboards.

The new memory devices run at a speed of 1066 MHz (8500) and 1333 MHz (10666). DDR3 promises improved performance through technologies that are new in DDR3, including an 8 bit/clock cycle data prefetch as well as I/Os that run at eight times the core clock speed of the memory - making it about 8x faster than a theoretical SDRAM part and 2x faster than a DDR2 module running at the same clock speed, according to OCZ.

While DDR3 memory has lower supply voltage than DDR2 (1.5 volts instead of 1.8 volts), which means that the power consumption per clock cycle has been improved, higher clock speeds actually increase the power consumption of the new memory. OCZ estimates that the "average" power consumption and heat generation will be 38% higher compared to a DDR2 device.

OCZ Gold DDR3 modules are currently available in "limited quantities" and are offered in 2 x 512MB and 2 x 1024MB dual channel kits.

Pricing has not been announced.