OCZ DDR2 PC2-4200 1GB Gold GX XTC

Examination:

With the short lifespan thus far of OCZ's innovative XTC (Xtreme Thermal Convection) memory heatspreaders, this is only our second time sampling this new design yet we have already come to appreciate its cooling abilities as well as overall aesthetics. Even with the physical differences between DDR and DDR2, OCZ's XTC heatspreaders remain nearly identical between the two standards. To reiterate from our previous OCZ article, rather than the traditional memory heatspreader design of having two pieces of aluminum or copper banded together via clips on the memory, OCZ has invented a new design to prevent the buildup of warm air and to allow additional air to come directly in contact with the ICs and PCB thanks to micro-convection. The old heatspreader design had the potential for warm air pockets between the memory chips and the exterior. In addition to cooling improvements, the heatspreaders also offer a unique and improved appearance compared against traditional stock and after-market heatspreaders. As for the exterior design of the aluminum coolers, there is OCZ's logo in the center while underneath all of that is the honeycomb mesh and a solid frame running around the clip-less heatspreaders. Both sides are identical except for an OCZ sticker that is placed upon one side on each of the modules. The sticker contains the part number (OCZ25331024ELGEGXT-K), speed, (PC2-4200), capacity (512MB, type (EL Dual CH Gold Edition GX XTC), and SPD timings (4-4-4-12).

Uncovering the DDR2 XTC heatspreaders, beneath them we had found ICs labeled OCZ X42A120840C-37. Unfortunately, we do not know the actual IC manufacturer as they were labeled by OCZ. Each of the PCBs contains eight of these DDR2 ICs and is single-sided.