Corsair and NVIDIA recently published information about their new EPP concept, short for Enhanced Performance Profiles. EPP is a technology that takes the use of SPD one step further by storing more information about the memory’s optimal settings on the modules. Just as today’s memory modules has a frequnecy and latencies specified, which the motherboard can read from the SPD, EPP adds a new dimension of settings. EPP is simply an extension of SPD which adds further information about votages and loads of latency settings.
To be able to read these extended performance profiles you require support from motherboards and with the modules of course. NVIDIA’s nForce 590 chispet series sports EPP and now Corsair has launched the first modules using EPP. These are two 2GB DDR2-SDRAM kits better known as Corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5 and TWIN2X2048-6400C4. The first is a memory kit with two 1GB DDR2 modules specified at 1066MHz frequency and 5-5-5-12 latencies at 2.2v. The latter kit is specified at 800MHz and use 4-4-4-12 latencies at the same voltage.
These modules tells us two things, dual channel kits are starting to become standard, more or less, a tendency we’ve seen for some time. At the same time, enthusiast modules are now adays at 1GB and as the 2GB kits are getting more and more common we close in on the first 4GB memory kits with 2GB modules.
“The TWIN2X2048-8500C5 and the TWIN2X2048-6400C4 are the first in the XMS family of products to feature Enhanced Performance Profiles. These modules have also been certified “SLI Ready”. The EPP feature elevates memory performance by utilizing the advanced memory timings captured in the unused portion of the JEDEC standard Serial Presence Detect (SPD). EPP brings simplified overclocking success for entry level enthusiasts, and access to more advanced memory specifications and a higher recovery point for hard-core overclockers.”
