Gigabyte i-RAM

Test System

     For this review I'll be using ABIT's AA8 DuraMAX motherboard which is based on Intel's 925X Express chipset.

Testing

     To test the i-RAM, I'll be using Hard Drive Tach and SiSoft Sandra. The i-RAM was configured with 1 stick of 1gb PC4000 DDR. Here's how the testing went:

     Hard Drive Tach spit out a quick benchmark showing absolutely solid data transfer rates which maxed out the SATA controller on the AA8 motherboard. This is very impressive, even with only one stick of memory!

     Even Sandra showed us similar results. Notice that only 4x SATA 150 drives in RAID 0 could beat the performance of the i-RAM!

Conclusion

     First let's start out with the positive... The i-RAM is definitely one of the fasted storage devices I have ever seen. It's data transfer speed is just incredible! It's incredibly easy to install and there are no drivers to install or confusing internal bios to mess with. With data transfer speed as your only concern, the i-RAM is the ultimate choice for installing operating systems, games, or even as a shared network drive. On the negative side we have several issues. First of all is the limited storage size, 4gb just isn't much these days. Then we have the issue of cost. By the time you purchase four 1gb memory modules and the card, you may be better off running a RAID array. As far as physical defects or quality issues, we found non what so ever. However, if you do purchase the i-RAM, DO NOT USE MEMORY WITH HEAT SPREADERS. There is no room between the memory modules and DDR memory with heatspreaders will not fit. If you do use heatspreaders, the only slot you can use is the top DDR slot, which then limits you to using only one memory module.

     Overall, the Gigabyte i-RAM is a high quality storage device that will max out your SATA controller's "theoretically 1.5Gb/s data transfer rate" found on most new motherboards. If you don't need massive storage and don't mind spending a little money, the i-RAM is the ultimate choice in data storage.