New DDR Highs: Shikatronics, OCZ, and the Fastest Memory Yet

Several months ago, we reviewed Corsair and OCZ DDR550. Those memories were based on the 2^nd generation Hynix memory chips, called Hynix B, and offered the highest memory speeds that we had tested up to that point. Hynix has continued development of the B chip, and we're taking a look at two new memories based on the latest Hynix B chips. Both are rated at DDR550, and both extend memory speed to even higher levels than what we saw in the last generation.

OCZ requires no introduction, as they have been in the forefront in recent months with some of the fastest enthusiast memory on the market. Shikatronics, however, is probably not a familiar brand name to many in the United Sates. Based in Montreal, Shikatronics has produced memory since 1989, and is well-known in North and South America as an OEM for memory products. Shikatronics recently decided to market their own brand of Enthusiast RAM, which they call ShikaXRAM. When Shika asked if we would like to take a look at their DDR550 product, we talked with them about their goals, manufacturing philosophies, and Customer Service. We liked what we heard and agreed to take a look at their new products. However, we really were not prepared for the outstanding performance that we found with the Shikatronics DDR550.

Since both the ShikaXRAM PC4400 and OCZ PC4400 EL Gold are based on the same Hynix B chips, we decided to look at both the memories in the same review. We think that you will be as surprised as we were at how very well both new products performed in our memory benchmarks.