Closer Look:

Reaper 4GB Left - Reaper 2GB Right

This kit follows suit with solid black, aluminum fins and RAM sinks, partially wrapped around a copper heat pipe. The Reaper HPC heat pipe sinks are securely fixed and haven't ever felt otherwise. You wouldn't want anything conductive making a connection with the closest components which is why I kind of like this Reaper HPC design versus their ReaperX. The ReaperX requires a littler more space due to the size of the pipes and fins.

Spec labels on the front of the 4GB kit

Spec labels on the back of the 2GB kit

Do the Heat Pipe Conduits really work? Well, to some degree yes. They really do appear to offer more look than function at stock speeds. The only time I've noticed the pipes to get warm enough to notice has been while overclocked. At stock frequencies and settings, the pipes stay relatively cool with only the motherboard's components kicking up most of the ambient heat.

Heat Pipe Conduits (Copper & Fins)

The 4GB memory kit's timings are stock 5-5-5-15 settings at 2.1 volts. The IC's used to build the kit are most likely Micron D9, but not sure of the following Bin moniker. It could be D9G, D9H, or something else. None the less, 4-4-4-12 timings may be stable at 800 MHz to 975 MHz with a capable board's BIOS memory and chipset voltages set to Auto. At 1000 MHz, you'll most likely need 2.2 to 2.3 volts depending on your motherboard.

Spec labels

One thing that I noticed different about the 4GB vs the 2GB kit is the Extended Voltage Protection warranty. It's much, much more conservative at 2.15 volts where as the previous kit offered 2.35 Volts. It could be due to the more sensitive ICs used to make the 4GB kit. We know some ICs don't do all that well when too much voltage is applied especially in higher densities.

As I mentioned, getting 4GB DDR2 performance kit frequencies above 900 MHz has taken some careful design planning on the part of memory vendors. They ran in to a few challenges finding the correct bins and timings that would be accepted by all the various chipsets. Some motherboards are simply far less forgiving and just don't have the BIOS configurations to operate overclockable 4GB DDR2 kits.

Sleek, black, & sexy

For example, some P35 and X38 motherboards in particular can run fanatical circles around other systems, but run in to issues with the same IC's at 1066 MHz and in a 4GB configuration. This hasn't gone unnoticed either. It's really hard to narrow down to any one particular motherboard vendor at the moment since most of them have stepped up their BIOS update efforts. If your board is having issues of its own, chances are that your motherboard has a BIOS update waiting.

Time to install them

Fortunately, OCZ is pretty good about putting effort in to having their memory modules tested. The PC2-8500 4GB Reaper receives the same attention to detail as the its smaller 2GB sibling. The 2GB kit was and still has been great to work with since it was reviewed. If the 2GB kit is a well tuned memory kit, then the 4GB kit should at least stay true to form.

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