GeIL Black Dragon Dual Channel 4GB DDR3 Kit Review

👤by David Mitchelson  Comments 📅03-11-10

Closer Look

In similar fashion to the Black Dragon DDR2 kits, the Black Dragon DDR3 kits come in a small rectangular box with similar typography and design. Packaging is just packaging but this is indeed pleasant and attractive.

Black Dragon DDR3 box

Taking a glance at the rear of this box we discover the ratings the kit we are to review today. 1600MHz @ Cas 9 - 9-9-9-28. 2GB X 2. There are C7 and C8 kits available but this is going to be the cheapest of the bunch.

Ratings label printed on reverse of box

Being a memory kit there isn't anything out of the ordinary included. In fact there are the modules securely placed into plastic casing and a warning leaflet which provides important information about the SPD and voltages.

Black Dragon DDR3 bundle

Removing the modules from their packaging its clear to see the distinct difference between the Black Dragon modules and other kits on the market. The Black Dragon modules appear to have no heatspreaders. Other modules that operate at similar speeds and voltages appear to have large heatspreaders to prevent the modules from overheating but since the Black Dragon doesn't appear to have any does this mean that they will overheat? Do the lack of heatspreaders compared to other manufactured modules highlight that the technical requirement is irrelevant and this is just a marketing ploy?

Underneath a typical heatspreader you would discover a green PCB, but GeIL have used a black PCB with golden accents which sets the modules off very nicely. Visually the Black Dragon kit is a very appealing.

Beautiful black PCB with golden accents

A closeup of the memory chips on the modules

Due to the Black Dragon modules having no heatspreader this has a distinct advantage, bare modules mean less likelihood that there will be compatibility problems when installing other components such as CPU coolers. As CPU coolers get bigger, this is presenting more and more problems with getting memory into the slots on the motherboard. See below the slim-line profile on the Black Dragon modules.