Introduction

Over the past couple of months, there's been quite an uproar on various tech forums about Samsung's latest 30 nm Low-Power "Green" DDR3. During the time since they were "discovered", we've seen reports of 1600 MHz sticks hitting 2400 MHz and more, a healthy 50%+ overclock ability that in today's memory market is very near unheard of. Non-plussed, I managed to source a sample to take a look, and investigate the hype. Here's what Samsung has to say about their latest Low Power "Green" DDR3 on their website:

First in the Market with Advanced DDR3

Double Data Rate Three, Synchronous DRAM, or DDR3, is the new generation of high performance, ultra-low-power memory interface technology used in high performance servers, desktops and notebooks. As the number one supplier in memory, Samsung continues to lead the industry with cutting-edge SDRAM products from the first DDR in 1997, DDR2 in 2001 and DDR3 in 2005. Samsung's high performance main memory solutions are based on JEDEC standards and leverage the company's leadership in advanced research and development of semiconductor process technology.

Samsung's DDR3 brings new levels of performance to notebooks, desktops and servers and pushes the envelope in key areas like power consumption, speed and bandwidth. Our recent 30nm class, 1.35V, 2Gb DDR3 is the world's first ultra-low-power memory technology, with more than a 76% power savings over traditional DDR2 at 2x the bandwidth. When you're ready to make a move to DDR3 or are considering upgrading your systems, we're here to provide the best optimal solution for enhancing your competitive edge.

As far as I am aware of, Samsung hasn't had a memory product that excited enthusiasts since the release of their 1.8v HCF0 ICs, which although decent overclockers, were eclipsed by other products on the market that went just that much further. Of course, those HCF0 weren't 30nm, nor were they rated for operation at 1.35 V. Are these new sticks worth the hype the receive?

Specifications