A Closer Look

Winchip has shown off the new heatspreader at Computex and this high-end memory utilizes the gray variant. Both sides have the Winchip logo, which is actually part of the heatspreader and not a sticker. The memory is fairly large, so you may want to make sure it will fit under large CPU heatsinks.


Winchip has placed a holographic sticker on each module. This way you will know that this is an actual Winchip product. If you look closely the text "Quality Memory" can be seen. Each memory DIMM also has a white sticker with all the needed information on the heatspreader. As you can see this memory is rated for 1600 MHz CL8-8-8-15 at 1.95V (+/-0.1V). Removing this sticker will also void the warranty as the serial number of the memory is also on this sticker.


The heatspreaders actually come off quite easily. These use thermal pads, which are not adhesive. While it may not hold as well as tape, it does work quite well, as the heatspreaders do just that - spread the heat out. Winchip has a valid reason for not using 3M thermal tape. Curious customers pull the spreaders off, damaging the chips, so Winchip opted for removable heatspreaders, so customer may take a look and may also replace the heat spreaders with different ones.


These DIMMs are single sided, holding eight chips on one side. The other side is completely empty. This is a 1 GB kit consisting of 2x 512 MB DIMMs. The 2 GB kits will have memory on either side of the PCB.


There is a model no. thats lets you know that Winchip is using a high quality BRAIN Power PCB. The memory chips themselves are made by Elpida. The J5308BASE base memory shows up on a lot of QVLs (Qualified Vendor List) from mainboard manufactures like Gigabyte, Biostar or MSI.