It has been well over a year now since DDR3 was first released and in that time we have gone from 800MHz to over 2GHz, yet despite this the latest DDR memory technology has for the most part failed to get off the ground. The majority of high-end desktop computers still use a 5 year old memory standard, that of course being DDR2.

DDR2 was introduced way back in the second quarter of 2003 and at the time was available in 200MHz (PC2-3200) and 266MHz (PC2-4200) flavors. As was the case with DDR3 memory, for quite some time DDR2 performed worse than the original DDR specification due to higher latency, which made total access times longer. Eventually DDR2 reached higher frequencies (667/800MHz) allowing it to overcome the original DDR standard.

However while DDR3 did face similar problems initially, it has now well and truly exceeded the maximum operating frequency of the DDR2 standard. Despite this, DDR3 is for the most part still nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately the problem has nothing to do with the DDR3 memory specification, but rather it is just ahead of its time. For example the Intel Core 2 processors were limited to a memory bandwidth of just 10.6GB/s due to the 333MHz FSB, and the situation is much the same with the latest AMD processors.

Therefore, while DDR3 is capable of providing some pretty unimaginable bandwidths, there are no processors able to utilize it. That was of course until the new Intel Core i7 series came along, abolishing the FSB while at the same time moving the memory controller into the processor itself. Furthermore, Intel has added an extra memory channel, giving the Core i7 processors a triple-channel memory controller.

For the first time we now have a processor that is able to utilize the mammoth memory bandwidths being provided by DDR3 memory. This means that there is now also a reason to purchase DDR3 memory, and finally after more than 12 months in existence, users will start to adopt this latest DDR standard. Unfortunately DDR3 does still come at quite a large price premium, and that will not change until the Core i7 platform goes mainstream which is not suggested to happen within the next 6 months.

Still, those wanting to get onboard the Core i7 train now are going to need a triple-channel DDR3 memory kit, and already there are quite a few to choose from. Now because the Core i7 does support triple-channel memory, the kits are currently available in 3GB or 6GB capacities. As it stands a basic 6GB DDR3-1066/1333 memory kit is going to cost around $170 US.

Faster more aggressively clocked memory is likely to cost much more than that, though if you find the G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 CL9 (6GB) kit it may not be all that much more. Currently retailers are asking around $220 US for this 6GB memory kit, while other brands are fetching upwards of $250 US for similar stuff. So what do you get with this G.Skill DDR3 memory, and how does it handle the new Core i7 processors? Well we are about to find out...