A-DATA Vitesta 800 Memory Review

A-DATA is one of the largest memory producers in Asia with products ranging from desktop and server (DRAM) memory modules to unique consumer related items such as mp3 players and Disney branded flash drives. When the company was founded in 2001 their primary product line was DRAM modules though in 5 short years the company became the number 1 supplier of DRAM modules in Asia. Despite their rapid rise to the top you don't often find A-DATA memory modules here in the US, Instead we find companies like Corsair, Crucial, Muskin, and Patriot dominating the memory space. While this is not likely to change in the near future that's no reason to refrain from checking out the competition.

In this review we will be looking at a pair of Vitesta 800 DDR2 memory modules. These modules are part of the A-DATA Extreme Edition line and bear the Vitesta name as a result. These are 800Mhz modules and feature a CAS 5 speed rating. A-DATA has since revamped their Vitesta memory line to feature higher speed and lower latency modules ranging from DDR2 667 (CAS 4) to DDR2 1066 (CAS 5). We here at Ninjalane tend to gravitate to Low Latency memory modules as they afford us the best performance and overclocking success. However that is not always the case.

It is funny to see how companies market their products, and despite looking very similar on the outside they can be completely different on the inside. For comparison purposes we are using a Crucial Ballistix Tracer module to illustrate this. Aside from the color and logo differences the heatspreadera are identical to the ones on the A-DATA module. Of course the Crucial module features some enthusiast enhancements such as activity and accent lighting. A-DATA on the other hand is more about the memory than the looks.

In a world of Dual Channel memory it is interesting to see that our review modules did not come as a paired memory kit. The pairing process is one practiced by many memory makers to ensure that the two memory modules will perform well together. This process is not a requirement for any Dual Channel application provided that you follow a few simple guidelines.

1) Make sure your memory modules are the same size. (512MB, 1GB, 2GB etc..)
2) Check the timings of each module, if the timings differ assume that the lower timings will be used for system stability.

In the case of the newer line of A-DATA DRAM modules you can easily find them in matched pairs in a variety of speeds with capacities up to 4GB (2GB x2)

As some of you may remember one of my favorite colors is red so when computer mfgs use that color in their products I tend to pay attention. So far there are only three companies that offer red heat spreaders on their modules. Patriot, Muskin and A-DATA. (I'm sure there are more but those are the major 3.)

It's just too bad the PCB isn't red as that would be the color matched icing on the cake.

Some time ago there was a memory maker that actually used red PCBs in their memory modules. If anyone happen to know the name of that company please let us know.