The DDR Maximizer has landed in Canada...thanx to XS and Hipro5!!!
The day has finally come where south-western ontario has been graced by the presence of the finest memory overclocking accesory there is on the planet known as earth.
3oh6 presents:
hipro-tech.com
DDR maximizer v1.2
I will only be able to provide some photos at this time as I am busier than i can handle right now with work and haven't the time to do some proper benching but you can be sure...this is not the last you will see of the DDR Maximizer from me.
A big thank-you goes out to Hipro5 as well as XtremeSystems for the contest that allowed me to own this fine piece of electronic equipment. Be sure to check back often as I update this thread with some DDRII clocking goodness :thumbsup:
*edit* October 28/06
So I got ancy and I couldn't just let this beautiful piece of hardware sit here and not even play with it a little bit. I don't have the P5B-Dlx ready for action because I need to unsolder a coil which I can't do until early next week but I can at least hook the Maximizer up and get comfortable with the unit...so I did just that.
All voltages are in DDRII mode
Lowest possible voltage in dip switch mode...1.66v:
A few dip switches turned on...1.80v:
All dip switches turned on...max voltage in dip switch mode...2.29v~2.30v:
Turning on each dip switch increases voltage .40v (40mv) through the scale that is possible. This makes it quite easy to adjust voltage in small increments, just a flip of a switch. Next, I hit the button and went into trimmer mode.
The lowest voltage in trimmer mode...1.73v:
A few turns of the trimmer easily get us over the 2.30v limit of dip switch mode:
Max voltage in trimmer mode...2.88v~2.89v:
The .01v flicker seen in the photos is completely normal and a result of the IC that the LED display reads from, its manufacturers tolerance is +/- 0.01v. hipro-tech explains this in the manual.
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October 23/06 Update:
Install on P5B-Dlx:
I guess I have no patience...this morning I woke up and went straight to work. Upon further investigation, the P5B-Dlx (rev 1.03) is compatible with the Maximizer without the choke removal according to the man himself, Hipro5. If you can't trust the man who designed, and built the unit then who can you trust?
Installation is about as easy as installing a new kit of memory:
Simply hook up the cable to the rear of the Maximizer unit and the cable to the DDRII PCB. Both 4-pin molex cables need to be plugged in to the power supply for power and all that is left is to drop the PCB into the slot like you would a normal DDRII module. Hiro-tech reccomends placing the PCB in-between the two DDRII modules for better power distribution so thats where it goes. You can see above that I have routed the cable from the PCB under the Ultra-120 and around to the I/O panel side of the motherboard. I found this routing to be the "flattest" way to have the PCB installed allowing me to still place fans above the memory modules.
2.45v set in BIOS...a couple quick tests to make sure everything is A-OK:
I obviously tested and setup the Maximizer before installing the unit and I would recommend the same for everyone. Initially I had the vDIMM set in the BIOS at 2.45v and you can see on the Maximizer that the LED closest to the DMM is green indicating that I have the Maximizer in dip switch mode which provides a maximum of only 2.30v, so clearly the system is using the vDIMM supplied by the motherboard.
1.80v set in BIOS:
Now with a red LED closest to the DMM means the Maximizer is in trimmer mode and the voltage reading on both the DMM and Maximizer indicates the vDIMM is now being supplied by the Maximizer...without the choke being removed. It appears that I have confirmed that the P5B-Dlx, at least revision 1.03, is fully compatible with the Maximizer. whether the P5B-Dlx vDIMM components can handle more than 2.45v for extended periods of time is another question. That is why I will be staying a relatively low voltage (2.50v) for now, until I remove the choke.
This is how my setup looks on air:
Despite having the taller Maximizer PCB with the cable in the middle slot, I am still capable of having a couple fans keeping the northbridge and DIMM slots cool. I will run the oard like this for a while but like I said, I won't be going over 2.50v because I absolutely cannot kill this board until another one comes in as a back-up and on monday or tuesday I should have my soldering iron back so the choke will come out and I will start the official testing of my Corsair 8500 C5s.
First Impressions:
Overall my first impressions of this wonderful unit are obviously positive. The user manual has all the information there but could be revised to make it a little easier to understand. Within 5 minutes, however, of playingwith the PCB not in use; I was able to figure everything out and was jumping between modes like I had the Maximizer all my life. It is quite an easy piece of hardware to both use, and setup.
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December 24/06 Update:
I have been using the hipro-tech.com DDR maximizer v1.2 for a full two months now on my P5B-Dlx and it has performed flawlessly. I did not end up modding the board or removing the coil and there are absolutely no ill effects. The only recomendation I have is that the unit does get really warm when sitting on my desk and I have since been using an 80mm fan sitting on top to cool it. It doesn't get to the point where it overheats and does not function properly, but the casing does get warm to the touch. Be sure to have a look at the second post in this thread below for results on what the DDR Maximizer has done for me.
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took a while but made it there 
Originally Posted by 3oh6
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