Intro:

    PC modding, and modding products are here to stay if you hadn't noticed. Enthusiasts of greatly varying degrees, mod, purchase mod products, and drive this somewhat niche industry that higher tier PC makers have almost totally avoided. On that note, it's always nice to see a new manufacturer emerge, and bring new things to the table. Today is just that sort of day. I'll be looking at a new product, from a new company, Razotech. If making your memory flicker with bright LED's sounds like fun, you'll want to continue on...


About Razotech (Excerpt):

    Since Razotech is a new company, here is a bit of background info. Although mainly geared for resellers, you'll get the gist of it.

    Founded in October 2004, Neo Maxim Corp. is dedicated to provide high performance PC gaming cases, PC modification accessories, multimedia speaker systems, and much more innovative products for today’s cutting edge personal computer systems. Located in Walnut, CA. we strive to not only provide the latest design and highest quality products for gaming enthusiasts and professionals all over, but also pair it with the best price and well-rounded service that is second to none.

    In this age of rapidly evolving technology and industry, computers are now much more than just data storage devices. We proudly separate ourselves from the rest by having the ability to adapt ourselves to market trends and demands. We see the computer as more than just a typewriter with a screen, but a reflection of your personality and style. A computer that is both reliable and stylish. A computer that can help you stand out at any occasion and location - a computer that is uniquely yours. This is what we have been striving for our customers. Neo Maxim Corp. is the one-stop shopping center for all your computing needs.

    We offer the most comprehensive collection of pc cases and accessories with a large warehouse that allows us to always keep a variety of products in stock for our customers. Our dedicated shipping department works hard to guarantee all your orders arrive in a timely fashion.


Features:

• Supports all DIMM Modules.
• 8 styles of light twinkling diodes.
• 3 colors to choose from: Blue, Red, Green

The packaging and what you get:

    I have to say the retail packaging is pleasing. You get to see what the actual mod looks like, while all the cables and accessories are neatly packed away inside the box. The back side of the packaging tells such things as the color, and the brief features as listed above.

(1) Front of package	(2) Back of package

    Opening up the package reveals what you see below. Two clips that go onto your ram module, a near 5 inch piece of two-sided tape to hold the Ram Mod onto the clips, which really you only need two small pieces to go on the clips, so having the extra is nice. A blue cover for the pass-through Molex connector. Continuing on, the Ram Mod itself, and a PCI slot push button switch that has all the wiring attached. Even included is a screw for your PCI slot. A very complete package I'd say, if it weren't for something maybe obviously missing. I'll come back around to that after the next section.

(3) Unpacked

A closer look at the LED module:

    I found the Ram Mod to be very hard to photograph because of the clear plastic above the LED control module. They came out pretty good, but not as well as I'd like. Anyway, by clicking on the 3 pictures below, you can see the various sides of the Ram Mod. They pretty much speak for themselves, so I'll observe a moment of silence...

(4) Side view	(5) Top view, sort of...	(6) The bottom (Note: 5 LED's are in it.)

Installing:

    So now comes the fun part. Installing this bad boy. At this time, I won't physically mount it semi-permanently now, but you get the idea I think. After some head scratching, looking twice for something that perhaps I missed, I figured it out. And yes, that means there were no instructions. Nor were there any on the web.

    So here is my interpretation of instructions: Carefully push your plastic clips onto your ram. Honestly, I don't have any ram that has heat spreaders on it, but I'm pretty confident that the clips will fit over your heat spreaders. I'm going from memory of RDram actually...Getting back on track, you may want to actually put them in a ram slot to make sure you can still get your ram clips clipped down. After that, cut your two-sided tape, or if you are brave and wasteful, it actually seems that the tape is just about long enough to just put on the clips. Keep in mind that the clips that you put over your ram module will be holding the LED module, so get out your scissors for a bit more professional installation. Lastly, it's time to put your PCI slot switch assembly in, and get power to it via the Molex with pass-through. You've got about 20" of wire from the connector that goes into the Ram Mod, and the switch on the PCI slot plate, which should be more than enough in most instances. In hindsight, having a bit extra wouldn't hurt, but I don't think that's really necessary. You also have about 1' of wire between the Molex and the ram module power connector as well. With some thought into wire management, you should be able to hide all that stuff somewhere. Perhaps behind the mainboard?

(7) The clips	(8) Hook the power	(9) Pretty much installed

C'mon baby light my fire:

    Turning on the power yields what you see below. It is taken in a low light environment, and with that being said, the LED's are very bright. Perfect for those with windows, or clear cases obviously. I could see these in a custom modded case, through some form of transparent or opaque mod. That is, if you didn't put a kit on your ram. The potential is there. It's up to you though really.

(10) Lit up on the desk

Flashing modes in very brief:

    With 8 different flashing themes, going from Knight Rider, to other "chase" modes, to even a fade in and fade out, this thing is going to be very hard to ignore. Two things stand out for me though, out of all the modes, there is no just plain OFF, or all LED's ON. Sniffle...


Summary:

    Honestly, I'm not really behind why the "mod industry" as a whole, thinks we need everything to flash with Christmas tree light enthusiasm. You're either for it, or against it. I'll leave out my personal views, and not have it effect the rating on "twinkle twinkle little star," review. In all fairness, if you want your ram module(s) to shine, this is something to highly consider. Although doing two ram sticks at once, which would be important I think, since Dual Channel DDR memory is what is going on now, and will be in the foreseeable future, is easy remedied by buying two kits. With that being said, what comes to my mind though, is that wire routing might rear it's ugly head a bit, as well as the old timeless question of; Why 10 hot dogs in a package, and 8 hot dog buns in a package? (Hint: Think 2 ram modules, 1 LED mod.)

    After doing some quick research, no other company has thought of Dual Channel Ram and made a bundle for such a thing. All it would take is a Y-splitter. I'm sure the resourceful could find, and make your own 3 pin connectors from an old phone battery or something...But that is a different story.

"A great way to liven up your Ram!"

Pros:

   •  Very bright LED's
   •  8 different patterns
   •  Universal fit on Ram Modules
   •  Very unique look
   •  PCI slot controls
   •  Can be used again, since they go onto Ram by plastic clips


Cons:

   •  No ON or OFF for the Ram Mod
   •  No instructions included
   •  Very bright LED's

The movie:

    It's been a while since I did a movie, so, here is one. I took it with my digital camera, which tends to be a bit under exposed. The LED's are much brighter than what you see. The movie runs at only 15FPS, so expect the Ram Mod in person to be very fluid in lighting changes. The movie is in Windows Media 9 format, zipped, has a runtime of 1:22, and it's about 1500kb. Click the picture below to get it for your viewing pleasure.

(11) The motion picture show

Closing:

    I'd like to thank Razotech for sponsoring their new Ram Mod for review. Go check out their site, as some of their cool looking cases are making their way onto their website. If interested in purchasing this, if you are a reseller, you can get them at Razotech, or if you are an end user, at Tech Sunny. I hope you enjoyed this review. Thanks for coming by! Until next time...
 

Pre-launch update:

    Due to a miscommunication between Razotech, and the packaging manufacturer, the instructions should have been on the insert. Razotech has them on their website now, and I have them below as well. For intensive purposes, about 10% should/could be added back into the score if instructions were included. Razotech has informed me that future shipments will contain instructions.

(12) Instructions

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