Mushkin 6GB (3x2GB) XP series DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz Kit
Packaging & Appearance
Published: 10th March 2009 | Source: Mushkin | Price: TBC |
The Mushkin packaging is basic by todays standards. It is presented in a blister style package that will afford the DDR3 the very minimum of protection against knocks and scrapes but this style of packaging does protect well against static, the biggest killer of memory. The rear of the package gives the end user basic installation and troubleshooting tips but it appears to be generic rather than specific to this kit. No where on the package is there any mention of what kit you have bought or its voltage and timings required. Only the DDR3 sticks themselves have a sticker displaying the specification which is something to bear in mind should you install the kit first before checking.
The sticks themselves are clad in an attractive black aluminium heatsink with the Mushkin logo towards one end. Sadly the PCB is green but fortunately this matches the green logo of Mushkin so they are forgiven on this occasion.
The sticks are identical on each side save for a specification sticker which displays the part number (all three sticks carry the same), the timings (7-8-7-20) and the voltage required to run at this speed (1.65v).
The business end of the heatsink features a loop over effect, traditional to Muskin performance ram and appeared to be effective as the sinks barely got warm to the touch even after a couple of hours testing. Holding the heatsinks together are two bare metal clasps that straddle both sides of the heatsink. Removing this clasp is very easy but unless the stick is carefully peeled away it might tear it. Removing the heatsinks would invalidate the warranty so don't try this at home kids!
With the heatsinks removed we can see that the method of attachment is thermal tape. This method is perhaps the most effective as it allows for varying heights of the integrated chips. The IC's themselves are Elpida chips which are not exactly renown for being amazing overclockers with tight timings but are very durable chips that stand the test of time.
After replacing the heatsinks I began to overclock the Mushkin kit as far as our test rig would allow. Let's see how I got on...
Most Recent Comments
Good review and very interesting kit... 500MHz overclock by loosening the timings quite a lot. It's pretty much been proven that generally more MHz is better than tighter timings so I'm sure at 2100MHz the kit would fly. Did ya get any benchmarks of the kit overclocked?
I think I'll seriously consider this kit when I decide to upgrade to i7 providing nothing better is available by then.
Also one lil thing in the first paragraph:
Mushkin spelt wrong
I think I'll seriously consider this kit when I decide to upgrade to i7 providing nothing better is available by then.
Also one lil thing in the first paragraph:
Hailing from the base of the Rocky Mountains in Denver, Colorado, USA, Muskin have long been known as producers of high performance memory for the worldwide enthusiast market. Including products such as memory upgrades for
Mushkin spelt wrong
Not too bad a OC there! Fantastic review as aways. God I missed this site. 
Tox... Where you been hiding mate?lol, Under a huge pile of coursework/life. 
I did bench the kit but only for stability (SuperPI). I didn't display them as the CPU was not really overclocked too much. I didn't want to stress the memory controller as well as the memory as it would then be hard to distinguish exactly where the failings were so took the CPU out of the equation which inevitably has a skew on benchmark results and wouldn't be a fair representation of the benefits gained i.e a 14 second SuperPI run is not as impressive as a sub 10 second one. Alot of people just look at results and miss what is actually being tested 
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Mushkin 6GB (3x2G