Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

[Lsdmeasap]

Mushkin XP DDR3 PC3-12800 Model 998679 3x2GB Memory Stability Testing and Review





Special thanks to MushkinSean and the great team at Mushkin Memory for providing the review sample.



If you have ever wondered how Mushkin should be pronounced, this is what Mushkin's Wiki Page has to say.

Although some people pronounce Mushkin /ˈmʌʃkɪn/ "mush-kin", the proper pronunciation is /ˈmʊʃkɪn/ "moosh-kin".

Just who is Mushkin?

Mushkin is a well known brand among enthusiasts, and has been around for a very long time, believe it or not. I personally can remember purchasing Mushkin RDRAM (Rambus DRAM) in 98-99, it is very likely that many of you have never seen or heard of this type of memory. Although Mushkin was around before then, that's a good example of how long Mushkin has been providing quality memory to the masses, and how long I have been using their products.

Mushkin was established in 1994 by Bill Mushkin, purchased in 2000 by Ramtron International, and then finally in 2005 George Stathakis bought the company, and became the new owner and president of the company. Soon after purchasing the company, he sold the stock to employees, and Mushkin is now a fully employee-owned company.

Mushkin has been located in Denver, Colorado for the past 14 years, but has recently relocated its base to Inverness, the suburban tech center south of Denver in Englewood, Colorado.

They are well known for providing "Enhanced" memory, but they also manufacturer "Value" ram, various server and laptop memory modules, a small lineup of modular Power Supply Unit's (PSU's), and have even dabbled in the graphic card market. Their memory products are available in several performance categories, from standard to extreme. These memory kits are labeled from ES/EM (Essential or Value Series) for standard usage, HP (High Performance) for mild to moderate overclocking, XP (eXtreme Performance) designed for overclocking and manufactured with some of their best IC Chips for tight timings at high clock speeds. Finally, the RedLine Series, which is the cream of the cop when it comes to Mushkin's memory lineup. The Redline series is designed with the very best IC's Mushkin has to offer, which means you get the very best timings, superb bandwidth, and low latency when using these modules. They are intended for the extreme overclocker in all of us.


The kit we will look at today is model # 998679 XP3-12800, one of Mushkin's 6GB (3x2GB) XP kits which is rated at PC3-12800 or 1600Mhz, and is rated to run 7-8-7-20 timings with 1.65V.

Memory Specifications

Frequency: 1600MHz
Latency: 7-8-7-20
Parity: Unbuffered
Voltage: 1.65V
Pins: 240
Density Per Module: 256x64 Chip: 128x8


Mushkin Product Page
Mushkin 998679 (3x2GB) XP3-12800 Triple Channel Memory Kit


Product Images and Packaging (Click to enlarge)






Mushkin uses a plastic blister packaging which protects the memory from damage fairly well. Various paper inserts with different Mushkin logos are used, depending on when the item was packaged. They have started using CD/DVD cases to ship some memory, which looks better and is more secure than the blister packages.

Some European customers may even get a very nice felt-lined wooden box with the Mushkin brand name and "< M" logo burned into the box. I have also noticed a few nice "Gun Metal" cases protecting Mushkin memory and SSD's coming out recently in Europe. Hopefully, someday the marketing and sales team here in the US will have something nice like that setup for some of the higher end products sold here.







These modules sport the Mushkin Standard 6 layer green PCB. Maybe someday they will look into using varying colors of PCB, I think it would look great if they matched the PCB Color with the heat spreader. I do know they are looking into various marketing techniques and new product ideas, but I have not heard anything about a PCB color change. Maybe this note will get a little hint to the proper department.







This kit is from Mushkins XP Lineup, one step away from being in the Redline bracket. The XP memory lineup has Mushkin's Patented Advanced FrostByte heatsink in black, and is a part of Mushkin's top level range designed for overclocker's. The FrostByte heatsinks offers superior thermal efficiency to improve durability and performance. I think the design is creative and does allow air to flow around and over the IC chips very nicely.







I tried to photograph the top and bottom of the modules in an attempt to show the users who may be curious about what IC's are used, but I could not get a very clear angle on them. I would remove the heat spreader and publish images, but I know Mushkin frowns upon that practice for business reasons. So I will abide by the unspoken rule and keep everyone happy.

These are the best shots I could manage. If you know what you are looking for, I believe you can see in these images whether or not these are the IC's that you may be wondering about. And of course, click to enlarge for a better view.

[Lsdmeasap]

Test Setup:
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P (Thanks to Gigabyte)
Intel i7 965 EX ES CPU (C0) (Due to ES Regulations, anonymous...Thanks!)
Intel i7 Xeon W3250 CPU (D0) (On loan from a friend for Max Blck testing, Thanks Kevin)
Mushkin 998679 DDR3 1600Mhz (7-8-7-20) (Thanks to Mushkin)
2 x Sapphire HD 3870 Toxic Edition 512MB
3 x Seagate ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM HDD RAID 0
Ultra X3 850W 40312 PSU


Benchmarks results & programs used


Memtest86+ 2.11




HCI Design Memtest 3.6



Winrar Benchmark 3.8 (Alt + B to start for those who may be unaware)



Super PI / mod1.5 XS



RightMark Memory Analyzer 3.8




Benchmark results are provided at three common speed ranges for DDR3: 1600, 1860, and 2000.

Tests were performed for each of the following settings in a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P motherboard. Each passed 8 hours or more of Memtest86+ 2.11, and each passed several hours of HCI Design’s Memtest running triple tests of 1024MB within windows while the system was in use. Along with that, each setting range was thoroughly put through various benchmark programs and tests, which are graphed below.

I am providing several sets of timings and voltages at various speeds for Gigabyte EX58 based boards at the end of this article. Each of the tables of settings that are provided below should be fully stable for you on the memory side of things, provided you have found the proper QPI/Vtt voltage settings for your CPU at the intended speed. If you do have any issues, they would likely be due to other various settings such as Uncore values, a incorrect QPI/Vtt voltage and/or QPI/Vtt / memory voltage relationship, or possibly IOH value not set properly per the speed or timings you are running. The settings provided are for starting stability, and are not fully tweaked.




Mushkin chose not to include XMP Programming in their modules, which I very much approve of. I do not agree with the XMP programming design process as a whole, as I feel that QPI/Vtt voltage should not be a part of this programming. The i7 CPU's vary so widely that trying to use any given XMP setting could lead the end user to have major stability or booting issues, and even possibly end up thinking that the memory is faulty and want to return it. All users should find their CPU's own specific QPI/Vtt voltage setting per the speed they are running, and based on what they have found their CPU to like in regards to the balance between the QPI/Vtt voltage and Dram voltage to be.

For simplicity in helping others, these benchmarks and settings provided are using the 2:8 and 2:10 Memory multipliers. For the benchmark scores, I tried to keep the CPU Freq in the same area, but that's not always possible, as we all know. These results are solely based on the stable settings provided by the use of Auto for advanced timings, not tweaked at all, and are by no means all that this Mushkin Memory will do.

Benchmark Results:

Everest Ultimate Bandwidth




Everest Ultimate & RightMark Latency




RightMark Memory Bandwidth (Real Ram Maximal)




RightMark Read & Write Bandwidth




Super PI




Winrar





I did run a few shorter tests with some tweaked timings. With X58 still very new, I personally am still learning like many of you may be. I have yet to fully learn all the ins and outs of some of the finer adjustments for DDR3, and just how those changes improve and/or hinder benchmark scores and stability. Click to view full benchmark scores.

1600Mhz CAS 6




1600Mhz CAS 7




2000Mhz CAS 8






eXtreme Overclocking




Unfortunately I was unable to get in any maximum memory speed runs using this method, due to limited time and DICE. The max memory validations posted below were obtained on a water setup. Although, I do plan to have another DICE run shortly, so I may update this post with some results then, or just add them to the thread.


Highest memory speeds obtained within acceptable voltage and timing ranges.

Click images to view CPU-z validation pages

CAS 6-7-6-18 1664.2Mhz @ 2:8




CAS 6-7-6-18 1674.6Mhz @ 2:10




CAS 7-8-7-20 1811.6Mhz (Stock Specified Timings)




CAS 8-9-8-24 2080.2Mhz




Cas 9-10-9-24 2143.2Mhz





I did find a 8MB SuperPI run I completed at 234 Bclk when I first started testing. Further testing under DICE would almost certainly provide higher memory speeds than I reached above on water.






With this set of Mushkin memory I reached one of my two highest CPU Blck Freq's to date. This kit also was kind enough to allow me to obtain one of my first 5Ghz CPU-z validations, with the memory at 2000Mhz.


Again, click to view validations.

238.97 Bclk with a ram speed of 1911.8Mhz at 898-20 timings




239.04 Bclk with a ram speed of 1912.4Mhz at 898-24 timings




5001.2Mhz with a ram speed of 2000.4 at 898-24 timings




Update 5-7-10

Massive speeds reached for validation thanks to 980X.

So, somebody came out with 2533Mhz Dual channel memory this week.... I saw some crazy timings and though to myself who needs double channel with those timings?

< Mushkin to the rescue!


2522.8Mhz Triple Channel

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1172315

Yes, of course this is not stable like their $325 a stick memory probably is, but it was quick and easy to get there



2609.4Mhz Dual channel

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1179968

[Lsdmeasap]

Settings per above benchmark results

1600Mhz CAS 6

[B]Advanced CPU Features:[/B]
CPU Clock Ratio ................................ [20x]
Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech .................. [Enabled]
CPU Cores Enabled ............................ [All]
CPU Multi Threading .......................... [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) ................... [Disabled]
C3/C6/C7 State Support .................... [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor ......................... [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function ............................ [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology ................... [Enabled] 
Bi-Directional PROCHOT ..................... [Enabled]


[B]Uncore & QPI Features:[/B]
QPI Link Speed .............................. x36
Uncore Frequency .......................... x18
Isonchronous Frequency ..................[Enabled]


[B]Standard Clock Control:[/B]
Base Clock (BCLK) Control ................ [Enabled]
BCLK Frequency (MHz) ..................... 200
PCI Express Frequency (MHz) ........... [100]

C.I.A.2 [Disabled]

[B]Advanced Clock Control:[/B]
CPU Clock Drive ..............................[800mV]
PCI Express Clock Drive ................... [900mV]
CPU Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]
IOH Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]


[B]Advanced DRAM Features:[/B]
Performance Enhance ...................... [eXtreme]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P) ......... [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD) ........ [x8]
DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) .......... [Manual]

[B]Channel A + B + C

Channel A Timing Settings:[/B]
##Channel A Standard Timing Control##
CAS Latency Time ......................6
tRCD .......................................7
tRP .........................................6
tRAS .......................................18


##Channel A Advanced Timing Control##
tRC ........................................ Auto
tRRD ....................................... Auto
tWTR ....................................... Auto
tWR ........................................ Auto
tWTP ....................................... Auto
tWL ........................................ Auto
tRFC ....................................... Auto
tRTP ....................................... Auto
tFAW ...................................... Auto
Command Rate (CMD) ................ 1

##Channel A Misc Timing Control##
Round Trip Latency ................... Auto



[B]Advanced Voltage Control:

CPU[/B]
Load Line Calibration ................. [Enabled]
CPU Vcore ............................... 1.38125
QPI/VTT Voltage 1.150v ............ 1.435
CPU PLL 1.800v ....................... 1.84

[B]MCH/ICH[/B]
PCIE 1.500v ........................... 1.5
QPI PLL 1.100v ....................... 1.24
IOH Core 1.100v ..................... 1.24
ICH I/O 1.500v ....................... 1.5
ICH Core 1.1v ........................ 1.18

[B]DRAM[/B]
DRAM Voltage 1.500v .............. 1.68
DRAM Termination 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]

1600Mhz CAS 7

[B]Advanced CPU Features:[/B]
CPU Clock Ratio ................................ [20x]
Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech .................. [Enabled]
CPU Cores Enabled ............................ [All]
CPU Multi Threading .......................... [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) ................... [Disabled]
C3/C6/C7 State Support .................... [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor ......................... [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function ............................ [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology ................... [Enabled] 
Bi-Directional PROCHOT ..................... [Enabled]


[B]Uncore & QPI Features:[/B]
QPI Link Speed .............................. x36
Uncore Frequency ..........................  x16
Isonchronous Frequency ..................[Enabled]


[B]Standard Clock Control:[/B]
Base Clock (BCLK) Control ................ [Enabled]
BCLK Frequency (MHz) ..................... 200
PCI Express Frequency (MHz) ........... [100]

C.I.A.2 [Disabled]

[B]Advanced Clock Control:[/B]
CPU Clock Drive ..............................[800mV]
PCI Express Clock Drive ................... [900mV]
CPU Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]
IOH Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]


[B]Advanced DRAM Features:[/B]
Performance Enhance ...................... [eXtreme]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P) ......... [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD) ........ [x8]
DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) .......... [Manual]

[B]Channel A + B + C

Channel A Timing Settings:[/B]
##Channel A Standard Timing Control##
CAS Latency Time ......................7
tRCD .......................................8
tRP .........................................7
tRAS .......................................20


##Channel A Advanced Timing Control##
tRC ........................................ Auto
tRRD ....................................... Auto
tWTR ....................................... Auto
tWR ........................................ Auto
tWTP ....................................... Auto
tWL ........................................ Auto
tRFC ....................................... Auto
tRTP ....................................... Auto
tFAW ...................................... Auto
Command Rate (CMD) ................ 1

##Channel A Misc Timing Control##
Round Trip Latency ................... Auto



[B]Advanced Voltage Control:

CPU[/B]
Load Line Calibration ................. [Enabled]
CPU Vcore ............................... 1.39375
QPI/VTT Voltage 1.150v ............ 1.375
CPU PLL 1.800v ....................... 1.84

[B]MCH/ICH[/B]
PCIE 1.500v ........................... 1.50
QPI PLL 1.100v ....................... 1.18
IOH Core 1.100v ..................... 1.22
ICH I/O 1.500v ....................... 1.50
ICH Core 1.1v ........................ 1.14

[B]DRAM[/B]
DRAM Voltage 1.500v .............. 1.66
DRAM Termination 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]

1860Mhz CAS 8

[B]Advanced CPU Features:[/B]
CPU Clock Ratio ................................ [23x]
Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech .................. [Disabled]
CPU Cores Enabled ............................ [All]
CPU Multi Threading .......................... [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) ................... [Disabled]
C3/C6/C7 State Support .................... [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor ......................... [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function ............................ [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology ................... [Enabled] 
Bi-Directional PROCHOT ..................... [Enabled]


[B]Uncore & QPI Features:[/B]
QPI Link Speed .............................. x36
Uncore Frequency ..........................  x20
Isonchronous Frequency ..................[Enabled]


[B]Standard Clock Control:[/B]
Base Clock (BCLK) Control ................ [Enabled]
BCLK Frequency (MHz) ..................... 186
PCI Express Frequency (MHz) ........... [100]

C.I.A.2 [Disabled]

[B]Advanced Clock Control:[/B]
CPU Clock Drive ..............................[800mV]
PCI Express Clock Drive ................... [900mV]
CPU Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]
IOH Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]


[B]Advanced DRAM Features:[/B]
Performance Enhance ...................... [eXtreme]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P) ......... [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD) ........ [x10]
DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) .......... [Manual]

[B]Channel A + B + C

Channel A Timing Settings:[/B]
##Channel A Standard Timing Control##
CAS Latency Time ......................8
tRCD .......................................9
tRP .........................................8
tRAS .......................................24


##Channel A Advanced Timing Control##
tRC ........................................ Auto
tRRD ....................................... Auto
tWTR ....................................... Auto
tWR ........................................ Auto
tWTP ....................................... Auto
tWL ........................................ Auto
tRFC ....................................... Auto
tRTP ....................................... Auto
tFAW ...................................... Auto
Command Rate (CMD) ................ 1

##Channel A Misc Timing Control##
Round Trip Latency ................... Auto



[B]Advanced Voltage Control:

CPU[/B]
Load Line Calibration ................. [Enabled]
CPU Vcore ............................... 1.425
QPI/VTT Voltage 1.150v ............ 1.455
CPU PLL 1.800v ....................... 1.84

[B]MCH/ICH[/B]
PCIE 1.500v ........................... 1.54
QPI PLL 1.100v ....................... 1.30
IOH Core 1.100v ..................... 1.24
ICH I/O 1.500v ....................... 1.58
ICH Core 1.1v ........................ 1.2

[B]DRAM[/B]
DRAM Voltage 1.500v .............. 1.66
DRAM Termination 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]

[Lsdmeasap]

2000Mhz CAS 8 (965)

[B]Advanced CPU Features:[/B]
CPU Clock Ratio ................................ [20x]
Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech .................. [Enabled]
CPU Cores Enabled ............................ [All]
CPU Multi Threading .......................... [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) ................... [Disabled]
C3/C6/C7 State Support .................... [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor ......................... [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function ............................ [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology ................... [Enabled] 
Bi-Directional PROCHOT ..................... [Enabled]


[B]Uncore & QPI Features:[/B]
QPI Link Speed .............................. x36
Uncore Frequency ..........................  x20
Isonchronous Frequency ..................[Enabled]


[B]Standard Clock Control:[/B]
Base Clock (BCLK) Control ................ [Enabled]
BCLK Frequency (MHz) ..................... 200
PCI Express Frequency (MHz) ........... [100]

C.I.A.2 [Disabled]

[B]Advanced Clock Control:[/B]
CPU Clock Drive ..............................[800mV]
PCI Express Clock Drive ................... [900mV]
CPU Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]
IOH Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]


[B]Advanced DRAM Features:[/B]
Performance Enhance ...................... [eXtreme]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P) ......... [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD) ........ [x10]
DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) .......... [Manual]

[B]Channel A + B + C

Channel A Timing Settings:[/B]
##Channel A Standard Timing Control##
CAS Latency Time ......................8
tRCD .......................................9
tRP .........................................8
tRAS .......................................24


##Channel A Advanced Timing Control##
tRC ........................................ Auto
tRRD ....................................... Auto
tWTR ....................................... Auto
tWR ........................................ Auto
tWTP ....................................... Auto
tWL ........................................ Auto
tRFC ....................................... Auto
tRTP ....................................... Auto
tFAW ...................................... Auto
Command Rate (CMD) ................ 1

##Channel A Misc Timing Control##
Round Trip Latency ................... Auto



[B]Advanced Voltage Control:

CPU[/B]
Load Line Calibration ................. [Enabled]
CPU Vcore ............................... 1.40625
QPI/VTT Voltage 1.150v ............ 1.635
CPU PLL 1.800v ....................... 1.84

[B]MCH/ICH[/B]
PCIE 1.500v ........................... 1.50
QPI PLL 1.100v ....................... 1.36
IOH Core 1.100v ..................... 1.26
ICH I/O 1.500v ....................... 1.58
ICH Core 1.1v ........................ 1.22

[B]DRAM[/B]
DRAM Voltage 1.500v .............. 1.66
DRAM Termination 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]

2000Mhz CAS 8 (Xeon W3520)

[B]Advanced CPU Features:[/B]
CPU Clock Ratio ................................ [20x]
Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech .................. [Enabled]
CPU Cores Enabled ............................ [All]
CPU Multi Threading .......................... [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E) ................... [Disabled]
C3/C6/C7 State Support .................... [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor ......................... [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function ............................ [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology ................... [Enabled] 
Bi-Directional PROCHOT ..................... [Enabled]


[B]Uncore & QPI Features:[/B]
QPI Link Speed .............................. x36
Uncore Frequency ..........................  x20
Isonchronous Frequency ..................[Enabled]


[B]Standard Clock Control:[/B]
Base Clock (BCLK) Control ................ [Enabled]
BCLK Frequency (MHz) ..................... 200
PCI Express Frequency (MHz) ........... [100]

C.I.A.2 [Disabled]

[B]Advanced Clock Control:[/B]
CPU Clock Drive ..............................[800mV]
PCI Express Clock Drive ................... [900mV]
CPU Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]
IOH Clock Skew ............................. [0ps]


[B]Advanced DRAM Features:[/B]
Performance Enhance ...................... [eXtreme]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P) ......... [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD) ........ [x10]
DRAM Timing Selectable (SPD) .......... [Manual]

[B]Channel A + B + C

Channel A Timing Settings:[/B]
##Channel A Standard Timing Control##
CAS Latency Time ......................8
tRCD .......................................9
tRP .........................................8
tRAS .......................................24


##Channel A Advanced Timing Control##
tRC ........................................ Auto
tRRD ....................................... Auto
tWTR ....................................... Auto
tWR ........................................ Auto
tWTP ....................................... Auto
tWL ........................................ Auto
tRFC ....................................... Auto
tRTP ....................................... Auto
tFAW ...................................... Auto
Command Rate (CMD) ................ 1

##Channel A Misc Timing Control##
Round Trip Latency ................... Auto



[B]Advanced Voltage Control:

CPU[/B]
Load Line Calibration ................. [Enabled]
CPU Vcore ............................... 1.35
QPI/VTT Voltage 1.150v ............ 1.56
CPU PLL 1.800v ....................... 1.84

[B]MCH/ICH[/B]
PCIE 1.500v ........................... 1.54
QPI PLL 1.100v ....................... 1.30
IOH Core 1.100v ..................... 1.26
ICH I/O 1.500v ....................... 1.50
ICH Core 1.1v ........................ 1.20

[B]DRAM[/B]
DRAM Voltage 1.500v .............. 1.66
DRAM Termination 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Data VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-A Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-B Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]
Ch-C Address VRef. 0.750v [AUTO]

DO NOT use all of my voltage settings, of course, as many of them are motherboard or CPU specific, and you would need to find your hardware’s own stable voltage ranges.

And, as always, if you do need help, I am here to offer it!




As I have leaned to expect with Mushkin Memory, more voltage does not always help when pushing the limits. I found that at certain speeds, voltages exceeding 1.66-1.68 caused errors no matter the settings, only higher QPI/Vtt helped in those situations. At other times, higher ram voltages helped when a QPI/Vtt increase did not. Overall, I noticed that keeping the ram within 1.66-1.72/1.74V was best, depending on the situation, more at any speed or timings just seemed to hinder progress. Finding the right time to use more Vdimm, or QPI/Vtt, and just how much distance between the two is best, will be up to you to tweak and find as it can vary depending on many things.

Just some things to keep in mind when you are tweaking your new set of Mushkin.


Overall, I found this kit to be very easy to work with. I was surprised by some of the results possible with this kit, especially since it is a 1600Mhz CAS 7 kit. Sure there are faster kits out there, or kits with tighter timings, but those come at a very hefty price in comparison to this kit. If you are looking for a great clocking set of memory, then look no further because this model will impress and amaze you at an outstanding price!

Price at time of publishing this review was $176.48 at Mushkin Direct, and $154.99 at Newegg.


Mushkin has been a long time top favorite of mine, and this kit reminds me of just why that is. I have no doubt Mushkin will continue to make superior products and push the boundaries of memory overclocking limits.


Remember... With Mushkin you get more!!!


Thanks again to Mushkin Memory for making this review possible!



Be on the lookout for mu5hk1n3nh4nc3d it's coming alive on the 1nt3rw3bz in your area soon :)



Disclaimer: This document is only intended to help anyone who is using Mushkin Memory to obtain a stable starting point for their memory in a Gigabyte board. This is not the usual ram overclocking and testing reviews you may find online by other professionals. Thank you for leaving only constructive comments, please.

[MushkinSean]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

Awesome review!
With the versatility of this kit it's hard to go wrong, especially for the price.

Thanks for all the hard work!

[dbee]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

now your scaring me... The rightmark bench says you have 8 system and 16 logical processors..

[dbee]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

Forgot to give u the credit u deserve, YOUR AN ABSOLUTE MADMAN I TELL YA!
Very nicely layed out. Perfect.

[Psycho101]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

Good layout and a clear explanation of the methodology used in testing. I like it when people explain thoroughly and scientifically what's going on.

I am dissappointed about what you say is Mushkin's policy to not have heat spreaders removed to see the IC's. IMO this is an archaic attitude. If a company is proud of their product then they should be proud of the individual components they're crafted from and should be OK with seeing them "naked" in a review. As enthusiasts, we aren't children and as such aren't going to break out modules removing the spreaders, or throw a hissy fit if the modules we receive aren't the same ones in the review. I will simply seek another sites information where they DID take the spreaders off.

Nothing you can do about that though Lsdmeasap. If Mushkin do change their attitude on this (and they should) then pictures of the IC's would make your review perfect.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

now your scaring me... The rightmark bench says you have 8 system and 16 logical processors..

I never noticed that! I believe it is just due to the program not being updated enough yet, it does not recognize my CPU even if I try to submit a ticket for it

Forgot to give u the credit u deserve, YOUR AN ABSOLUTE MADMAN I TELL YA!
Very nicely layed out. Perfect.

Thanks much!!!

I am glad you like it, anything you think I could add or change next time?

Good layout and a clear explanation of the methodology used in testing. I like it when people explain thoroughly and scientifically what's going on.

I am dissappointed about what you say is Mushkin's policy to not have heat spreaders removed to see the IC's. IMO this is an archaic attitude. If a company is proud of their product then they should be proud of the individual components they're crafted from and should be OK with seeing them "naked" in a review. As enthusiasts, we aren't children and as such aren't going to break out modules removing the spreaders, or throw a hissy fit if the modules we receive aren't the same ones in the review. I will simply seek another sites information where they DID take the spreaders off.

Nothing you can do about that though Lsdmeasap. If Mushkin do change their attitude on this (and they should) then pictures of the IC's would make your review perfect.

Thanks for your thoughts!

I had thought about going into what each benchmark does and explain a bit about them, but was unsure if that was necessary or not, and thought it may be too much, so I left it out. Thoughts on that for next time?

Well they did not specifically ask me to not open the modules, but I know from being a member at their forums they do not like to share this information because if public other companies can find their source and then buy them out I think.

PM me if you like and I can give you my thoughts on what they may be

[e39dinan]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

Awesome review. I'm building a midrange i7 system, and I'm either going to get this ram for $144, the Kingston HyperX 1600 8-8-8-24 (KHX12800D3LLK3) for $129 from NewEgg, OCZ Platinum 1600 7-7-7-24 for $154.99, or the Patriot 1600 8-8-8-24 (PVT36G1600LLK) for $120.

What would you guys get? I also need CPU cooler suggestions. How about that big ass thermalright IFX 14? or a coolermaster V8? ;-P

The system is as follows:

i7 920 D0
Asus P6T
GTX 275
Velociraptor 300GB
Vista 64
700W Coolermaster silentpro
Coolermaster 690 case
Haven't decided on a CPU cooler. Suggestions?

Thanks!!!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

Thanks for the comments, I am glad to hear you like the review!

I think the V8 is not good enough for i7 really, I have seen a few users commenting on temps lately using it. I suggest maybe a Thermalright Ultra if your case can handle it.

As for memory suggestions, not sure as I have never used that Asus board, but one things for sure you want to be sure what you pick is compatible with your board so be sure you do your homework before you buy.

[e39dinan]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

Thanks for the comments, I am glad to hear you like the review!

I think the V8 is not good enough for i7 really, I have seen a few users commenting on temps lately using it. I suggest maybe a Thermalright Ultra if your case can handle it.

As for memory suggestions, not sure as I have never used that Asus board, but one things for sure you want to be sure what you pick is compatible with your board so be sure you do your homework before you buy.

My case can definitely handle the Thermalright Ultra... I have been searching everywhere to see what ram best overclocks in a P6T, and I am having trouble finding a site with that comparison...

Thanks for the advice

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

I do believe this Mushkin would work great in your system, you could always ask the guys at Mushkin's forum to be sure. I only mentioned that because of the various sets you mentioned.

I am sure they know and would be quick to reply, just join and make a new post >>
< Mushkin - Forums

[e39dinan]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

Thanks!!!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: Mushkin XP 998679 DDR3 3x2GB 1600Mhz Stability Testing and Review

Anytime!

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask away!