Here are some quick specifications from Mushkin's website:
- Matched modules
- DDR-2
- 240 pins
- Unbuffered
- non-ECC
- 1.8V
- 64x64 module density
- 32x8 chip density
- Lifetime warranty
"Mushkin's DDR-2 memory is designed for use in the latest generation motherboards. DDR-2 picks up where DDR left off with bandwidth up to 5400 GB/s and plenty of room to grow! These are 240 pin, unbuffered, non-ECC modules. DDR2 consumes 28% less power than first generation DDR allowing for higher clockspeeds and reduced latencies. Includes SPD EEPROM programmed to JEDEC spec latencies of CAS 4-4-4-12. Attached heatspreader color may vary from photo. Tampering with heatspreader will void your warranty."
Our test system will be comprised of the following:
- Intel Pentium 4 550 (3.4GHz, LGA775)
- Intel D915PBL Motherboard
- eVGA GeForce PCX5750 PCI-E
- Seagate Barracuda IV 40GB
- Windows XP Pro SP1
Unfortunately, because of the Intel motherboard, our overclocking options are severely limited. The board allows me to adjust the host clock to +4% of the stock settings, but no more. We can however, manually set the timings and select from several clock settings. I started testing at the stock settings of 533MHz, 4-4-4-12.
With these settings, I yielded a score of 4876MB/s int and 4865MB/s float in SiSoft Sandra's memory benchmark. This is slightly better than the stock settings of the Mushkin LIIV2 PC3200 we reviewed previously.
I then further tested the RAM by upping the host clock by the maximum 4%, bringing the RAM up to 562MHz with 4-4-4-12 timings. However I was unable to make the leap to 677MHz (the next step up on this board) even with 5-5-5-15 timings.
Switching gears, I lowered the timings to 3-3-3-9 and lowered the RAM speed to 400MHz. Even though I was running at a lower clock speed, the lower latency nearly made up for it. I was also able to raise the 400MHz speed up 4%, bringing it to 422MHz while maintaining 3-3-3-9 timings.
click to enlarge
As you can see, the RAM performed best at 562MHz with CL4. However, the ram performed better at 422MHz with CL3 than at the stock 533MHz with CL4. From an overclocking perspective, it might actually make more sense to run the highest clock speed you can manage at CL3. Hopefully, we will start to see low latency modules running at 533MHz in the future. This should bring a clear advantage for moving to DDR2.
As usual, Mushkin has provided a rock solid product at very competitive prices. I wish I had other DDR2 to compare it to and a motherboard that would allow me to explore the full potential of the RAM.
