Mushkin XP2 PC2-5300 DDR2 – Xtreme Performance Memory
by Steve Carmel & Wesley Fink on March 28, 2006 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Final Words
Mushkin has done an excellent job with the Elpida DDR2 chips that are available today. The XP2 (Extreme Performance) DDR2 PC2-5300 2 GB dual channel kit is competitive with the best Micron chips that we have tested from the past. It is true that the Mushkin Elpida is still not quite as fast as the older Micron DDR2 memory at lower DDR2 speeds, but the difference is very small. However, at higher DDR2 speeds, the Mushkin XP2-5300 actually performs a bit better than the legendary Micron DDR2 chips.
Significantly, you can still readily buy Mushkin DDR2 memory, but the memory based on the older Micron chips is no longer to be found, or is an End-Of-Life (EOL) product for current memory manufacturers. Normally, we would not include EOL memory in benchmark comparisons, but since the Micron fat-body D is still the memory to beat in the DDR2 arena, we included all 3 variants of DIMMs based on Micron fat-body D chips.
The combination of the Elpida chips with the custom Brain Power PCB, along with the new and improved heat spreader, has put Mushkin in the thick of the performance chase in DDR2 memory. The timings on the Elpida EDE5108AGSE chips are nearly as tight as the legendary Micron D9 Fat Body chips, as long as you feed the Elpida chips a bit more voltage. The normal DDR2 specification is 1.8V, but the best performance can be had with the Mushkin Elpida modules using 2.1V to 2.5V memory voltage.
What separates the Mushkin XP2 PC2-5300 DDR memory from a lot of others at this point in time is how these modules thrive on voltage. This memory offers flexibility, whether used for video rendering, gaming or overclocking. Mushkin warrants this product to run at a voltage range from 2.1 to 2.3 volts, although Elpida's own specifications indicate this is a 1.8 volt part.
In our testing, we noticed that the sweet spot for the voltage at higher clocks was right at 2.3 volts, and we tested in a wide range from 1.8 volts to 2.5 volts. Mushkin's recommended voltage range from 2.1 to 2.3 volts is appropriate. Gaming and 3D benchmarking provided no issues at all with the Mushkin XP2 DDR2 PC2-5300 dual channel kit. While testing at 340 x 13, at 3-3-3-10 memory timings, we were able to reach the following 3DMark scores with our standard test bed with an nVidia 7800GTX video card:
3DMark06 - 5123
3DMark05 - 8949
3DMark03 - 19496
3DMark01 - 32305
For gamers who seek fast timings and high bandwdith at stock memory ratios, the Mushkin XP2-5300 is a very good choice. The same can be said for overclockers looking for the highest DDR2 clock speeds that they can find. There are a few memories that can go higher in speed than Mushkin DDR2, but there are very few current DDR2 modules that can do 3-3-3 timings to DDR2-700 and above, or DDR2 memories that can handle higher voltage as well as this Mushkin. For now, the Mushkin XP2-5300 is a good choice among DDR2 1GB modules in 2GB kits.
Looking ahead, we are starting to see some new DDR2 announcements for DDR2 - 1000 and DDR2-1100 memory speeds. We will soon be testing these very latest DDR2 kits, and it will be interesting to see how this excellent Mushkin memory holds up in comparison to these latest kits using the new Micron chips.
Mushkin has done an excellent job with the Elpida DDR2 chips that are available today. The XP2 (Extreme Performance) DDR2 PC2-5300 2 GB dual channel kit is competitive with the best Micron chips that we have tested from the past. It is true that the Mushkin Elpida is still not quite as fast as the older Micron DDR2 memory at lower DDR2 speeds, but the difference is very small. However, at higher DDR2 speeds, the Mushkin XP2-5300 actually performs a bit better than the legendary Micron DDR2 chips.
Significantly, you can still readily buy Mushkin DDR2 memory, but the memory based on the older Micron chips is no longer to be found, or is an End-Of-Life (EOL) product for current memory manufacturers. Normally, we would not include EOL memory in benchmark comparisons, but since the Micron fat-body D is still the memory to beat in the DDR2 arena, we included all 3 variants of DIMMs based on Micron fat-body D chips.
The combination of the Elpida chips with the custom Brain Power PCB, along with the new and improved heat spreader, has put Mushkin in the thick of the performance chase in DDR2 memory. The timings on the Elpida EDE5108AGSE chips are nearly as tight as the legendary Micron D9 Fat Body chips, as long as you feed the Elpida chips a bit more voltage. The normal DDR2 specification is 1.8V, but the best performance can be had with the Mushkin Elpida modules using 2.1V to 2.5V memory voltage.
What separates the Mushkin XP2 PC2-5300 DDR memory from a lot of others at this point in time is how these modules thrive on voltage. This memory offers flexibility, whether used for video rendering, gaming or overclocking. Mushkin warrants this product to run at a voltage range from 2.1 to 2.3 volts, although Elpida's own specifications indicate this is a 1.8 volt part.
In our testing, we noticed that the sweet spot for the voltage at higher clocks was right at 2.3 volts, and we tested in a wide range from 1.8 volts to 2.5 volts. Mushkin's recommended voltage range from 2.1 to 2.3 volts is appropriate. Gaming and 3D benchmarking provided no issues at all with the Mushkin XP2 DDR2 PC2-5300 dual channel kit. While testing at 340 x 13, at 3-3-3-10 memory timings, we were able to reach the following 3DMark scores with our standard test bed with an nVidia 7800GTX video card:
3DMark06 - 5123
3DMark05 - 8949
3DMark03 - 19496
3DMark01 - 32305
For gamers who seek fast timings and high bandwdith at stock memory ratios, the Mushkin XP2-5300 is a very good choice. The same can be said for overclockers looking for the highest DDR2 clock speeds that they can find. There are a few memories that can go higher in speed than Mushkin DDR2, but there are very few current DDR2 modules that can do 3-3-3 timings to DDR2-700 and above, or DDR2 memories that can handle higher voltage as well as this Mushkin. For now, the Mushkin XP2-5300 is a good choice among DDR2 1GB modules in 2GB kits.
Looking ahead, we are starting to see some new DDR2 announcements for DDR2 - 1000 and DDR2-1100 memory speeds. We will soon be testing these very latest DDR2 kits, and it will be interesting to see how this excellent Mushkin memory holds up in comparison to these latest kits using the new Micron chips.
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PrinceGaz - Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - link
"I know that the built in spreaders are fantastic for heat dissapation"There is a lot of debate over whether heatspreaders made any difference at all even with the hotter running DDR modules at 2.5V+. Many people believe the heatspreaders are more to do with making them look good rather than perform better. I really don't know either way as all the heatspreaders on my DDR modules seem to do is give a larger flat surface area for the heat to be dissipated from after the heat has been conducted from the individual chips (the heatspreaders even with overvolted modules don't feel particularly warm), and I'm unconvinced if
(a) there is any significant surface area in contact between the chips and heatspreader, let alone whether any thermal compound was used
(b) that might mean you would get better heat dissipation *without* a heatspreader as the cool air would be blowing directly over the memory chips themselves instead of having a heatspreader in the way
Given that DDR modules at normal voltages (up to 3V anyway, I'm not talking about the OCZ modules that could take 3.5V or so -- more than old SDRAM even) without getting very warm, why would cooler running DDR2 need heatspreaders unless pushed up from 1.8V to at least 2.3V. Memory chips don't give off much heat even when over-volted so heat-spreaders seem unnecessary, especially on DDR2 modules. Once you combine that with the fact that at least half the surface area of a memory module without a heatspreader is taken up by the memory chips anyway, there doesn't really seem much point in adding something to "spread" the heat over what is only a slightly larger area.
I will concede that heatspreaders look good though, and the minimal cost of them is returned many times in every premium module they sell with them.