Mushkin PC4000 High Performance: DDR500 PLUS
by Wesley Fink on September 26, 2003 11:49 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
Final Words
Mushkin’s latest PC4000 High performance is the second DDR500 memory that we have evaluated, which performs competitively at its rated DDR500 speed, and also is fast enough at DDR400 to compete with the fastest DDR400 memory available. We called this Universal High-Speed memory in our earlier Corsair review, and we are glad to see this trend developing in the latest memory offerings. Actually, as readers have pointed out, the first of this group was OCZ3700 Gold, if we look at its actual performance numbers. It will do DDR500 very well, overclocks to about the same level, and is quite fast at DDR400. Since it is not officially rated at DDR500, we did not mention this excellent PC3700 memory in our last memory update, but in fact, it still competes very well with these newer “extended range” DDR modules.The Mushkin PC4000 High Performance we tested is among the top performers in virtually every test we ran at DDR500 and at the highest Overclock of DDR535. Like the Corsair XMS4000 PRO, the Mushkin still does not quite match the overclocks that we could achieve with OCZ DDR500 or Geil Platinum4000. Based on DDR500 performance alone, we would have a hard time choosing among Mushkin, OCZ, Corsair, and Geil.
At DDR400 — the memory spec for Intel 875/865 boards — Mushkin PC4000 High Performance is only the second DDR500 that can actually run at a fast CAS2 memory timing. At 2-3-3-5 timings it is, in fact, as fast as many top DDR400 modules that certainly will never come close to running at DDR535.
It is clear that the latest revision of Hynix memory chips were designed to behave quite differently than the first revision seen in early DDR500 memory. Hynix gave up some performance at the high-end (DDR533+) in exchange for CAS 2 performance at DDR400 speed. We think it is a good compromise in that it makes the decision to buy DDR500 memory an easier one for computer hobbyists. The dilemma before was whether to get the fast DDR400 modules and run them at 5:4 asynchronous ratio, or get the fastest memory you could find to run at synchronous 1:1 timings. With the latest Hynix, it appears you can get both — great DDR400 timings for 5:4 and DDR500 performance near the maximum that can be achieved with current technology. The latest revision of Hynix memory chips is currently used in both Mushkin PC4000 High Performance and Corsair XMS4000 PRO. It is also likely you will see the new Hynix chips in memory from other Performance Memory Manufacturers very soon.
As we stated in our review of Corsair XMS4000 PRO, if your goal is the highest 1:1 overclock you can achieve, then OCZ PC4000 or Geil 4000Platinum should be your choice. If you want the fastest DDR400 memory performance you can get and a reasonable overclock, then Mushkin 3500 Level2 or OCZ 3700 GOLD are still the fastest choices for DDR400.
However, if you want great timings at DDR400, top performance at DDR500, and a reasonable compromise on the top overclock that you can achieve above DDR500, then Mushkin PC4000 High Performance or Corsair TwinX1024-4000PRO should be your choice. The performance is very similar, but the Corsair has the unique memory LEDs to show activity.
Mushkin PC4000 High Performance is very competitive with the best DDR500 available. It is our second Universal High-Speed DDR500 memory that gives you the real choice to run 5:4 synchronous at DDR400 with CAS2 timings or 1:1 synchronous at a FSB up to 1070 (265) — doing both with the same memory.
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Anonymous User - Sunday, October 5, 2003 - link
Please start testing this goodness on a Athlon XP2500+ Barton. I have no problem reaching 240FSB on my ABIT NF7 S.V2 XP2500 Barton setupAnonymous User - Wednesday, October 1, 2003 - link
Still dissapointed that you didnt test with Athlon. Would it have hurt? Just to see what happened?Parasitic - Wednesday, October 1, 2003 - link
Dear audience and the reviwer,I just feel that nForce2 users are overlooked by this review - not to say that this isn't a great one, another excellent job by the staff.
However, I resent the criticism on that AMD users have no need for DDR500. With the new Bartons and nForce2 400/Ultra chipsets, DDR400 and above have become popular in the eyes of system builders.
Given the proper SPP voltage on the nForce2 or nForce2 400/Ultra, most unlocked processors like Thoroughbreds can hit pretty close to the 200MHz barrier, and it's a necessity to utilise DDR400 at that point. Like I mentioned earlier, with Bartons the road to 200FSB has become easier to walk on. Excuse my exaggeration, but it is almost a sin not to run Bartons beyond the 200FSB.
If a futher investigations are looked, a lot of enthusiasts are purchasing, at a minimum, low-latency DDR400, with PC3500/PC3700 being the norm. This also applies to AMD users especially those of us with nForce2.
Given the PCI lock, nForce2 is the overclocker's jewel for AMD setups. A group of us have already breached 233FSB, with occasional news of reaching 250FSB. Some motherboards even offer up to 300MHz of FSB adjustment in 1MHz increments.
I understand that Intel's Canterwood and Springdale are highly popular in the top-end crowd right now; but a study on DDR500 should not be overlooked by the staff of Anandtech, one of the more respected and popular tech sites on the web. Please spare the "what about the commoners" criticism - we are tech-savvy people, and given that we voluntarily choose to read tech sites like Anandtech already introduces a bias into the popular of users reading critical on memory sticks.
Thank you for your attention.
Anonymous User - Monday, September 29, 2003 - link
Guys the new OCZ PC4000 Universal ram is here.I have the new PC4000 that runs 2-3-3-5 at ddr400 and tops out well over ddr533 with 2.5-4-4-7 timings.At the moment though I still feel OCZ3700 is the fastest at 250fsb with 2-3-3-7 timings at 3Vdimm.Anyway, excelent review as usual Wes, keep up the good work.
Tony
Anonymous User - Sunday, September 28, 2003 - link
The quality if geil ram is questionnable. Also they have poor consumer service.DragonReborn - Saturday, September 27, 2003 - link
Any reason not to get the Geil 4200 over the 4000 with a 2.4/Watercooled setup? The geil is the only reasonably priced ram...Wesley Fink - Friday, September 26, 2003 - link
DDR500+ Memory is currently an Intel 865/875 need. Myshkin tests DDR500 performance on Intel 865/875 boards and tests DDR400 performance on nForce2, Intel, and VIA chipsets.We ONLY tested this memory on an Intel platform. After testing, however, it perfroms fast enough at DDR400 that it could be a good choice for nF2 boards - with headroom for the future.
TheInvincibleMustard - Friday, September 26, 2003 - link
On the bottom of page 3, you state that performance on an Athlon nForce2 Ultra 400 was not tested for the Mushkin PC4000, but one page previous you say that it IS tested on an nForce2 Ultra 400 ... is that because those are what Mushkin tests the memory on itself, or was this a misprint of some sort? The only things you tested this memory on were the Intel-based boards listed at the bottom of page 3, correct?Wesley Fink - Friday, September 26, 2003 - link
We have looked at OCZ 4000 Gold, but we did not do another review because performance was virtually identical to the OCZ4000 Copper Engineering Samples we tested in an earlier review. It is outstanding DDR500 memory and produced the highest overclock in our DDR500 roundup. However, it does not perform as fast at DDR400 as the Mushkin PC4000 High Performance tested here, Corsair XMS4000 PRO, or OCZ 3700 GOLD (which is based on lasered Samsung chips and not Hynix). We have asked OCZ about products using the newest Hynix chips, and they say they will likely release a similar product, or maybe something even faster, in the near future.Anonymous User - Friday, September 26, 2003 - link
p.s. i forgot ocz pc4000 gold is available over here http://www.hardcorecooling.us/product.asp?0=200&am...