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Packaging and
Installation
The Mushkin memory arrived is a typical blister pack accented with
the white and green Mushkin logo. One of the great things
about this packaging is the ability to see exactly what you are
getting up front. Mushkin even faces the DDR2 labeling forward
so there is nothing to surprise you when you open the package at
home. In addition to the labeling; the back of the package
includes step by step installation instructions and a basic
troubleshooting guide.
The
heatsinks have a unique look to them with the top edge slightly
larger. This design results in a bit more surface area for
dissipating heat and a easier to grip surface for installation and
troubleshooting. This same design is offered in red for the
aptly named Redline Series modules, Mushkin's top dog modules, and
several other colors across the lower end of the product line..
Testing and
Overclocking
I installed the Mushkin XP2-6400 modules on my ABIT Fatal1ty AN9 32X
Motherboard based on the Force 590 SLI chipset.
The build includes an AMD Athlon AM2 5600+,
and 2 x EVGA 7800 GTX cards cooled by Artic Cooling 5 series coolers
powered by an Ultra X3 1000 Watt power supply. Storage was
provided by both 160 GB and 250 GB Maxtor SATA II drives and a Lite-on
16x DVD burner all mounted in the Tagan El Diablo case.
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Hardware |
Model |
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Operating System: |
MS Windows Vista Ultimate
(64-bit) |
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Motherboard: |
ABIT Fatal1ty AN9 32X |
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CPU |
AMD AM2 5600+ |
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Memory |
2x 2 GB kit
of Crucial Ballistix Series DDR2-8500 |
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Graphics |
2 x EVGA 7800 GTX |
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Power Supply |
Ultra X3 1000
Watt |
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Drives |
160 and 250
GB Maxtor SATA II, 16X Lite-on DVD Burner |
I have
always had pretty good luck with the AN9 32x for overclocking so
pushing the modules a bit should be second nature in this setup.
Unfortunately the case choice would not allow for the CoolIt
Eliminator I planned on using so the OEM heatsink was used.
The massive 320 mm fan was able to keep the core temp below 50C
up to my 270 MHz FSB attempt. 265 stable on a OEM heatsink
is probably worth mentioning again; what a great case for air
flow!
Results
With a little help from
CPU-Z
you can see the timings once I have set the BIOS to the 2.0 Volt
level and adjusted the timings to match the specifications.
For benchmarking I will be upping the voltage to the 2.1 Volt level
before we push the timings to far so we can get to the upper limits
faster!
Lets get on to the benchmarks!
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