2 x 2 Gig Sticks, Mushkin PC8500 - The Real Deal.

[Kunaak]

4 gig sets of ram have been around for awhile now, but so far theres been no real high performance 4 gig set of ram.

well, Mushkin Changed all that recently with thier new 4 gig sets of PC 6400 and PC 8500.

this is a preview of the 2 x 2 gig set of Mushkins PC8500.

testing is just 1 days worth, and initial impressions.

ram is rated for cas 5-4-4-12 at 2.3 volts and 1066 mhz.
the ram is binned using the P5B deluxe.
I do not yet know what type of chip is on this set.

tests were done all so far at 2.30 - 2.32 volts.
P5B deluxe. Bios 1004.
Initial Results so far, are with 32 bit version of windows and only sees 2.93 gigs of ram. I still have about 50 gigs of stuff to back up before installing Vista or XP64.
can't make up my mind which one I hate the least... so I dont know what to try first haha...
(ok I dont hate vista, I just wish drivers were better for it)

1 thing, dont ask me to push 2.6 volts or something into this stuff.
given how expensive this ram is, I really dont want to take any chances at killing it. 2.45 is about my limit for being comfortable.
you wanna see high voltages, do it yourself.

Observations.

theres literally no difference in stability from cas 4 to 5 or 6.
if it can do cas 5-6-6 at 1.1 ghz, it will do cas 5-4-4 just fine.

Ram is very very sensitive to Tras.
low tras always = no boot.
low tras for this ram, is below 12 when above 1 ghz on the ram.
around 900 mhz or less, low tras would be 8.

Write speeds are best set to 11, not 10.
write to precharge delayed- 11, and write to read delayed - 11, will do alot better for stability, then 10 will.
the P5B deluxe defaults to 10-10-10-11.
with this ram, 10-11-10-11 works best.

the combination of Writes at 11, and slightly higher tras (15 versus 12) can easily get you well above 1.1 ghz, stable at cas 5-4-4 at 2.3 to 2.35 volts.

the ram really doesnt seem to need extra voltage to OC high, and is exceptionally stable so far.

the "OC limits" are very very sudden.
for instance. for cas 3-3-3 overclocking 366 = prime stable. 370 = benchable. 375 = boots but no loading windows.
total leway from stable, to unstable - 9 mhz.

anyways, later today, I will have something 64 bit installed...
god I dont want to do that.
I am just gonna scavenge a spare hard drive from one of my other PC's.
hate to wipe out a good solid OS.

[Kunaak]

Top OC so far.

1160 mhz, stable enough for short runs of super pi and such.
will try cas 5-5-4 or 5-5-5 next to see if I can get this stable.

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=181723

[kakaroto]

Wow Incredible memory!

[Duonger]

Damn.. ok i need to get a pair from the office.

[Bootsy]

I want to see some 8 GIG tests with four sticks, I love my Mushkin Redlines but will ebay them in a second just to have 8gig with Vista 64

[gundamit]

Mushkin link.

One retailer has the following ad copy/description (probably from Mushkin marketing)

"The eXtreme Performance 4GB XP2-8500 kit (DDR2-1066) is the first 4GB kit to be rated at 1066MHz.

Designed for the most demanding enthusiasts, the XP2-8500 is specified for operation at 1066MHz, 5-4-4-12 latencies. Each kit is tested beyond its rated
specification to ensure the overclocking headroom and quality that Mushkin customers expect.

The XP2-8500, like all other Muskhin HP2 and XP2 memory products, features Enhanced Performance Profiles, which simplify the overclocking process for both beginners and experts. These kits also ship with Mushkin’s innovative FrostByte™ heatspreader, which utilizes more surface area and highly conductive thermal transfer materials for lower temperature operation, improved overclocking performance, and longer life."

[eva2000]

Nice.. how's the heat ouput @2.35v in memtest test #5 loop etc ?

[rick_fx]

Wow, great Mhz on those 2gb sticks

Have you tried max 4-4-4-x speed?

[Kunaak]

Nice.. how's the heat ouput @2.35v in memtest test #5 loop etc ?

seems we think alike.
test 5 is my first "quick" test.
runs very cool to the touch.

Have you tried max 4-4-4-x speed?

highest I tried so far was 900 mhz.
8 x 450 at 1:1.
but I have put only about 5% of my effort into cas 4 overclocking so far.
almost all my time has been spent on cas 5 so far.

[eva2000]

seems we think alike.
test 5 is my first "quick" test.
runs very cool to the touch.

heh... yup it's the first thing i do with new memory

[RealTelstar]

I plan to get 4 of these sticks and I need some test with 4 sticks on c2d motherboards.
Mushkin reps says that the 975x may not be able to hold them at decent speeds...
http://forums.mushkin.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=4254

look at my sig: I may have to buy a different motherboard until proven otherwise

[Charles Wirth]

Thanks for the heads up, very nice product indeed. I have been buying 2x2 kits for a few weeks now as the prices have come down to affordable.

[dinos22]

wow this is a little unexpected

fantastic RAM there

please try to bench some 32M if you still have the RAM

it would be nice to see what speed advantage you'd get if any by going from 2GB kit at same speed to 4GB kit

[Kunaak]

please try to bench some 32M if you still have the RAM

I only did 1 32M so far, cas 5-5-5-15 at 2.3 volts, 2:3 ratio.
my board sucks with the 4:5 ratio so I really cant do much testing with that ratio, and since my CPU is limited to the 8 multiplier tops, my CPU speed isnt all that high.
but the ram handled this early test, with ease.

[dinos22]

have you got any 2gb KITS running at those speeds with that CPU with a 32M run for comparison

[Kunaak]

yep, got a few 2 gig kits, in fact... I bought a 2 gig kit of Mushkin 8500 about 2 weeks ago from newegg, that does 1200 mhz just fine.

[Duonger]

eric- please go on msn to chat with me...

tom

[Speederlander]

I would like to see stability under Pi, memtest and prime95/orthos with 8 gig loaded up and a 64 bit OS.

[nugzo]

Subscribed.. Ordered!!

[EnJoY]

Very impressive. I wonder what chips these use...

[Death^Dread]

see how tight you can get timings for 400-500 MHz

[Kunaak]

now running XP64.

still dont really want to go back to vista yet.
but I still left a partition available for it...

same OC's possible with XP64 as with XP32.

[dinos22]

now running XP64.

still dont really want to go back to vista yet.
but I still left a partition available for it...

same OC's possible with XP64 as with XP32.

i think Vista also messes up your MBR for XP so might be useless on the same hard drive

[FLMJIGGY]

Very nice results and thanks!

[Stapler]

Very nice results, I'm interested in the chips they use.