Mushkin EMS DDR-500

1GB PC4000 Dual Pack

Written by Ramil Tranquilino

Edited by Juha Saarinen

Nov. 4, 2003

 

 

Manufacturer: Mushkin EMS

 

Introduction

Mushkin  was one of the first vendors to cater for the needs of enthusiasts wanting to push systems to their limits. The Denver, Colorado-based enhanced memory specialist has remained a favourite with overclockers around the world, but is now facing competition from many quarters as other vendors are entering the boutique RAM market.


With the emergence of 800MHz FSB processors and motherboards, finding the memory that operates reliably at that speed is a challenge.  Going beyond 800MHz (or  double data rate 400MHz, DDR-400; the actual speed is 200MHz) is even more difficult, as many overclockers have discovered. People are now overclocking their Intel Canterwood and Springdale chipset motherboards to speeds well over 250MHz or a dizzying 1GHz FSB frequency. Obviously, at those speeds, normal DDR-400, DDR-433, or even DDR-466 rated memory just won't  cut it anymore. In highly overclocked systems, you end up running the memory asynchronously for it to work.  It took a while, but now there's memory available to match the high FSB speed: DDR-500.

 

We have already seen the performance boost and overclocking abilities DDR500 brings. Our previous review of Corsair's DDR-500 TWINX XMS4000 memory showed an impressive boost in memory bandwidth and overall system performance.


Given how well  the Corsair modules performed, we were interested to see if the experience could be repeated with Mushkin's DDR-500 1GB PC4000 Dual Pack .

 

 


Mushkin EMS DDR-500 1GB PC4000 Dual Pack

Dual Channel DDR is the norm in enthusiast boards, but it adds another compatibility hurdle on top of the fast FSB clock speed. Hence, manufacturers are now offering paired memory modules that have been tested together, to ensure stability and reliability.  You really need to ensure that the DIMM modules are all the same, physically and electrically, to have a stable system, let alone overclock it.


It's amazing to think that not so long ago, 128 to 256MB was considered plenty of RAM; nowadays, those figures are 512 and 1GB respectively, with some enthusiasts squeezing more than that into their systems.  Windows XP and big apps love RAM, that's for sure..


We received the 1GB version of Mushkin's Black DDR500 Dual Pack, comprising two matched 512MB modules. The nitty-gritty tech details for the modules are below.


 

 


 Specifications

  • Rated timings: 2.5-8-4-4-1T @ DDR-500

  • 2.5V - 2.75V

  • Aluminum heatspreader

  • 4.0GB/s memory bandwidth per module

  • Double Bank

  • 64Mx64 Module

  • 32Mx8 chip density

  • Unbuffered

  • Jet Black 6-Layer PCB

  • Gold contacts

  • 184-pin

  • Hand tested!


Next: Packaging, Modules & Test Setup

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