Mushkin XP2 PC2-8500 Ram Review

Wankerfx · | September 17, 2007

Conclusion:

These modules have aggressive visuals, putting fear in all of its competition. This kit is not all show and no go, they perform extremely well even with low voltages. There are some downfalls though; they did not respond to voltages higher than 2.3V when running CL5, and they lagged behind the slower OCZ Platinums in some of the Everest and Sisoft Sandra tests. The top frequency results were out of this world! Hitting DDR2-1121 with 2.3V is not something that happens every day. The FrostByte heatspreader design also enabled the modules to run at this speed without any overheating problems. Remember, your results will vary, because every kit of ram is different.

I absolutely love the Mushkin warranty on these modules. First of all, they are guaranteed for life, and second of all, Mushkin still has you covered at 2.35V! With great performance, warranty and experience in the memory game, what is not to like about this kit?

Also, a quick notice, going past 2.35V like I did in the CL4 tests voids your warranty, so you will not be eligible for new set if something bad should happen.

Pros:

-Bold, aggressive visuals
-Extreme speed and performance
-Awesome warranty
-Decent price

Cons:

-Does not respond to voltage too well after 2.3V in CL5
-Is outperformed by a budget set of ram in some bandwidth tests
-Limited CL3 speed

Thanks to Mushkin for providing us with this sample.

Comment thread for Mushkin XP2 PC2-8500 Ram Review