Discussion thread for Mushkin Ascent 2x2GB DDR3 PC3-12800 Review

[3oh6]

We weren't exactly sure what to expect when this kit arrived but it quickly became apparent that the NVIDIA 790i chipset was in love with this memory.

Mushkin Ascent 2x2GB PC3-12800 DDR3 Kit Review

One screen shot that didn't make it into the review was that of the XMP profile testing on an ASUS P5E3-Premium. Needless to say, the Mushkin Ascents had no problem running the default XMP profiles. We even went as far as turning the voltage down a bit manually as the P5E3-Premium over-volts slightly. Here is the stability screen shot of that...

Please use this thread to discuss the results or if you have any questions about this fantastic kit. We will also be using this thread to post any further results we get with this kit on future motherboards...enjoy!

[bojangles]

Once again Mushkin knows how to innovate in technology. Awesome review. Next RAM I will purchase will be DDR3 puppies from MUSHKIN. Gotta love that MushkinGreg attends NCIX very often too. He should get a huge raise for that.

[MushkinGreg]

Amazing review, thanks
Can't wait to see more in the future.

[3oh6]

thanks, these heat sinks really are something you have to hold in your hand to appreciate. it is really nice to actually see someone push the technology forward with innovation instead of just re-packaging the standard and calling it innovative like we see so many times with memory cooling. these Mushkins and Corsairs Dominators are the only two real innovations in recent years IMO.

as for Greg, i can't say enough good things about what he does. i almost put together a whole section on Mushkin support and it would have been nothing but 'greg this and greg that...'. he really is an asset and puts the effort forth for Mushkin customers to make sure they are satisfied.

Originally Posted by MushkinGreg

Amazing review, thanks
Can't wait to see more in the future.

no, thank-you Greg, and it would be my pleasure anytime to handle some more Mushkin.

[freakgeek1337]

Good review 3oh6. BTW where'd you get that phase change machine?

[3oh6]

Originally Posted by freakgeek1337

Good review 3oh6. BTW where'd you get that phase change machine?

thank-you, the phase change is an older single stage Chilly1 unit i bought a couple years ago now from a guy in Wisconsin. he only had it for a week or so after delivery due to issues Reggie was having back then. i got it for a steal and it has been a really solid unit that was tuned for benching back then and still holds its own now with these 45nm dual cores. i can bench at 5.2GHz all day long with my gem of an E8400

[freakgeek1337]

WOW! 5.4GHZ!?!?!?! What volts are you running?

[3oh6]

remember, this is at about -30C which isn't very cold but at the same time, it is still sub-zero and one of the E8400s i have is a freak. it runs 4GHz on air completely prime stable at 1.21v. under the phase at 5.2GHz it only needs about 1.53v for full 3D stability...and like i said, it can bench at that frequency/voltage all day from 32M SPi ~3DMark Vantage and everything in-between. i'll try to put together a thread here next time i do some benching.

[magictorch]

Great review-nice balance of pictures and text and the "you got to have this kit factor"

Seems like Mushkin are on top of their game right now offering great kits to cash strapped bods like me or this DDR3 set for the more decadent enthusiast.

When you throw in their 1 on 1 support for memory tweaking you got to a find a good reason to shop elsewhere in my mind.

[zlojack]

Great review and obviously some great sticks.

I've always liked Mushkin product and their support is great. I have 4GB of Mushkin XP2-8500 DDR2-1066 2GB (5-5-4-12) in my secondary rig and they're running great.

But I'm still left with the nagging feeling that DDR3 just doesn't seem to be worth it yet.

I mean, the bandwidth numbers are pretty good for the OC and especially the 990 @ 8-8-8-20

But I can get pretty close to the other two benchmark numbers with my DDR2 @ 5-5-5-15 (24/7 stable)

I always expected DDR3 to really start to blow away DDR2 once we got to the higher clocked modules (or maybe that is "blowing away" and I just expect too much)

I get close to 10,000 MB in all 3 (Read, Write, Copy) in Everest (somewhere around 9700, 9900, 9900) and I think I might still be able to squeeze a bit more out of them if I thought I needed to.

Is it really that much of a noticeable difference with the DDR3 speeds other than for benchmarks?