Crucial Vs Mushkin

[dmw16]

Im about to get a new AthlonXP and Im trying to decide on what RAM to get. First off, should I get Crucial or Mushkin? Crucial finally got 512MB sticks, but it is $158 where Mushkin has PC2100 for $110. I could get 2-256s from crucial for $100. Is there any performance downside to that? And what is the difference between Mushkin's Basic, Special, and High Performance RAM? I dont plan on overclocking, so do I need anything more than basic?
thanks,
-doug

 

[Tomek]

both crucial and mushkin ram is good... the difference between the different types of Mushkin ram:
Basic: Rated 2.5-3-3 @ 133MHz
Special: Rated 2-3-3
High performance: CAS Latency 2

it seems that the Crucial ram is rated at: CL=2.5

if you're not overclocking then get the Basic or Special one....

 

[Damage]

If you go with 2 separate sticks, the latency goes up. So, you are much better off getting 1x512 stick. I would read Mushkin's faq.. I bought the Mushkin, and they were bery helpful. You can even call tech support BEFORE you buy the RAM and they can tell you what is best for your application.

That said, I would recommend you go for 2-2-2 rated RAM and 2100 should be fine unless you are running a faster FSB. You will get better performance from lowering the latencies than you will from increasing the bus. It also means you don't have to worry about your add in cards freaking out from overclocking the bus.

Hope this helps...

 

[thermite88]

I am running a P4-1.5 overclocked on the Shuttle AV40. I found the limit to be more RAM dependent. I have purchased and tried three different type of PC2100 DDR on the same AV40 and found the following results:

Crucial PC2100/CL2.5, 256MBx2.
143 MHz bus @ CL2-2-2, Sandra score 1174/1193
147 MHz bus @ CL2.5-3-3, Sandra score 1148/1185

Infineon PC2100/CL2.5, 512MBx1.
147 MHz bus @ CL2-3-3, Sandra score 1176/1191
151 MHz bus @ CL2.5-3-3, Sandra score 1151/1183

Mushkin PC2100 (special grade)/CL2-3-3, 512MBx1, Nanya chips.
149 MHz bus @ CL2-2-2, Sandra score 1213/1234
151 MHz bus @ CL2.5-3-3, (not measured)

Crucial did not have 512MB when I purchased. The Mushkin special grade showed an advantage over Crucial by running stable at CL2 at the highest memory bus. It is the only one among the three that allows the most agressive memory settings and the Sandra result shows.

The system as whole, tops out at 118 FSB and 151 memory bus. I suspect that the limit is due to the PCI bus at 38MHz. The Adaptec 29160 Ultra160 card just cannot handle it anymore. Shuttle does not allow the user to set the FSB/PCI bus ratio.