Mushkin XP2-6400 2GB Memory Kit Review

[BenchZowner]

Hello fellas,

Here's my latest review, a Micron D9GMH 2GB Memory Kit from Mushkin, finally in a reasonable price, the Mushkin XP2-6400 ( 996523 ) 2GB 4-4-3-10 @ 2.0V memory kit.
It's guaranteed to 'wear' D9GMH and comes in nice "Mushkin Frostbyte" black ( not sure if it's only coming in black, but I definitely love the black ones ) heatspreaders.

Here are some quotes from the review:

Apart from our previous memory reviews, this time we've chosen to illustrate what we've been saying to you regarding the need for high 'speed' RAM and its purpose.
We already told you more than once ( actually proven not only talked about it ) that the performance of our memory ( frequency & timings ) don't affect the real-life performance of our PCs but with a few exceptions ( File Archivers like WinRAR mostly ), but we also told you that there's a real purpose in buying high speed RAM.
And it's a solid reason for...two specific audiences:
The overclockers/benchmarks who try to squeeze their hardware to the max and get the highest scores in various benchmarks ( like SuperPi, Hexus PiFast, the 3D Mark Series, etc ) [ where memory frequency plays its role and has an influence on the scores ]
And normal overclockers, the 'average power user' as we like to call them, people that use their PC for gaming and other stuff ( anything...from audio/video encoding, to 3D graphics, CAD, etc ) and occasionally overclock their PCs.

So where's the benefit of high frequency/performance RAM ? The answer is in overclocking our CPUs.
To be more precise, we have to get into some details on overclocking the Core 2 Series processors ( Core 2 Duo/Quad ):

To overclock a Core 2 Series processor you need to raise the FSB or use raise the CPU's Multiplier ( also referred as CPU Ratio ).
Raising the CPU Multiplier is possible only with the Extreme Edition CPUs ( Core 2 Extreme, like the X6800, QX6700, QX6800 ) as all the non-Extreme Core 2 Series processors have locked ( upwards ) Multipliers.So if you don't have a Extreme Edition processor you need to raise your FSB to overclock your processor.
Now let's get to the tricky part.
Unless you have a nFORCE 650i/680i or ATi RD600 chipset motherboard, you will have to run your RAM at least 1:1 to the FSB or higher.
For example if you run your CPU at 400MHz FSB, you'll have to run your memory at least at DDR2-800.
Now, let's say that you've got a Core 2 Duo E6300 ( 266MHz FSB [ QDR1066 FSB ], 7x Multiplier ) and you want to run your processor at 3,5GHz ( with decent cooling, it's possible ), which requires a FSB of 500MHz ( QDR2000 FSB ).
As the FSB is now at 500MHz, your RAM should be able to run at least at DDR2-1000, that's where the high frequency RAM is required and beneficial.
The higher you clock your FSB, the better RAM you need.
If your memory couldn't handle DDR2-1000, then you'd never be able to run your E6300 processor at 3,5GHz..

After this review, I finally have a Mushkin product to recommend you ( the previously reviewed in our June DDR-2 Roundup Mushkin RedLine XP2-8000 did good, but at that time they were asking too much for that kit, while you could buy a 'identically' performing kit for less ) that can be found in a reasonable price everywhere.
The Mushkin XP2-6400 2GB DDR-2 Memory Kit ( 996523 ) is a very good choice for everyone out there, guaranteed to have Micron D9GMH chips, 'granted' overclockability, and good quality, just for ~ 140$ ( around 130 euros in Europe ).
Well, those who aren't interested in overclocking their CPU or RAM can buy a 'value' kit out there for ~80$ ( 70 euros ), but for the users interested in overclocking this kit is more than adequate.

Here's the full review