Mushkin Redline XP2 8000 DDR2 SDRAM (Updated 7/08/2006)

INTRODUCTION

When first contacted a few weeks ago by Lee Groninger, Manager, Sales & Marketing at Mushkin, Inc. about the possibility of doing a review of their latest product in their "eXtreme Performance series", Redline XP2-8000 DDR2 SDRAM; I was at the very least elated. Why, you may ask? Well, the timing could not have been any more perfect. First, I had just decided to get a new AMD based socket AM2 system to enhance the flavor of my reviews a bit as I had used predominately Intel products for the previous 3-4 years. Second, DDR2 SDRAM had just become the new defacto standard for the Computer Enthusiast primarily because AMD had just adopted DDR2 as the memory source for their new socket AM2 series of processors. Intel had made this move almost a year earlier with the introduction of their 900 series of chipsets.

For me, this would be my first hands on experience with DDR2. Even though I had never personally used a stick of DDR2 RAM before I received my new system, I had been reading extensively and following DDR2's evolutionary process since it first surfaced on the market in 2004. My interest in DDR2 was first peaked when I ran across this white paper article entitled New DDR2 Memory Offers Advantages for Dual-Processor Servers published by Thor Sewell in September, 2004. Since then I have ravenously devoured all the articles and reviews I could find detailing the technical advancements concerning DDR2 in preparation for its mainstream emergence into the Computer Enthusiast market.

Ok, enough already with the personal history, lets now focus a bit on the company that produced the product that we'll be focusing on today, Mushkin, Inc. with these excerpts from their web site: "Founded in 1994, Mushkin is best known for producing “Enhanced” memory modules. Located at the base of the Rocky Mountains in Denver, Colorado Mushkin provides performance enhanced computer products to users worldwide." "Exceptional quality, enhanced performance and unparalleled customer support are what make Mushkin products the best in the industry."

My personal association with Mushkin, Inc. began roughly 4-5 years ago when I purchased some PC133 memory for my then ASUS CUSL2-C based rig as at the time it was the best performing memory that could be found anywhere. Later, I purchased several sticks of their now legendary Winbond BH-5 based DDR SDRAM which I ran in all my Intel 875 based rigs up until several months ago when the performance of a number of my apps and games required me to move to more than the 1 GB of BH-5 that I owned. I still own those sticks and probably will never sell them just for nostalgic reasons!

Finally, I have had occasion to contact their customer service department concerning an SPD issue with two of my BH-5 sticks. They were probably some of the friendliest and most down to earth "techies" I've ever had the pleasure to deal with. Furthermore, each time that I called their support line a real person answered the phone within 2-3 rings, and that person was always more than capable of answering every question I posed, no matter how stupid it may have been.

The positive experiences with both Mushkin products and their support I've just related should be taken with whatever degree of emphasis you may choose to give them. That was Miles the customer speaking and when wearing that hat I'm no different than any of you out there who expect the best you can get for your hard earned money! Now it is time to change hats and focus to that of the computer product analyst and get on with this review. Please join me while we thoroughly investigate if the quality and performance that belonged to its predecessors has transcended the years and been imparted to the Redline XP2-8000 DDR2 SDRAM, our topic of discussion today.