Mushkin 2GB HP3-10666 DDR3 Memory Kit

Introduction:

Mushkin has gone through quite a few changes as the PC industry continues to change to keep up with demand. Everyone knows who Mushkin is and what kinds of success they've had since the DDR era. You may not know that they also have had some good experiences with their power supplies even though their main success has been memory modules. Still, it hasn't stopped them from remaining one of the foremost names among enthusiasts. They have put much of their efforts in to providing both budget and enthusiast memory kits which have done well on the test bench. This kind of history has helped them become a provider for Dell, HP, IBM, Toshiba, Sony, and even Apple.

If you've been wondering why there hasn't been more DDR3 choices on the shelves, it has mainly been due in part to the limited numbers of DDR3 ICs for some makers and because there weren't a large number of supporting motherboards out at the time. There are still only a few motherboards out now from the likes of ASUS and Gigabyte which have both done quite well. With only a handful of DDR3 motherboards around, it's no surprise that some makers just wanted to hold off till a more solid number was due to release. The P35 based boards have been released in both DDR2 and DDR3 flavors with the X38 arriving now. With some choices finally on the way, it's just as good a time as any.

Given the state of the DDR3 supplies and how the market is continuing to speed up with more and more variations of kits available, it was no surprise when we received Mushkin's Enhanced HP3-10666 2GB Memory kit. This is the beginning launch of their DDR3 memory line following up their very successful DDR2 memory which we've been privileged to test. Given the history of their memory modules, we expect something formidable none the less. Thanks in part to ASUS, we have a motherboard well tuned and tested that can support these modules.

Specification:

Mushkin HP3-10666 DDR3-1333MHz 2 x 1GB Kit

Closer Look:

These days, colored, anodized heat sinks are the best thing around and it's more feasible to keep big changes under control if you're trying to keep costs down. Looking over the Mushkin HP3-10666 2GB kit, you see a familiar heat sink. These are the same FrostByte Heat Sinks found on their HP2 and XP2 DDR2 series modules. The XP2 came in black while the XP2 Redline came in a very hot shade of red. The HP2 and HP3 both come in blue with the Mushkin Enhanced logo being the only alteration. These are actually quite light heat sinks for their size and are mainly held on by the two chrome clips that secure them in place quite well.

Front

Back

The appearance is clean, simpler, and has the easy to identify, Mushkin Enhanced logo. It's nice that it doesn't cover a great deal of the spreader. Even the bar code sticker doesn't take away from the kit's appearance. I'm all for listing a memory kit's specs, but it really doesn't need to cover half the heat spreader or have a bunch of unnecessary information covering it up.

Matching Logos

Showing Off

Now for the most impressive feature of the memory and that's the memory timings. As of this review, the 6-7-6-18 memory timings are the most aggressive there are for a PC3-10666 (1333MHz) memory kit. We previously tested Kingston's 1375MHz memory which had standard 7-7-7 timings respectively which did quite well, but could not hold a CAS Latency 6 timing. The Mushkin 10666 are rated to hold their stock timings at a 1.7 to 1.8 volts. Sometimes, it's possible to set the timings one digit lower depending on the modules used to build the kit. With just a small voltage increase, 6-6-6-18 may just be achievable, though not necessary.

Timings up close

Cool Blue

The timing change of only one digit will rarely effect a memory module's performance unless it's the CAS Latency (tCL) which is the first digit in the timings. If either of the other timings (tRCD)(tRP)(TRAS) are raised or lowered by a value of one, performance changes will be nominal. So, the question posed is whether or not it's worth increasing the memory voltage to gain one digit and risk damaging the kit. Personally, I wouldn't bother. But, it's still worth checking to see if 1.8v will manage a straight across 6-6-6-18 memory timing value. That's what we do here. We like to look for that one extra hidden or secret benefit gained from just a little extra effort. Let's install the memory and check out the benchmarks.

Close Up

Let's install them!

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