Appearance and specs.
Looking at the module now:
You might be thinking that the module looks almost identical to OCZ's recent offerings. You'd be right. The heatspreader story is a rather long and convoluted one. Mushkin have now chosen copper-clad heatspreaders, much in the same vein as OCZ.
Mushkin use the very finest Winbond 5ns RAM and then place it on their in-house 6-layer PCB. Technically, the overall speed of 217MHz (DDR-433) is an overclocked one, but I don't have a problem with that unless the modules fail to live up to expectation. Having a decent PCB is paramount to success at speeds which are approaching the limit of TSOP RAM. Signal integrity must not be compromised.
Specifications
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256MB module size
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Implemented using 32M x 8-bit (256-MBit) DDR unbuffered SDRAMs (TSOP) with Winbond 5ns chips time. Single sided RAM
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High-grade Winbond modules tested on various platforms
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184-pin DDR.
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Integrated copper heatspreader for improved thermal performance
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Lifetime Mushkin limited warranty
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Six-layer PCB
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Latency: 2.5-7-4-4 @ 2.5 - 2.55v @ DDR-433 speeds.
Perhaps the most important line in the specification list is the very last one. I previously mentioned that the two largest determinants on RAM performance were the basic speed and associated timings. The Mushkin Enhanced memory does state a basic running speed of DDR-433, but with the highest latencies available. It gets a little more complex than that, but Mushkin, it seems, simply want to ensure flawless operation.
As Corsair and OCZ have already successfully launched memory ratified to work at DDR-433 speeds with the perceived all-important CAS latency of 2 clocks, the specifications of the Mushkin PC3500 Enhanced do not endear themselves to many. However, with CAS latency playing a minimal role in defining overall performance, Mushkin don't really have all that much to worry about on the technical front. On the marketing front, though, CAS latency of 2 clocks sells.
On to the test.
