High-Density DDR3: Five Dual-Module 8GB Kits Compared

By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Mushkin Blackline DDR3-1600 CAS 9

The second company in today’s comparison to provide DDR3-1600 modules, Mushkin is quickly overtaking G.Skill in variety by also offering both triple-channel and reduced-latency versions of its 8GB Blackline 996776 dual-channel kit.

Mushkin’s parts require 1.65V for guaranteed stability at rated speeds and timings, although we were able to achieve these qualities using far less. Voltage increase isn’t available in SPD, so Mushkin adds an automatic-overclocking XMP profile.

Users who won’t or can’t adjust BIOS settings will find their Blackline 996776 kit defaults at the same DDR3-1333 CAS 9 settings as most of the other products in today’s lineup.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
86 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jasonz001
    nice :O
    Reply
  • liquidsnake718
    At an average of $200 dollars a stick I can safely say I am not an "Enthusiast" even though I love computers, hardware, consoles, games, and talking about computers.

    However my next build has almost been conceptualized (waiting for certain parts and prices), so DDR3 here I come.
    Reply
  • micky_lund
    ouch 400+ for 8gb ram?
    Reply
  • falchard
    Its about twice as much as getting 8GB off 2GB Modules. So the price increase isn't too bad considering 4GB ram sticks are the largest you can currently buy. I am still waiting for that to dip in price and for the more massive ram sticks to come along. We have been max 4GB for quite some time now.
    Reply
  • arkadi
    4 now i can live with 12gb limit on my x58 mb. But it is good to know that ppl that really need more then that can do it for affordable price
    Reply
  • Only problem I have with the review is where is the same tests on a AMD platform for all us AMD users that will be or are already looking at AMD AM3/DDR3 builds.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    micky_lundouch 400+ for 8gb ram?
    Yeh, ouch, but can you imagine paying $800 for it last summer? Newegg still has one of those super-expensive kits.
    Reply
  • verrul
    dont expect more than 4gb anytime soon there really is no need in a system to run more than 4 to begin with you really dont see any speed improvements past 4 and no program is built to handle that size of memory block currently. Sure there are the occasional special systems that use more than 4gb but not for a single program. Besides that there is the TDP and FCC inforced efficiency ratings they have to come in under ram is an energy hog for an overclocker
    Reply
  • Crashman
    terrybearOnly problem I have with the review is where is the same tests on a AMD platform for all us AMD users that will be or are already looking at AMD AM3/DDR3 builds.
    Tom's Hardware has recently been getting very similar overclocking and timing results between AMD and Intel systems when using the same modules and DIMM voltage. That's why the high-end system for the last two System Builder Marathons used the same RAM both times.
    Reply
  • anamaniac
    What about 16GBm 1066MHz DDR3 DIMM's? Only $1,700 a piece. =D
    Granted, however, it is server ECC memory, and was never designed to be in a desktop. (Would love a 2P rig running dual 4GHz sexacore Gulftowns with HT, with 9 DIMM's per socket, running (18 DIMMs x 16GB/DIMM) 288GB of RAM.)

    http://www.amazon.com/HP-Memory-240-pin-PC3-8500-registered/dp/B002I8SHK2
    Reply