Mushkin HP3-12800 P/N 996629
Two things that really stand out about Mushkin’s HP3-12800 996629 dual-channel kit are its heat spreaders and latency ratings. Looking like the edge of a plastic handbook binder, the aluminum heat spreaders cover modules with 8-8-8-24 timings at 1.80 volts, DDR3-1600.
Like most performance memory, SPD values only allow motherboards to auto-detect the modules at a slower speed in order to make them stable at default voltage. Mushkin adds XMP extensions for semi-automatic switching to rated speed, voltage, and timings on XMP-enabled Intel chipset motherboards. Installers can simply chose an XMP profile from within BIOS rather than making a multitude of adjustments.
In addition to its slightly more aggressive rated timings, Mushkin tries to beat major competitors on value. We found this HP3-12800 part number 996629 kit starting at around $260 at several Web stores.
