PiFast
A good indicator of CPU/Motherboard performance is version 4.2, by Xavier Gourdon. We used a computation of 10000000 digits of Pi, Chudnovsky method, 1024 K FFT, and no disk memory. Note that lower scores are better, and times are in seconds.
Pentium 4 @ 12x200
As with the synthetic tests, the ProSeries holds down the fort. Mushkin places second again, and finishes about a second and a half behind the leader.
Pentium 4 @ 12x250
The improved timings of the ProSeries is too much for the other three, but the Mushkin still manages to finish in second place, despite timings that were not as aggressive as OCZ and Kingston.
Pentium 4 @ Maximum OC (Mushkin @ 280FSB)
Again, Mushkin takes the silver in this race.
TMPGEnc MPEG Encoding
Video editing is a taxing chore, and we'll be testing the Mushkin PC4000 using TMPGEnc 2.512 to encode a 7.78MB, 1:30 movie trailer to a 24FPS MPG file. Note that lower scores are better. All memory timings are at 2-3-3-5 at 200FSB.
Pentium 4 @ 12x200
Pentium 4 @ 12x250
Pentium 4 @ Maximum OC (Mushkin @ 280FSB)
Dead even at 200 and 250FSB, so there isn't much difference between the four here. We are planning changes to our test suite, but due to time constraints, I still relied on the smaller movie file. At the maximum OC, the Mushkin finally catches up with Corsair for a first place tie.
Unreal Tournament 2003
UT2K3 s a real system killer, and can bring many systems to its knees. We used the , which are excellent tools in testing various resolutions and detail levels. We selected the CPU test, which uses the dm-inferno map.
Pentium 4 @ 12x200
Pentium 4 @ 12x250
Much like what we've seen today, the Mushkin ram performs admirably, but not enough to take Corsair down from its perch.
Final Words
There is no question that Mushkin has a real quality product here with the High Performance Black PC4000. The construction quality is top notch, from the PCB to the heatspreaders. Performance was flat out excellent, and the overclocking was above average as well.
The ram reviewed today was not a Dual Channel kit, but it had no issues running in DC mode. There is a , and it is actually 10$ cheaper (as a pair) than the sticks as reviewed today. The Dual Channel kit are the same as the High Performance Black PC4000, with the exception that they are a matched pair.
Stability-wise, the ram was rock solid, except at the maximum 280FSB overclock. Like we mentioned, our benchmarks didn't have any problems, but running Prime 95 for more than 90 minutes forced a system lockup. Other oddities I noticed was when I cut (and pasted) documents, they would not move to their new location, and sometimes, pressing application short cuts would result in nothing happening. This was resolved when we lowered the ram down to 274FSB.
The performance and quality comes at a price though. At , the Mushkin PC4000 is easily the most expensive PC4000 ram we currently have running in our labs. Is it worth it? Well, I suppose it comes down to brand loyalty really. There are a few manufacturers, Mushkin being one of them, that we here at VL can fully endorse, so for myself, performance and pricing is going to play a large part in my purchase. The performance, and reliability would earn a high recommendation, but the pricing is something we'll have to penalize Mushkin for, considering that the ProSeries, which does outperform it, sells for about 50$ USD less as a set.
Pros: Good performance, good overclocker, and excellent construction quality.
Cons: Expensive.
Bottom Line: Despite the high price, we do feel that the Mushkin PC4000 is worthy of a spot in your rig. If it was 75$ cheaper, it would have earned our full recommendation.
If you have any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
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