OCZ or Mushkin?

[yabadaba]

I've decided to replace my current Corsair PC3200LLPT sticks because, despite my best efforts, they are just not performing as I expected they would in my Asus P4C800E-Deluxe board. Possibly one stick is faulty or there may be a compatability issue...anyway, I have a choice...

Mushkin Level 2 PC3500 1gb dual channel kit.

or

OCZ PC3500 EL 1gb dual channel kit

Both seems to have been well received and look like they will perform well in my system, with a mildly overclocked P4 3.0C. AnandTech seem to hold both in high regard with the OCZ performing slightly better. Based on this, I was all set to go for the OCZ until I noticed that in their Motherboard Qualification guide they recommend running the memory at 2.5-3-3-7 for optimum stability. Mushkin, on the other hand, state that their sticks are stable at 2-2-2-6

What would you choose. I'll be grateful for any responses but particularly from people with the same mainboard as me.

Thanks.

 

[zShowtimez]

Go mushkin.

 

[GnomeCop]

they can bothe be goodor bad depending on your luck

don't worry whichever you choose will be fine, just get the one thats cheaper.
For me it was mushkin and I try to get their memory whenever I can. They occasionally have good deals on their site

 

[chocoruacal]

Mushkin. Don't support OCZ...they used to rip people off with overclocked RAM. They should be on everyone's permanant blacklist.

 

[blazerazor]

2.5-3-3-7 vs. 2-2-2-6 . Is there a noticable difference?

 

[Rapier7]

I know OCZ can handle 2-2-2-5 and so can Mushkin. They are practically the same, but I lean towards OCZ in most cases.

 

[neuralfx]

OCZ .. oh my people are still buying that stuff .. i mean they openly ripped people off .. i mean .. how can anyone still support them .. its horrible .. Mushkin is the highest quality .. the two shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath ..
-neural

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: zShowtimez
Go mushkin.

 

[KrisMCool]

Have no experience with OCZ yet, but I'm running 1024MB PC3200 LvII Mushkin dual channel on my P4C800 Deluxe. I also just recently tried 512MB PC3500 LvII dual and went back to the originals. This is great memory, but I think you might want to save your money if your setup is anything like mine. I'm running a P4C 2.8 that maxes out at 3500 MHz (3430 stable) regardless of voltage. Memory has to be at 5:4 to reach this (DDR400 @ 3500, DDR392 @ 3430). Both sets get similar benchmark results in Sandra 04 and 3DMark03 @ 2-2-2-5 (Prime95 proves the memory is only stable @ 2-3-2-6 at speeds near or above DDR400, which are Intel's fastest supported timings). At 1:1 ratio, I can't get past FSB 218 with either set, regardless of timing or voltage (must be at 2.75v above 215 FSB). My games run better with 1024MB than 512MB, and since the PC3500 couldn't overclock or bench better than the PC3200, I'll stick with PC3200 for now. I would have to move up to PC3700 or higher to get better results with slower timings. These are just my experiences and opinions, but if you have a similar system you may not experince much different. Hope this helps.

 

[yabadaba]

Originally posted by: blazerazor
2.5-3-3-7 vs. 2-2-2-6 . Is there a noticable difference?

Maybe not anything terribly significant, but when it comes down to making a decision between the two it could be a factor...

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

mushkin

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: chocoruacal
Don't support OCZ...they used to rip people off with overclocked RAM. They should be on everyone's permanant blacklist.

When did they used to openly rip off people?

 

[LesPaul]

They didnt' as far as I've heard of them.. there was a big thing where people were accusing them of selling overclocked ram as higher rated memory, but that wasn't really the case and most companies do it... its called binning. Chips that don't pass the testing get clocked down until they can, and the better chips that can sustain higher frequencies and be stable get clocked higher.

People also thought that because OCZ bought samsung chips and lasered them for increased performance (if you think that's just a load of crap check it out, i read some articles on it, here at AT i believe) and sold them as faster modules, that they were being dishonest... Who cares if the chips were originally rated for something slower... When they got done with them they performed at the speed/timings they were rated for and better and were completely stable.