250 MHz FSB:

I tightened the timings on the ram to CL4-4-4-8 and opened up the FSB to an amazing 250MHz FSB. Much to my anticipation the board locked up at 1.382v on the CPU. I just went for the gusto and over volt-ed the CPU at 1.500v and slammed the ram voltage to 2.1 volts and the Mushkin PC24200 CL3-2-2 pulls out all the stops and allowed our Intel based DFI LANParty 925X-T2 mother-board to run at the mind blowing speed of 1GHz FSB.

Configuration 4:

Model : Intel Corporation 925x Memory Controller Hub
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 250MHz (1000MHz data rate)
Width : 64-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 8000MB/s (estimated)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks:

Bank 0 : 512MB DDR2-SDRAM 4.0-4-4-8CL 1CMD
Bank 4 : 512MB DDR2-SDRAM 4.0-4-4-8CL 1CMD
Channels : 2
Width : 64-bit
Performance Acceleration Technology : Yes

Features:

(W)MMX Technology : Yes
SSE Technology : Yes
SSE2 Technology : Yes
SSE3 Technology : Yes
HTT - Hyper-Threading Technology : Yes

Sandra Professional 2005

Int Buff'd iSSE2 (Integer STREAM) Results Breakdown

Float Buff'd iSSE2 (Float STREAM) Results Breakdown

Well since we increased the bus speed by 50 MHz to 250 MHz, our Intel P4 is now running 4.250GHz, we passed the 4.2 GHz barrier. WhooHoo! And again the Mushkin memory has no issues what so ever.

This is a RightMark Stream showing performance using there engine. The DFI, Mushkin, NVIDIA, Swiftech, Cooler Master, Antec, sponsored rig, is pimpin an 850MHz overclock. Not only that but this was done using a CL 4-4-4-8. Now that's some some lose timings at 200 MHz FSB! But at 250 MHz FSB thats pretty damn fast!

Check it again, CPU-Z reports that the MVKTech test rig sports an over-clock to 4250.2 MHz, the FSB kicking a healthy 1 GHz, using a D0 stepping Pentium 4 550 cranked out to the ragged edge 4.25 GHz. If we had a couple extra weeks to play around with the timing and configuration I am sure we can get this rig in the 4300.0 range.

I tried a few times to set the FSB to 253.0 MHz but we got a first time no go. I tried to loosen timings and add some volts and still "no-go". For now we missed the 900 MHz over-clock, but time will tell if we can break that barrier with our current configuration using this ram.

VS

No matter what we do and or try the system will not run at 250 MHz FSB using the older PC2-4200 CL 4-4-4-12 offering. While to two specimens run close to the same, the CL 3-2-2-8 has the over all edge with more over-clocking head room.

Compare the differences

• PC2-4200 CL 3-2-2 Specification Sheet in PDF.
• PC2-4200 CL 4-4-4 Specification Sheet in PDF.
  

Final Thoughts:

Our Intel base 925X motherboard with a D0 stepping Intel Pentium 4 550 3.4GHz CPU running at 4.25 GHz, absolutely screams using the new Mushkin PC2-4200 CL 3-2-2. With rock solid performance and stability the Mushkin PC2-4200 CL 3-2-2 has been the best performing ram in our rig to date! Granted we are water-cooled, but no ram has ever run this fast in this motherboard period, end of story.

The performance of the Mushkin PC2-4200 1GB DDR2 Dual Pack memory modules has lived up to my expectations. And we didn't find any weak point on Mushkin part. These memory modules do what they should do and perform better than the advertised rating. With that in mind and the fact we can over-clock to a 250 MHz FSB using this ram shows that Mushkin is on top of there game.

I recommend these sticks of ram to any Intel 925X platform. We got some of the best performance to date using this product and I feel this ram is going to put a world of hurt on the competition. This ram simply smokes! It runs under the advertised specifications and uses the latest tier one modules the Micron 37E integrated circuit package, for ultimate speed and stability.

This ram is extremely fast and allows ultra high FSB settings on our configuration. To even have this system runnning at 4.25 GHz is a fantastic sign that Mushkin ram is becoming the leader of the pack. While our watercooling the CPU played part in the 250 MHz FSB, the system would of never achieved this speed with out the use of Mushkin's PC2-4200 CL 3-2-2 1GB kit.

Pros:

• Quality and craftsmanship
• Excellent stability
• Same price as previous standard
• Fastest in its class
• Tightest DDR2 timings available
• Outstanding over-clocking head room

Cons:

• None!

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