Introduction

Mushkin has always been one of the most popular high performance memory manufacturer, and they have continued to built on their reputation. Being one of the favourite manufacturer among the overclockers, thanks to their long standing stability and overclockability.

To my surprise, Mushkin have revamped their website and introduced a few new product lines! Instead of the old High Performance Black, Blue Line and Dual Pack categories, Mushkin now offers three different line-ups - all catering to different segments of the enthusiast market.

Let's take a look at the new categories :

Enhanced Performance
The Mushkin Enhanced Memory Series (EM)- This line of modules is the perfect solution for the standard, multi-use PC. The Mushkin EM Series is high quality, spec’d to JEDEC standards for maximum compatibilty, maintains exceptional performance, and is an overall great value! All Mushkin EM Series memory comes with an installed heat spreader to eliminate localized hotspots, further enhancing product lifetime and overclockability. Mushkin modules are tested and carry a limited lifetime warranty upon product registration.

High Performance
The Mushkin High Performance Blue Series (HP)-This line of modules is designed for excellent STABILITY and QUALITY while maintaining an affordable price. These lower latency modules use major brand, tier one chips; built on Mushkin’s Black PCB, and are designed to offer the greatest range in system compatibility. All Mushkin High Performance memory modules come with an installed heat spreader to eliminate localized hotspots, further enhancing lifetime and overclockability. Mushkin modules are tested and carry a limited lifetime warranty upon product registration.

Extreme Performance
The Mushkin Extreme Performance Black Series (XP)- This line of modules delivers superlative performance for the hardcore PC enthusiast, and has been THE essential ingredient in extreme rigs for over a decade. Whether you are looking for low latencies to pull the highest frame-rates from the most challenging games or overclocking your machine well past industry standards - the Mushkin Extreme Performance Black is your module! All Mushkin Extreme Performance memory modules come with an installed heat spreader to eliminate localized hotspots, further enhancing lifetime and overclockability. Mushkin modules are tested and carry a limited lifetime warranty upon product registration.

Confused? Mushkin's line-up is now a lot more logical in organization as they are now categorized according to their purpose and advantages. Let's summarize the new categories for you.

The Enhanced Performance series is catered towards budget-conscious enthusiasts, while the High Performance series offers better latencies and higher density. Finally, for those who insist on nothing but the best, Mushkin offers the Extreme Performance series!

Today, we will be taking a look at the latest dual-channel memory kit in the Extreme Performance Black Series - the Mushkin XP2-5300 2GB Extreme Performance DDR2 Dual Pack!

The Package

The Mushkin XP2-5300 Dual Pack came in a clear plastic retail package, which is now standard for all Mushkin memory modules.

The clear plastic cover allows the modules to be clearly seen but it doesn't provide enough protection from the horrors of modern day postal services on its own. You should further protect it with bubble wrap and a sturdy box if you intend to have it mailed. Ahh.. How we miss the days of the Mushkin Air Box.

Front	Back

The back of the package lists the features of these memory modules, as well as some accolades from various websites.

Mushkin had the foresight not to use the sealed blister package, which is horrendously hard to open. But they sealed it by melting the plastic package at three points.

Take a look at the picture on the right. While it looks like the package is held together by brown string, that's actually melted plastic.

As such, you will need to use a sharp blade to cut away the three seal points to gain access to the package's contents. While it is a little inconvenient, at least Mushkin didn't totally seal the package. Because you only need to cut away three small seal points, the package is still reusable.

Contents

Inside, you will just find :

• Two Mushkin XP2-5300 memory modules
• A cardboard insert

There were nothing else in the package.

But please don't throw away the cardboard insert. You will need it and the plastic packaging if you ever need to return the modules for warranty purposes.