Mushkin Redline 32GB (16GBx2) 5600MHz DDR5 Memory Review

There are a lot of great-looking memory kits out there, with wild designs and crazy amounts of bright RGB lighting and a whole host of colours to choose from. Oh, and then there's a wide range of speeds and capacities too, obviously. However, what if you want something that's going to deliver the high-quality of the more expensive gamer-aesthetic models, but with a more sensible design? Enter the Mushkin Redline series, which features a toned-down monochrome design. Mushkin Redline It's ticking all the right boxes for a good memory kit too, with a range of speeds available, and support for both Intel XMP profiles and also AMD compatibility, giving you the customer plenty of choices. I have the 5600 MHz kit, which operates at some tighter timing of 28-34-34-89 with just 1.35v so while not the fastest speed we've ever tested for DDR5, however, with those timings, it should still deliver some pretty competitive performance. Features Enhanced Timings - This product has been programmed for timings that offer improved performance when properly installed.Enhanced Frequency - This product has been programmed to operate at the ideal frequency for your system when properly installed.Hand-Tested - This product has been tested by hand for quality assurance.Extreme Performance - Unparalleled speeds to save time and money while transferring content-rich data.Lifetime WarrantyQuality guaranteed - we offer a lifetime warranty on this product and genuine, unmatched service and support.Stiletto Heatsink What Mushkin Had to Say "Mushkin Redline has been engineered for the ultimate PC experience. Each module is hand tested and tuned to meet the highest performance even under default settings. Redline High-Performance modules are tested and calibrated to offer more dependable performance beyond what you find on a spec sheet. If you like to overclock and squeeze ‘as much performance from your PC as possible, then Redline memory gives you that extra edge you need to dominate without breaking a sweat." - Mushkin A Closer Look As you can see, this memory is really slick, with a matte black aluminium heatsink that looks pretty stealthy. There's a Mushkin Redline logo on there, but it's seriously hard to see. However, it is there, it's just slightly glossy paint on a slightly matte background, so it's pretty stealthy. It's almost like a watermark. I like it when brands are subtle with their branding though, it comes across as classy. the only really pop-out detail here is the raised aluminium strip at the bottom, it's all one piece, but this one has been machined with a 45-degree lined pattern, giving it a nice accent to the black On the other side, there's the usual sticker, which cheapens the look somewhat, but you could always remove this if you so desired. How We Test Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose vital information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their hardware. When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there's always a margin for error when using any software. Therefore, your experience may vary. Testing Your Own System Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you're looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using our benchmarks and settings where possible. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware we tested to give you a ballpark figure of how much an upgrade this will provide you with. Test System ProcessorIntel i9 12900kMotherboardMSI Z690 TOMAHAWK WiFiMemoryChanges Per ReviewGraphicsGigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OC 10GBStorageSeagate Firecuda 520 1TBPower SupplyCorsair RM850xSoftwareWindows 10 Professional 1909DriversNVDIA GeForce 497.29 DCH Software Used CineBench R23 (download)AIDA 64 Engineer (download)WPrime (download)3DMark (download)HWMonitor (download)CPU-Z (download) Methodology In our RAM reviews, we keep things relatively simple. We put the RAM kit that is being tested into our test system and benchmark it at its first XMP profile using a variety of benchmarks and tests. Once complete, we apply a reasonable overclock where possible and benchmark the same software with the overclocked values. The CPU clock speed is set to default for both runs. I think it's fair at this point to remind you that this is one of the lower-speed kits that we've tested. However, it shouldn't be confused with a slow kit, it's plenty fast! It's just we've been spoilt with testing some seriously fancy high-end stuff recently. With that in mind, I'm happy with the performance here, it's right on the money for a more modest kit like the Mushkin Redline 5600 MHz. However, it is interesting to see the difference with the Mushkin 6000 MHz kit we've also tested from the same series as the 5600 MHz delivers better latency results. AIDA64 Actually surprised by this one, a time of 5.59 seconds is really fast, and it speaks volumes that MHz ain't everything with memory, as tighter timings can really deliver real-world results. Calculation Performance Nothing groundbreaking here, but the R32 time was overall average, nothing wrong with that given the competition its up against, and while the Corona time looked low, it was certainly in the same ballpark as the other kits. Rendering Performance Again, a little ahead on one a little behind on the other, but again still broadly close to many of its rivals. The 6000 MHz kit performed only slightly fastest in FireStriek, but interesting the GPU score was higher on TimeSpy. FutureMark Performance The results were some of the more consistent we've seen, wit the kit largely sitting in the bottom half of all results, which is what I expected given the clock speeds, but honestly, for those who want this for gaming, this is a good kit, with scores that held up really damn well against significantly faster or more expensive models. Assassin's Creed Valhalla Become Eivor, a Viking raider raised to be a fearless warrior, and lead your clan from icy desolation in Norway to a new home amid the lush farmlands of ninth-century England. Find your settlement and conquer this hostile land by any means to earn a place in Valhalla. Available now on Steam. Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the megalopolis of Night City, where you play as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival. Improved and featuring all-new free additional content, customize your character and playstyle as you take on jobs, build a reputation, and unlock upgrades. The relationships you forge and the choices you make will shape the story and the world around you. Legends are made here. What will yours be? Available now on Steam. F1 2022 Make your mark on Formula 1 in the officially licensed F1 Manager 2022. Be the boss of your chosen constructor and pick from a roster of 2022 drivers and staff. Featuring full F1 licensing and true-to-life presentation, you won’t just play F1 Manager 2022 – you’ll live it. Available now on Steam. FarCry 6 Welcome to Yara, a tropical paradise frozen in time. As the dictator of Yara, Antón Castillo is intent on restoring his nation to its former glory by any means necessary, with his son, Diego, following in his bloody footsteps. Their oppressive rule has ignited a revolution. Available now on Epic. Forza Horizon 5 Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Explore the vibrant and ever-evolving open world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars. Available now on Xbox.com. Horizon Zero Dawn Experience Aloy’s legendary quest to unravel the mysteries of a future Earth ruled by Machines. Use devastating tactical attacks against your prey and explore a majestic open world in this award-winning action RPG! Available now on Steam. Microsoft Flight Simulator From light planes to wide-body jets, fly highly detailed and accurate aircraft in the next generation of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Test your piloting skills against the challenges of night flying, real-time atmospheric simulation and live weather in a dynamic and living world. Create your flight plan to anywhere on the planet. The world is at your fingertips. Available now on Xbox.com. Red Dead Redemption 2 Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are outlaws on the run. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. Available now on Steam. Overclocking Overclocking the Mushkin Redline was fairly simple, but with minimal results, as it was only pushed from 5600 MHz to 5800 MHz. However, what is surprising is what impact this had on performance, with a surprisingly significant uptick in read, write and copy speeds, and even a reduction in latency, so if you can, it's certainly worth trying to push the memory a little harder. How Much Does It Cost? Unfortunately, at the time of writing, I could not find accurate pricing or stock for this kit, but I will endeavour to update this as soon as I know more. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't check Amazon yourself using this link, as sometimes retail pages vanish when there's no stock, only to suddenly come back when there's more. I know this will be a competitively priced kit though, Mushkin usually are very competitive on price, so maybe that's why it's sold out. Overview Mushkin has been making PC components since the 90s, so it's fair to say they know what they're doing after almost 30 years. I've used several of their DDR3 and DDR4 kits over the years, and certainly never had anything to complain about. This is the first DDR5 kit of theirs I've personally tested, and honestly, I've nothing to complain about yet again. Mushkin has been pretty consistent with its build quality and designs over the years, and the Redline series is certainly one of the most popular they produce. Its toned-down, yet clean and stylish design is certainly appealing, in a market often littered with garish or RGB-laden memory kits, something in matte black with a subtle strip of polished aluminium is very appealing to me for a more stealthy-looking build. The overall build quality is very good too, further enhanced by the overall simplicity too. It's a simple two-piece aluminium heat spreader over a black PCB, so there's really very little to go wrong. There's a nice design on the spine with that staggered saw-tooth shape that looks nice, but also increases the overall cooling capabilities for improved performance. Out of the box, the XMP profile worked great and delivered results on par with my expectations, so no complaints there. However, overclocking by just 200MHz resulted in some pretty big gains in read, write, and copy speeds, and even saw a slight improvement to the latency. Of course, your OC mileage will vary, but with many motherboards able to OC memory automatically or with little effort these days, it's something I suggest you try with this kit. If you're looking for competitive memory that doesn't have a garish RGB-focused design, the Mushkin Redline series is perfect. Ideal for those who want to build a competitive gaming system without spending a small fortune on extreme memory kits, when clearly, a 5600 MHz kit is more than good enough!