A closer lookMy
first Mushkin redline review is almost three years old now, and was all about the DDR2 PC8000 part. At the time, these modules featured the frostbite heatsinks for the first time, and they still look good today. The redlines are also available with the new "Ascent" heatsinks, which arguably look a bit better nowadays (they certainly have a more modern look).
The frostbite heatsinks themselves are quite simple heatspreaders actually: a thin metal (aluminum) film that is in contact with the memory IC's by a long thermal pad. The Mushkin heatspreaders are one of the only ones on the market nowadays that can be easily removed : they're held in place by two metal clips, which are removed very quickly. After that, it's just a question of loosening them a little - in my case almost no force was needed. Should you need a little more force, I'd suggest using a hairdryer to warm them up a little. All this is at your own risk of course, it wouldn't be the first kit that get ruined by applying too much force or heating them to far. Anyway, after removal, this is what we see :
(click for larger version)Much to my surprise we're not talking hyper chips here, the Elpida module number clearly says
J1108B B SE, whereas the HYPER chips all end with B
A SE. These are Elpida chips all right (duh), and with a decent binning, but they are no hyper chips... We'll see what they're made off shortly...
PCB DetailsIf you're looking for the same kit with the "Ascent" heatsinks, the model number is just slightly different : 99869
2. Be warned though that the Ascent heatsinks are a little thicker (and more expensive ;-) ), and do not allow 6 module operation on standard S1366 motherboards.
Let's have a look at OCZ's modules next >