INTRODUCTION

   When out to get a new RAM kit what do you look for, what is it that you prioritize? This is a question i like to ask people i know and the answers I’m getting vary from MHZ, timings and overclocking potential to capacity/amount, brand name and even looks. Personally, i always put capacity/amount first followed by MHZ and timings since these actually impact the performance of any system. Sure, overclocking potential/headroom is nice to have but only if you're into RAM overclocking (the benefits of which vary from system to system). The same of course goes for looks so if you plan on building a system with rich RGB lighting coming from both its hardware components and peripherals then opting for an RGB RAM kit is the obvious way to go. Today however i will not be testing an RGB kit but rather a rather "plain" looking one and more specifically the Redline Black 32GB DDR4 3600MHz CL18 Dual-Channel kit (MRC4U360JNNM16GX2) by Mushkin.

   For over 25 years, Mushkin has been dedicated to helping Gamers, digital artists, IT managers and professionals alike enhance their computing experience by providing reliable, high-performance products. Mushkin’s products include a complete selection of USB, SSD and Memory Module upgrades for both the consumer and enterprise industries. Since the company’s founding in 1994, Mushkin has received numerous awards and commendations for quality, reliability and technical excellence.

   The Mushkin Redline Black (or Frostbyte) line of RAM kits so far includes 15 dual-channel (2x8/16/32GB) kits with frequencies going all the way up to 4000MHZ (2666/2800/3000/3200/3600/4000MHZ), timings as low as CL16 (2666/3000/3200MHZ CL16 - 2800MHZ CL17 - 3600/4000MHZ CL18) and voltages set from 1.2V and all the way up to 1.35V (2666MHz 1.2V - 2800MHz 1.25V - 3000/3200/3600/4000MHz 1.35V). Beneath the black aluminum Frostbyte heatspreaders of the 32GB dual-channel kit i have here today Mushkin has placed 16GB single memory chips by Micron (according to Mushkin most if not all of their current DDR4 kits use Micron modules, a good thing that is). As usual for most DDR4 kits in the market today Mushkin covers the entire Redline Black (Frostbyte) line of DDR4 memory kits with a limited lifetime warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Once again, we received a RAM kit housed inside a blister package from where you can actually both modules.

Moving at the rear we find the mounting/installation instructions, 2D barcode and a sticker with the serial number and barcode.

Nothing else but the two RAM modules inside the box.

THE REDLINE BLACK 32GB 3600MHZ CL18

The new Redline Black series uses the Frostbyte heatsink/heatspreader which provides adequate cooling for the modules and is not very tall.

As expected at the rear of each module we find a small sticker with the capacity/amount, frequency, timings and voltage.

The new heatsinks/heatspreaders look nice but they are slightly taller than what they need to be.

To be more precise the Frostbyte heatsinks/heatspreaders raise the height of the modules to around 38mm meaning roughly the same with some RGB modules (like the Ballistix Max you see here).

Also let's not forget to check Thaiphoon burner for more details on this kit.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Thanks to XMP (2.0) profiles the only thing one needs to do in order to run this RAM kit at its advertised frequency, timings and voltages is to choose/enable it from within the Bios and reboot. That being said if you're into overclocking you may not wish to use the main XMP profile but instead to choose your very own frequency, timings and voltages to achieve even higher performance numbers and that's exactly what we'll also be doing during our DDR4 tests. To be more specific aside testing each kit with its XMP profile we will also be upping the voltages (up to 1.4V max – even though most kits can function at higher voltages I don’t recommend doing so) and frequencies (200MHZ increments) until we find the maximum achievable stable frequency. We also thought about upping voltages and reducing timings instead of increasing the frequency of the modules as high as it can go (always stable and without going over 1.4V) but the end results are pretty much identical.

   As for the how we'll be testing each DDR4 Quad/Dual-Kit to arrive in our lab well there aren't that many benchmark programs that only test RAM (or at least RAM and CPU without anything else coming into play) but we got most of them and so you will be seeing results from following benchmarking programs, AIDA64 Engineer Edition, Cinebench Release 20, MaxMemm2 (because we are getting low performance numbers this doesn't seem to play well with our test rig - probably because of the X299 architecture - but we decided to include it regardless), Passmark Performance Test 9, Sisoftware Sandra Titanium and WPrime v1.55. All tests are performed on a fresh Windows 10 Pro installation (complete with all updates until the day of this review) and are repeated a total of 6 times after which the average numbers get recorded into our charts.

* In addition to Quad-Channel tests since March 2020 I’ll also be using the brand new Z390 test rig (check above) for Dual-Channel RAM tests.
** Since May 2020 three game benchmarks (Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, GEARS 5 and Metro Exodus tested on the X299 system at 1080p resolution and with the ASUS ROG RTX2060 OC set at Gaming Mode) have also been added in the charts.

TEST RESULTS - XMP PROFILE / DUAL CHANNEL

TEST RESULTS - OVERCLOCK / DUAL CHANNEL

Overclocking is very easy with the EVGA Z390 DARK so hitting a stable 3800MHz without even changing timings and just by upping the voltage to 1.37V only took but a few minutes. Unfortunately, even at CL20 and 1.4V I was unable to climb to 4GHz (should be doable however if you surpass 1.4V).

CONCLUSION

   The Redline RAM by Mushkin was legendary back in the early days of DDR3 and used to be the primary “tool” of overclockers. This of course is not something you forget so I’m always curious to see what they’ve been up to. Now it’s been many years since i had a RAM kit by Mushkin in my hands so the arrival of their Redline Black (Frostbyte) roughly 3 weeks ago was more than welcome. Performance as you can all tell from the charts is very good across all benchmarks, although I have to admit I was expecting just a tad more in terms of overclocking headroom (especially since Mushkin just released a 4GHZ CL18 kit in this line – probably uses different Micron die however). Still 3800MHz with CL18 and just 1.37V is a very good and safe result for people who might want to get some extra juice out of these modules.

   Price is what usually makes or breaks any product and with a current one set at just USD109.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and at 193.47Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Redline Black (MRC4U360JNNM16GX2) 32GB DDR4 3600MHZ CL18 Dual-Channel kit by Mushkin certainly does very well in that regard, at least on the other side of the Atlantic. This is also why this Redline Black kit is highly recommended for consumers living in the USA, it’s got capacity/amount (32GB should be plenty for many years to come) performance (3600MHz again should be more than enough), quality (Mushkin/Micron), lifetime warranty and it it’s reasonably priced.

PROS

- Good Overall Performance (Up To 3800MHz CL18)
- Build Quality (Mushkin/Micron)
- Lifetime Limited Warranty
- 15 Available Kits
- Price (USA)

CONS

- Dual Channel Kits Only
- No RGB Lighting
- Price (EU)