INTRODUCTION

   When the very first DDR4 RAM kits made their debut roughly 7 years ago 16GB was considered to be a good amount for the majority of systems out there and certainly enough for gamers, casual users and even for some professionals. Fast forward to today and 16GB have effectively been replaced with 32GB for the same exact purposes/use which is also why manufacturers have clearly increased production of such kits. Of course, today RGB lighting is also a thing so it's no surprise really that the vast majority of new kits to rollout of factories also focus quite a bit in that specific feature. Where things have changed more however are clocks and so whereas back then even 3000MHz was considered much today anything less than 3600MHz doesn't get that much attention. Mushkin has had a very good track record over the years with their Redline series of RAM kits and since they just released the Lumina line i had to check it out.

   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.

   Mushkin always covers as many users as possible from the get go and so their Redline Lumina line of DDR4 RAM is currently available in nine 16GB, eight 32GB, and six 64GB dual-channel kits with frequencies going all the way up to 4133MHZ, timings as low as CL16 (2666/3000/3200MHZ CL16 - 2800MHz CL17 - 3600/4000MHZ CL18 – 4133MHZ CL19) and voltages all the way up to 1.4V (2666MHz 1.2V - 2800MHz 1.25V - 3000/3200/3600 1.35V – 4133MHz at 1.4V). Past the diamond cut black and silver aluminum FrostByte heatspreaders of the Redline Lumina 32GB 3600MHz kit which i have here with me today Mushkin has paired 16GB single die memory chips (probably by Micron) with temperature sensors by Giantec and a top ARGB LED bar (8 LEDs) which is compatible with all the major motherboard sync technologies out there today (ASUS Aura Sync, Gigabyte RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light and ASRock Polychrome Sync). Typically, just like their previous Redline products Mushkin covers the entire Lumina line of DDR4 memory kits with a limited lifetime warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

THE REDLINE LUMINA 32GB 3600MHZ CL18

Once again, we see a blister package from where you can actually see both modules.

At the rear we find the installation instructions, 2D barcode, serial number and barcode and contact info for Mushkin.

Mushkin only ships the two RAM modules in the box.

The FrostByte aluminum heatspreaders typically have a small sticker at the rear with the capacity/amount, frequency, timings and voltage.

If you're into RGB lighting you'll be happy to learn that the top plastic bar has a total of 8 ARGB LEDs beneath it.

Measuring roughly 38mm top to bottom the new heatsinks/heatspreaders not only look very nice but they are also quite short (next you can see the XPower Zenith RGB and Crucial Ballistix Gaming Max non-RGB modules).

Mushkin has done a very good job with the ARGB lighting of the new Redline Lumina modules.

Also don’t forget to check Thaiphoon burner for more details on this kit.

RGB LIGHTING SOFTWARE

If your motherboard is not ARGB/RGB compatible (like the EVGA Z390 DARK) worry not since Mushkin offers their very own RGB lighting software (can download it from the product page).

Via this software you have access to each of the 8 LEDs found on each module (you can sync them all together of course) which means you can assign different colors, set the brightness and choose from one of the 14 available effects.

The software is also compatible with Razer Chroma and can also sync the ARGB of the modules with music coming from your PC (didn't test this one however).

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

Pushing this kit to 3800MHz (1.37V) and 4000MHz (1.4V) was extremely easy but anything over that was a no go, not with 1.4V.

CONCLUSION

   When I was told by Mushkin about the imminent release of their Redline Lumina line I was like “finally, they got into RGB” so since this was their first “try” i certainly didn’t expect them to use a total of 8 addressable RGB LEDs and their very own software. But they did so Kudos to them for this since the Redline Lumina are some of the best-looking modules in the market today. Performance is also very good, i mean what more can one ask than a kit which can hit 4GHz at CL18 with just 1.4V? Needless to say, people who are willing to climb even higher in voltages should have no problem getting even higher clocks but that’s not something i can recommend to anyone, not for 24/7 use anyways. And then we have the available kits. Mushkin is among a handful of manufacturers that go all out right from the start in order to cover pretty much everyone out there so this time over the Redline Lumina line consists by a grand total of 23 kits.

   Currently retailing for USD184.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 193.51Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Redline Lumina 32GB 3600MHz CL18 DDR4 dual-channel kit by Mushkin is priced extremely well, especially considering the current state of the global market. Not much else I can say about the Redline Lumina which hasn’t already been mentioned in this review, they look nice, perform even better, are covered with a lifetime limited warranty, are available in 23 different kits and are priced very well so what are you waiting for? These of course mean that the Redline Lumina get the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Very Good Performance (Up To 4000MHz CL18)
- Build Quality
- Looks (FrostByte Heatspreaders & ARGB LED Bar)
- Lifetime Limited Warranty
- Mushkin RGB Software (14 Effects)
- Available Capacities & Speeds (23 Kits)
- Price (Currently)

CONS

- Dual Channel Kits Only