Mushkin Announces Stealth Series PC Memory Modules

[btarunr]

Mushkin, Inc., an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance and mission-critical computer products, announced today at CES 2013 that its new line of memory modules, code named Stealth, are scheduled for worldwide release mid-February. The new family of modules includes high-performance specifications for professional s and tech enthusiasts who want the best possible computing experience.

"Along with this latest product line announcement, we're excited to announce that Mushkin has partnered with Meteor Entertainment's highly-anticipated video game HAWKEN to celebrate this launch," said Nicolas Villalobos, Head of Global Marketing at Mushkin Inc. "Starting in January 2013, gaming fans who purchase select Mushkin products through authorized partners will receive a twenty-five dollar game code -- free.*"



"We are excited to partner with Mushkin for this promotion. It allows us to bring HAWKEN to a wider audience here at CES and beyond," stated Shannon Gerritzen, Senior Manager, Global PR at Meteor Entertainment. "Mushkin products are state-of-the-art and a great brand we believe in."

Mushkin's Stealth series memory features Mushkin's Stiletto heat spreader that maximizes thermal performance for increased reliability in an all-new, all black limited edition design. This high-performance memory will start shipping in 8GB and 16GB capacities with speeds of up to 2666MHz for ultra-responsive multitasking and an overall faster system. The all-new Stealth is designed to work with third-generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i3, i5 and i7 processors and the latest AMD performance and gaming processors. For the ultimate peace of mind, the new series is backed by a limited lifetime warranty and free U.S. technical support.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Jorge]

Not very exciting pics

If those are the real DIMMs featured in the photos, they certainly leave a lot to be desired as far as aesthetics.

 

[de.das.dude]

i think you are misinterpreting the term "stealth"

 

[Jorge]

i think you are misinterpreting the term "stealth"

I fully understand "stealth" but I also understand marketing and performance. Those DIMMs don't look impressive and don't have any top mounted heatsinks, which is odd for performance oriented DRAM designed for enthusiasts. If they want to paint them black, that's fine but they still need to resemble normal performance DRAM, not cheap, commodity type DRAM. These really look like a bargin basement DRAM to me.

An F-35 is stealth but one look tells you it is the real deal.

 

[Arctucas]

I could not care less how they look, it is performance that counts.

Mushkin is my favorite RAM brand.

 

[Jorge]

I could not care less how they look, it is performance that counts.

Mushkin is my favorite RAM brand.

Of course performance counts but the profilers need whistles and bells to buy anything.

 

[Arctucas]

Profilers?

 

[Jorge]

Profilers?

Profilers = People who buy whistles and bells like a HSF because the fan has LEDs, not because the HSF performs well or people who buy DRAM with pretty colored top mounted heatsink, when DDR3 DRAM runs cool and doesn't require any top mounted heatsinks nor benefit from top mounted DRAM heatsink, no matter what the DRAM frequency. Expensive fans mounted on DRAM top mounted heatsinks is really for profilers who simply lack the technical knowledge to know this is a waste of money.

If this "stealth" DRAM doesn't offer exceptional performance or a super low price, it will be short lived as it isn't particularly attractive to a large enough consumer base. Retailers and e-tailers don't want to stock slow selling inventory. This stealth looks a lot like their Blackline DDR3.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/8gb-ddr3-ram,2542-4.html

I like Mushkin DRAM and I'm currently testing several configurations of the FrostByte DRAM but this "stealth" model DRAM has to compete with Samsung's low voltage, low profile DRAM which OC's quite well and is dirt cheap.

 

[Arctucas]

Hmm... I have never heard that definition of 'profilers', but I now understand the demographic you are referring to. I would call them 'novices'.

To restate my opinion; as long as the RAM has excellent performance, it does not matter what the heatsinks look like. If they perform, they could be fluorescent pink with polka dots, unicorn stickers and glitter, and I would still use them.

And, I believe Mushkin, unlike some of the other manufacturers who also cater to the enthusiast market segment, would rather dedicate resources to binning chips, rather than gaudy heatsinks.

Also, as I am sure you are aware, there are several aftermarket replacement heatsink options available, if the OEM heatsinks are that offensive...

 

[Frick]

I like them, but they need a black/dark PCB.

 

[Jetster]

I like it. Black is the new blue

 

[badtaylorx]

again with the green pcb's mushkin.....how hard is it to dump some black pigment into the fiberglass mixture???

 

[Jorge]

I think you misunderstand?

Hmm... I have never heard that definition of 'profilers', but I now understand the demographic you are referring to. I would call them 'novices'.

To restate my opinion; as long as the RAM has excellent performance, it does not matter what the heatsinks look like. If they perform, they could be fluorescent pink with polka dots, unicorn stickers and glitter, and I would still use them.

And, I believe Mushkin, unlike some of the other manufacturers who also cater to the enthusiast market segment, would rather dedicate resources to binning chips, rather than gaudy heatsinks.

Also, as I am sure you are aware, there are several aftermarket replacement heatsink options available, if the OEM heatsinks are that offensive...

You seem to be missing my point(s).

My comments were not directed at you or your appreciation of this particular Mushkin DRAM, even though we have no idea what the price/performance proposition is, yet. My point was that Mushkin like all purveyors of DRAM need products that appeal to a large enough audience that retailers and e-tailers will stock/sell this particular model DRAM. Without any whistles and bells (for the profilers), who are not necessarily novices, but people who buy based on looks, not performance per se, then this item has a very verticle market and thus it will be tough to market.

As far as the fluorescent pink with polka dots, I think that (2) DIMMs might be the total sales on that model...

Mushkin isn't really doing anything special that Samsung, Crucial, Corsair, G.Skill, Patriot and many other DRAM suppliers aren't doing. They all supply good quality, well binned DRAM. The Mushkin 997007 that I am currently testing is rated 9-10-9-27 @ 1.5v and 1866 MHz. It will OC to 2133 MHz. stable for P95. It may go higher but my BIOS doesn't offer dividers and it won't make 2400 MHz. - the next BIOS step on my FX-8350 system.

Unless you have an APU or something special that can actually use the higher frequency DRAM, tests show that there is no tangible system performance increase with DDR3 above 1600 MHz. in a typical desktop PC. The synthetic benches look nice but they assume the DRAM to be saturated all the time and it's not so the benches exaggerate any minor gains. If you run real apps and time them, you'll find nothing tangible, i.e you can't see or feel the change from 1600 MHz. to 2000+ MHz. in actual system performance. The only means to tell a change has occured is by timing the system running the real application.

With DRAM prices still in the basement I'd buy the best DRAM for the money regardless of brand. For ~ $30-$50 for 8 GB. how can you lose on any of the name brand DRAM?

 

[Jorge]

again with the green pcb's mushkin.....how hard is it to dump some black pigment into the fiberglass mixture???

Maybe the PCB color isn't a real concern for most of Mushkin's customers? Or maybe the customers actually prefer green? Or maybe Mushkin uses the same PCB as most everyone else in the DRAM Biz?

No matter what a company sells, it never pleases 100% of the audience as can be seen in product reviews and comments by owners/enthusiasts. It is what it is. Buy what makes you happy.

 

[Arctucas]

You seem to be missing my point(s).

My comments were not directed at you or your appreciation of this particular Mushkin DRAM, even though we have no idea what the price/performance proposition is, yet. My point was that Mushkin like all purveyors of DRAM need products that appeal to a large enough audience that retailers and e-tailers will stock/sell this particular model DRAM. Without any whistles and bells (for the profilers), who are not necessarily novices, but people who buy based on looks, not performance per se, then this item has a very verticle market and thus it will be tough to market.

As far as the fluorescent pink with polka dots, I think that (2) DIMMs might be the total sales on that model...

Mushkin isn't really doing anything special that Samsung, Crucial, Corsair, G.Skill, Patriot and many other DRAM suppliers aren't doing. They all supply good quality, well binned DRAM. The Mushkin 997007 that I am currently testing is rated 9-10-9-27 @ 1.5v and 1866 MHz. It will OC to 2133 MHz. stable for P95. It may go higher but my BIOS doesn't offer dividers and it won't make 2400 MHz. - the next BIOS step on my FX-8350 system.

Unless you have an APU or something special that can actually use the higher frequency DRAM, tests show that there is no tangible system performance increase with DDR3 above 1600 MHz. in a typical desktop PC. The synthetic benches look nice but they assume the DRAM to be saturated all the time and it's not so the benches exaggerate any minor gains. If you run real apps and time them, you'll find nothing tangible, i.e you can't see or feel the change from 1600 MHz. to 2000+ MHz. in actual system performance. The only means to tell a change has occured is by timing the system running the real application.

With DRAM prices still in the basement I'd buy the best DRAM for the money regardless of brand. For ~ $30-$50 for 8 GB. how can you lose on any of the name brand DRAM?

I believe I understood quite well the point you were making, it simply is that I disagree with your assertion that unless the heatsinks are attractive or interesting in appearance, they will not sell.

Since Mushkin (and other high-end RAM manufacturers) basically target enthusiasts with products such as the Stealth series, the 'profilers' you allude to are probably a statistically insignificant portion of the retail market for those type products.

Your Redlines are good DIMMS, for sure. I run my Radioactives at 1628MHz 6-8-6-22, although they will reach 2200+, and yes they have the ugliest yellow heatsinks.

 

[Jorge]

Arctucas-

It's not a matter of targeting enthusiasts, it's a matter of having a large enough audience that retailers and e-tailers will actually carry and promote the stealth model DIMMs when the other DIMMs probably will out-sell these 100 to 1. For a retailer or e-tailer this would not be an item they would desire to stock or promote when they can sell other model Mushkin DRAM easily.

As far as the profilers, they actually are the majority of the enthusiast market, which is small compared to the mainstream market which doesn't care what DRAM is in their PC or even know what DRAM is, in many cases. If you want to see firsthand that the profilers are the majority of enthusiast consumers at the moment (it was much different 10 years ago), go to Newegg or some other PC hardware e-tailer and read any of the product reviews for DIMMs, CPUs, mobos, PSUs, etc. If you find one in 30-50 reviewers who actually has a clue what they are talking about regarding the hardware, how it functions and how it's suppose to function, you'll be lucky. Look at what these people actually talk about in their posts to see what is important to them as consumers. Quote from one of the Mushkin DRAM reviews: "The red is closer to a satin red instead of Ferrari red..."

Here's a perfect example of the Mushkin 997007 DIMMs that I am currently testing. Read those reviews and if you know anything about PCs then you'll know that most of these folks do not even know how the DRAM is suppose to work, what increasing the CPU vcore and CPU-NB voltages does, etc., etc., etc., etc. It's depressing to read this stuff and realise that these people haven't got a clue but they think they actually know what they are talking about...

Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR...

If you don't think the majority of manufacturers are catering to the "profilers" look at the number of DDR3 DIMMs with pretty top mounted heatsinks or case fans with LEDs or PSUs with pretty colored cases or wire looms or graphics cards with tit and arse all over them. Most of the companies supplying enthusiasts know the profilers represent the majority of consumers in this group and that's why they have gone from fully functional products to pink DIMMs with polka dots per se in many instances, i.e top mounted heatsinks on DDR3 DIMMs, etc.

It's perfectly OK with me that you disagree with me. I'm just saying that from a marketing point of view these stealth DIMMs don't seem like a good marketing decision but maybe they'll prove me wrong. If flat black stealth is what people want then that is what suppliers should sell.

BTW, I ain't bagging on profilers. Hopefully a few of them will increase their knowledge alone the way but the suppliers are definitely catering to people who don't have enough technical knowledge to differentiate quality and performance from LEDs and pretty colors. Manufactuers have gone to the whistles and bells because it dramatically increases the target audience for their product which means a lot more sales. They don't care why people buy as long as they buy.

 

[Arctucas]

@Jorge,

In my opinion, by your definition of 'profiler', I believe they are not enthusiasts in the strictest sense. Because, as you say, most are woefully ignorant. To me, a true enthusiast has, not only the passion, but, a much greater amount of knowledge and experience than those you mention.

However, I understand your point with regard to the marketing. Which I would propose actually proves my point that they are targeted toward the true enthusiast, not the casual buyer.

 

[Jorge]

The profilers are enthusiasts, they just aren't the highly technically knowledgeable group who use to be considered enthusiasts. These profilers know just enough technically to think they know what they are talking about or actually doing when building, using or tweaking a PC. What you're thinking of as an enthusiast is a true PC Geek. Someone who knows PCs and how they work and enjoys tweaking for the best performance/value. Those type of people are probably 1 in 5,000 enthusiasts?

Manufacturers picked up on the profiler group of enthusiasts about ~10 years ago when they began whining that their PC case was a boring box. Next thing you know weird looking PC cases arrived and have been here ever since. Then the next thing you know LED fans showed up along with clear PC case side panels. Then side mounted fans for "better CPU cooling" - which in many cases testing has shown Hurt CPU cooling. The list goes on and on and it's all due to mfgs. supplying what the technically challenged "enthusiast" desires.

So based on the lack of LEDs, chrome, shiny copper, cooling fans, top mounted heatsinks, etc. these stealth DIMMs are not intended for the majority of profilers, aka enthusiasts. They may be intended for serious PC Geeks, but unless they OC wildly or are dirt cheap, the stealth look isn't a big selling feature. Retailers and e-tailers are much more likely to sell just the Blacklines and not bother with the stealth model DIMMs unless there is demand or some intrinsic reason to stock these.

Now that we've had this lengthy discussion on the stealth DIMMs, we'll probably find out that they are rated for 2000 MHz. and over-priced, which will seal there fate quickly.

 

[Jorge]

Here is a perfect example of catering to the profilers...

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=29609

"Dual" back-lit LEDs keyboards and look at those cool PC cases with LEDs in the windows... I'll bet those LEDs make the keyboards and cases work 100% better than keyboards and cases without LEDs...

 

[de.das.dude]

dont feed the troll.

 

[Jorge]

No one is trolling, there was just a need for clarification of the term "profiler", which should be clear by now with the various examples of hardware for profilers and hardware reviews by profilers.

No one has to like reality, but it's very real. Some folks have a difficult time accepting reality, but it is what it is. Many PC hardware makers most definitely cater to profilers.

 

[Frick]

You're overthinking it.

 

[Jorge]

You're overthinking it.

Naw, no over thinking, just reporting reality...

 

[Fourstaff]

Don't multipost and please let this stealthy RAM have some peace

DDR3 rams don't run hot enough to necessitate huge heatsinks, these are prefect for people looking for compact builds. Samsung Greens didn't become one of the most respected rams by being bling. These looks slightly better than the greens, and if they sell at roughly the same prices it has a decent chance of doing well provided they perform just as good.

 

[Jorge]

There is nothing inappropriate about having a civil discussion on these stealth DIMMs.

As I posted above unless these DIMMs offer exceptional value or performance, they aren't likely to be a big sales success, IMO. Maybe Mushkin will prove me wrong but I doubt it. The Samsung low voltage DIMMs offer performance and a low price. That's the bar that Mushkin will need to at least meet to see any reasonable sales volume with these specific DIMMs.

Unless you have an APU, there's almost no value in DRAM faster than 1600 MHz. for typical desktop applications, so the Samsung 1600 MHz. low voltage works well for many people. If these stealth DIMMs are ~$30. for a 2x 4 GB. kit, then they may become popular, but I doubt they will be priced at ~$30. for 8GB.