Is the Mushkin 222 Special better then XMS3200LL or HyperX? I notice it's quite a bit cheaper. I'm assuming the Level II Black sticks are more or less for heavy overclocking?
Yes the Mushkin 222 special will run tighter timings then the HyperX or 3200LL. I would suggest just saving some money and getting the Mushkin PC3200 or PC3500 lvl 1. It will run 2-3-2-5.
From experience, I prefer Corsair XMS3200LL. It seems to run better overclocked, and at better CAS timings than the Kingston. Better scores in Sandra, but it also allowed a bit more of an overclock.
My Mushkin ran great, but it was only PC2100, and although it did overclock well, it wasn't suited for my 800MHz board...
The Mushkin lvl 1 will be the cheapest solution though or at least it should. I just bought 1GB of Mushkin PC3200 lvl 1 off Newegg the other day for $203. I think its went up to like $218 now. Still quite a bit less then Kingston HyperX PC3200 or Corsair XMS PC3200.
And Mushkin runs the best timings. Sometimes Kingston and Corsair will advertise their RAM to run low timings and it wont always run it. I havn't had any problem getting Mushkin to do as advertised.
i don't really have any experience with kingston, but i have used corsair 4000Pro. That was some sweet ram!!!
i would tend to agree that they are about the same. i've heard that corsair has a bit better ram (mainly in the higher end) but the price that you pay for hyperX is generally a really good deal. so it makes it well worth it.
Corsair has worked great for me. Everything from the low-end stuff for cheap builds, right up to the pro series for heavy oc'n. For me, it's a real good price/performance product.