Mushkin Making a Comeback With Video Cards

[btarunr]

Popular memory manufacturer Mushkin, which is also known for power supply units and until last year, for video cards, plans to resume being a video card manufacturer, and an add-in card partner for NVIDIA. The company just announced plans on an entire lineup of products based on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 series, called Mushkin UltimateFX. It includes products starting from the GeForce GTX 260 896 MB base model, going all the way up to GeForce GTX 285 2048 MB, with models carved out based on clock speeds and memory sizes.

For the most part, it looks like Mushkin will use non-reference designs which we may be familiar with. One of their products resembles a similar design by Sparkle, while another bears resemblance with the reference NVIDIA design, albeit a green PCB (something PNY has opted for). The cards will be shipped in an a classic wooden jewel case, similar to to the "WoodBox" it shipped with its older products. Here's what the lineup looks like:

• mushkin ultimateFX GeForce GTX260
• mushkin ultimateFX GeForce GTX260 (1792MB)
• mushkin ultimateFX GeForce GTX260 OC
• mushkin ultimateFX GeForce GTX260 OC2
• mushkin ultimateFX GeForce GTX275
• mushkin ultimateFX GeForce GTX275 OC
• mushkin ultimateFX GeForce GTX275 OC2
• mushkin ultimateFX GeForce GTX285
• mushkin ultimateFX GeForce GTX285 (2048MB)

Mushkin also made it clear that it intends to sell video cards based on the ATI Radeon series, with products in the works.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Castiel]

Coolio.

 

[Weer]

Why start now? The next generation is months away.

 

[ShadowFold]

Kind of late to be selling these now. By the time they get out, I bet the DX11 cards will already be announced.

 

[Jakl]

oo they come in a wooden box, Very Coolio.

 

[Soylent Joe]

Kind of late to be selling these now. By the time they get out, I bet the DX11 cards will already be announced.

It's not like people will quit buying these cards when dx11 comes out. The prices on them will drop, meaning that their sales will most likely increase since they would be classified as the new mid-range/economical cards.

 

[Kenshai]

It's not like people will quit buying these cards when dx11 comes out. The prices on them will drop, meaning that their sales will most likely increase since they would be classified as the new mid-range/economical cards.

The new cards will have their own mid-range/economy cards at some point that won't be too far off.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Interesting, it says they are resuming, I never heard of a Mushkin card ever, so when are they resuming this from? Either way I would assume they are doing this to get some word out about their products before the new cards release. Instead of saying "here's some DX11 cards, lets hope they work".

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

Wood box is hot.

xD

Wish I needed to buy a GPU. I love mushkin.

 

[Easy Rhino]

i enjoy mushkin so let's hope they dont blow it buy manufacturing crappy video cards. The wood box is a nice touch. Maybe I will store my cigars in there

 

[SteelSix]

Mushkin is one of the few remaining customer service oriented companies out there IMO. Actually talking to a sales rep that can do things like get your order expedited is, nice. I'm 4-4 with Mushkin so far..

 

[ZoneDymo]

Very nice industrial design, I LIKE.

 

[crazy pyro]

This overpackaging is the same as Corsair, do like this kinda of overpackaging though.

 

[domy85]

I remember when Mushkin came out, that stuff was the best around. When I here that name I still think of American Made quality high end memory. I think the move to video cards is pretty bad ass.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

So are these just referance with a mushkin sticker on then?

 

[werez]

The card from the first pic looks like a Sparkle design an the second is reference. Can`t they come up with something new and original , or something to help improve performance , stability , or whatever ? I mean , they use the same design , same electronic parts , same everything .. beside the sticker and branding there`s nothing . They just solder components to PCB.Why should i buy Mushkin and not Manli ? It`s the same freakin card . Don`t get me wrong ... but isn't the market already full of reference design based cards? Sure they will make other cards , but this is a bad way to start , just copying everything ... Maybe customers want to see some improvements in some areas. I sure hope Nvidia does not force them to use that design . Like i said the only thing i see different is alien frog robots stickers or whatever .
A friend of mine owns a gtx260 216 , with custom cooling ( self designed ) . The core is at 745 , and the card temps peak at 50 . I mean common , don`t tell me he`s smarter than nvidia`s teams who work for the designs . I know it`s not normal to buy a gtx260 for 120EUR and get GTX275`s performance , because you none will buy a GTX275 no more ... but in early days this was the thing that balanced stuff between manufacturers . I wish NVIDIA and AMD to just sell the god damn GPU`s to the freakin manufacturers and let go...
Wtf ...
Sry if you don`t agree ... but this pisses me off...
I`m tired .. everyday i see the same sh** "with different flavours "

edit : oh yea ... i didn`t see the wooden box pic , i`m sure it will make me purchase the card . Jesus...

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

The card from the first pic looks like a Sparkle design an the second is reference. Can`t they come up with something new and original , or something to help improve performance , stability , or whatever ? I mean , they use the same design , same electronic parts , same everything .. beside the sticker and branding there`s nothing . They just solder components to PCB.Why should i buy Mushkin and not Manli ? It`s the same freakin card . Don`t get me wrong ... but isn't the market already full of reference design based cards? Sure they will make other cards , but this is a bad way to start , just copying everything ... Maybe customers want to see some improvements in some areas. I sure hope Nvidia does not force them to use that design . Like i said the only thing i see different is alien frog robots stickers or whatever .
A friend of mine owns a gtx260 216 , with custom cooling ( self designed ) . The core is at 745 , and the card temps peak at 50 . I mean common , don`t tell me he`s smarter than nvidia`s teams who work for the designs . I know it`s not normal to buy a gtx260 for 120EUR and get GTX275`s performance , because you none will buy a GTX275 no more ... but in early days this was the thing that balanced stuff between manufacturers . I wish NVIDIA and AMD to just sell the god damn GPU`s to the freakin manufacturers and let go...
Wtf ...
Sry if you don`t agree ... but this pisses me off...
I`m tired .. everyday i see the same sh** "with different flavours "

edit : oh yea ... i didn`t see the wooden box pic , i`m sure it will make me purchase the card . Jesus...

Reference designs are just that: reference.

Refabbing and testing a custom PCB I'm sure isnt even remotely cheap for a video card.. and reference coolers aren't going to be "the best" by any standard. They are meant to be a cheap solution that gets the job done within standard. Priority #1 isnt always to cater to overclockers.

 

[A Cheese Danish]

Pretty awesome I must say. It is also pretty cool they are gonna release some ATi cards as well.

 

[werez]

i think 70% PC`s are bought for gaming , and 90% users overclock their cards anyway . The reference cooling solutions are bad designed on purpose , so you cannot gain better performance , because you achieve the performance of a higher class video card (read : pay less , get more ) , and means NV , AMD loose money .

"Refabbing and testing a custom PCB" is not rocket science since we all know that most of that is done by software ( the PCB design ) ,and after the card`s construction is complete they just plug it into a test rig , and if the numbers are ok , they pack the card . And a better cooling solution is not more expensive , trust me . The rest doesn`t matter because the ram will allways be Quimonda , Volterra VRM`s , same resistors, capacitors and so on . That extra 10% manufactures take for preoverclocked cards should be but in better cooling solutions , better bundle or research or whatever .

And yes "Reference designs are just that: reference."
So why pick Mushkin and not Manli , Asus , inno3d or whatever . What makes Muskin cards different , special ? That wooden box?
The company just announced plans on an entire lineup of products based on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 series, called Mushkin UltimateFX
ultimate fx name , wooden box , green sticker , Muskin brand . ok ... so am i missing something?

 

[Kenshai]

i think 70% PC`s are bought for gaming , and 90% users overclock their cards anyway . The reference cooling solutions are bad designed on purpose , so you cannot gain better performance , because you achieve the performance of a higher class video card (read : pay less , get more ) , and means NV , AMD loose money .

"Refabbing and testing a custom PCB" is not rocket science since we all know that most of that is done by software ( the PCB design ) ,and after the card`s construction is complete they just plug it into a test rig , and if the numbers are ok , they pack the card . And a better cooling solution is not more expensive , trust me . The rest doesn`t matter because the ram will allways be Quimonda , Volterra VRM`s , same resistors, capacitors and so on . That extra 10% manufactures take for preoverclocked cards should be but in better cooling solutions , better bundle or research or whatever .

How about not pulling numbers out of a hat, 90% of users don't overclock their cards. I'm actually sure that 90% of consumers don't even know they can overclock their cards.

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

i think 70% PC`s are bought for gaming , and 90% users overclock their cards anyway . The reference cooling solutions are bad designed on purpose , so you cannot gain better performance , because you achieve the performance of a higher class video card (read : pay less , get more ) , and means NV , AMD loose money .

"I think" those statistics are also pulled out of your ass.

And yes "Reference designs are just that: reference."
So why pick Mushkin and not Manli , Asus , inno3d or whatever . What makes Muskin cards different , special ? That wooden box?

Support? Warranty? Do you even know who Mushkin is? What makes Asus cards special?

 

[werez]

What makes Asus cards special?

maybe nothing ..
Up to 3 times overclocking margin & 10°C lower GPU temperatures (ASUS designed board)
- Luxurious Super ML Cap for up to 20% GPU noise reduction (ASUS designed board)
- Specially designed fansink with six 230mm heat pipes (ASUS designed board)
- Exclusive Voltage Tweak Technology to push GPU to the limit
- Ultimate Armaments with the finest component selection (ASUS designed board)

 

[Kenshai]

What makes Asus cards special?

maybe nothing ..
Up to 3 times overclocking margin & 10°C lower GPU temperatures (ASUS designed board)
- Luxurious Super ML Cap for up to 20% GPU noise reduction (ASUS designed board)
- Specially designed fansink with six 230mm heat pipes (ASUS designed board)
- Exclusive Voltage Tweak Technology to push GPU to the limit
- Ultimate Armaments with the finest component selection (ASUS designed board)

Every Asus card I've seen clocks almost the exact same as any other. It's all just marketing.

 

[werez]

Do you even know who Mushkin is?

Yes , a manufacturer who produces “Enhanced” memory modules" basically solders Qimonda ram chips to a PCB .

 

[Kenshai]

Do you even know who Mushkin is?

Yes , a manufacturer who produces “Enhanced” memory modules" bascly solders Qimonda ram chips to a PCB .

I'm not backing Mushkin, I'm stating that Asus is just another brand like Mushkin both are going to use marketing techniques. Statements that each make is just that not backed by anything other than their word (the majority of the time.)