A mechanism receives memory reads and writes from a packet processing engine, each memory access having an associated packet identifier. The mechanism is placed between a processing element and a memory system such that write data is buffered and information based upon both reads and writes is recorded. Information is maintained allowing the detection of memory conflicts. When a potential memory conflict is detected, the values associated with the potentially conflicting memory operations are compared. In cases where the values match, no conflict is signaled. Such a value checking mechanism reduces the number of restarts needed in certain cases.