Performance and Overclocking
Performance has been tested on an Intel Kaby Lake platform. All tests were performed on i7 7700K processor set to 4.2GHz for comparison purposes ( also so readers could easier compare results made on Skylake platform ) and ASUS Maximus XI APEX, based on Intel Z270 chipset, which is the top overclocking motherboard right now.
Let’s begin with AIDA64 Memory and Cache Benchmark
We can see that even one memory ratio more is giving noticable bandwidth difference on Intel Kaby Lake platform. We can see it mainly in memory read tests but it affects applications the most.
Ballistix Elite DDR4-3466 memory is offering the best results in this test.
Similar situation we can see in HyperPi 32M which simply loves fast memory.
Results in this benchmark count more for overclockers as even couple of seconds make a big difference in competitive benchmarking. Even though typical user can’t see big difference in this test then we clearly see that Ballistix Elite at DDR4-3466 settings is offering the highest performance.
In rendering benchmarks like Cinebench R15 difference is not so big but it’s normal. We can say which memory is faster but it won’t really matter so if you are planning to do more rendering or work professionally then better focus on memory capacity rather than speed.
The latest Intel platforms have fast memory controllers and we can’t see big differences between memory kits also in tests like 3DMark. The only tests which are affected by higher memory performance are physics calculations. In games faster memory is offering higher FPS. It’s not really visible in most games where FPS are already high but there are new titles where even single FPS can change experience.
About the same I can say looking at PCMark 8 results. Even though there are little differences, most users won’t see them in real life work.
It’s hard to recommend high memory kits to typical users but those are not looking for memory like Ballistix Elite. Enthusiasts, gamers and overclockers are target users who will for sure appreciate DDR4-3466 or higher memory kits.
If DDR4-3466 is still not enough for you then take a look at the overclocking results.
Overclocking
Overclocking is never guaranteed so the presented results may vary from results on other memory kits. I am not recommending overclocking if you do not know what are you doing. High voltages may damage hardware and it will not be covered by warranty.
Overclocking is one of the strongest points of the Ballistix Elite DDR4-3466 memory kit. We were able to run this memory above DDR4-4000 mark. The best performance was at DDR4-4000 – screenshot with bandwidth results is below.
DDR4-4133 was also possible to stabilize. Every result in the table except DDR4-4200 passed couple of benchmarks and mixed load stability tests. DDR4-4200 or even 4266 could pass some tests but wasn’t stable. I guess it’s still possible after adjusting sub timings.
Typical overclocking profiles which we can find in ASUS motherboards didn’t work with this memory. Even though other top memory kits are based on the same memory IC then here we have to play some more with manual settings to be able to set high frequency.
If anyone is interested then on AMD Ryzen platform this memory is working at DDR4-3200 using XMP profile. Overclocking wasn’t possible due to no bclk options on my test motherboards but I was able to tighten the timings to CL12-12-12 at mentioned DDR4-3200 what should provide top performance for this new AMD platform.
1 comment
Thank you for not using cpuz! Your review has been added to Thaiphoon Burner’s database!