Verdict and Conclusion
These days I have to say that memory is extremely disapointing. Most companies try and trick you by saying cas7 memory at 1600mhz! But what they fail to tell you is that the TRCD timing (the second number) is 11 which will greatly hinder the performance of your memory. i really like the fact that Crucial is keeping these sticks with relatively tight timings out of the factory. It is not very common at all these days when you can find a kit that will run 2133mhz at 9-9-9, not even mentioning the fact that these sticks are 4Gb each!
Being a bencher I am rather biased toward buying more expensive memory. For most people that $60 16gb kit that runs at 1600mhz 10-10-10 timings is fine. But if you benchmark like myself the added cost is something that is worth the price premium in my opinion. Everything FEELS faster when browsing to playing games. It is not a night and day difference, but it makes things load a little faster (some people might not even notice it at all).
The Crucial Ballistix Elite brings back memories of my first set of memory that ran Elpida Hypers. There has not been anything that really brings the extreme performance of fast speeds coupled with tight timings. While these sticks will not do 7-8-7 at 2200mhz, they are also 4Gb and not 2Gb per stick. Whatever IC ( memory chips on the sticks) Crucial uses I really want to find out, and I hope they make some sticks in a 2Gb stick version. Simply put, these sticks are monsters.
Final words
I must say, these Crucial Ballistix Elite sticks are simply fantastic. At a time when other companies ramp up timings and cut down on costs Crucial still offers a product that will satisfy the needs of the extreme benchmarkers and power users.
If you don’t mind manually setting the timings of your memory(XMP profiles do not give the proper timings), and giving them a little voltage for overclocking you can really unleash the benchmark busting numbers that have been gone from the overclocking scene since the introduction of the Sandy Bridge platform.
Pros:
- 300mhz overclock with small voltage bump
- Good timings to speed ratio out of the box
- Ballistix MOD software allows for temperature monitoring
- They look extremely cool
- 4Gb per stick capacity
- Solid warranty
Cons:
- Tall heatspreaders
- MOD software does not work on all motherboards
- XMP profile gives relaxed timings
SCORE
9.4/10
