Crucial, as a division of Micron, has access to wafer that other manufacturers do not. In the past few memory group tests we have noticed the behaviour of Ballistix memory differs considerably from the other manufacturers, which tend to be based on one of relatively few technologies.
The Ballistix sticks were decked out in the metallic orange heat spreaders now familiar to the product line, onto which is pressed two stickers. One of these has a bar code and serial numbers, the other a small white sticker which has the part code on it. Aesthetically, the heat spreaders are identical to those used by Kingston, and have also been seen on OCZ Patriot, GeIL and Mushkin in the past. You can buy Ballistix memory both from a number of retailers, as well as from Crucial direct at www.crucial.com/uk/.
The Ballistx memory is rated at PC4000, which means unlike the Corsair we just looked at, it is guaranteed to work at 250MHz, albeit at relaxed timings of 3-4-4-8. Initially we had a lot of issues with the Ballistix, as it would cause our Abit test motherboard to shut down as soon as either high speed or aggressive timings were set. This was concerning enough for me to return the modules to Crucial for replacements. The replacements behaved identically, leading me to realise that this was a compatibility issue with the Abit motherboard rather than faulty memory.
With the Ballistix installed in another board, namely the MSI K8N Diamond, they became a totally different animal. At PC3200 speeds, the Crucial was able to run at amazing 2-2-2-5 latency, the most aggressive on test. This terrific performance continued up the speed bumps, with it able to run at 2-3-3-6 at 217MHz, and 2.5-3-3-6 at 233MHz. At PC4000 speeds we were able to run the memory at relatively aggressive 3-3-3-8 timings, which yield better performance than the 3-4-4-8 timings needed by other memory. Slightly disappointing was the Crucial’s maximum speed, as it maxed out at 254MHz, regardless of the timings or voltage. This does not necessarily seem to be consistent however, as a number of end users are successfully running the memory at much higher speeds and voltages.
At £260.84, the Ballistix is some £40 more expensive than the Corsair, but it is higher performing, and rated to PC4000 speeds. If you are running an Abit board, you should definitely look elsewhere. For everyone else, the Ballistix offers some of the best performance on show and comes highly recommended.
Aesthetics
Low Latency
Maximum Speed
Value
Overall
