Memory by stefan @ 2016-06-16
The Ballistix Elite RAM kit is featuring very sturdy, rugged heatsinks and seem to drive up the module weight quite a bit. Unlike some other manufacturers, Crucial likes to equip some of their RAM series with extra sensors, in this case for tracking temperature per each module, which can be checked out in real time via their Memory Overview Display (or M.O.D.) utility.
At first we would like to thank Crucial for sending a sample of their Ballistix Elite 16GB 2666 DDR4 Memory Kit for testing and reviewing.
“Looking for computer memory or a new storage drive? You've come to the right place!
Crucial is a global brand of Micron Technology, Inc., one of the largest memory and flash storage manufacturers in the world. We make computer memory upgrades (DRAM) and solid state drives (SSDs), and offer more than 250,000 upgrades for over 50,000 systems. For 17 years, we've sought to provide the Crucial Difference — award-winning products, outstanding support, and a team of memory and storage experts who explain complex lingo in everyday terms. We're here to help improve the performance of your system.
Crucial memory and SSDs have been qualified and approved by major original equipment manufacturers, and every single module that leaves our doors has been rigorously tested at the component and module level. That's a big deal in the memory industry, but it's not all. When it comes to our SSDs, each drive undergoes over a thousand hours of prerelease validation testing and hundreds of qualification tests to ensure optimal reliability and performance.
To find upgrades in just a few clicks, our award-winning Crucial System Scanner or Crucial Memory Advisor™ tool will identify compatible upgrades for your system, and if you order on Crucial.com, we guarantee compatibility — or your money back. With fast and free shipping, outstanding tech support, and an exhaustive library of articles, videos, and install guides, we make it easy to find and install the right upgrade for your system.
Let us be your memory and storage experts.”
Outplay. Outmatch. Outlast. The future of performance memory is here.
To max out performance in the final days of DDR3 technology, you needed the right processor, the right motherboard, a PhD in overclocking, and the willingness to surrender everything in your wallet. Not anymore.
Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4 memory cracks the DDR3 performance limit and debuts at 2666 MT/s – and that’s just getting started. Feed your 8-cores and draw upon some of the fastest speeds and bandwidths available.
Outplay. Open fire at 2666 MT/s
While your opponents fight petty using DDR3-1600 MT/s, obliterate them with DDR4-2666 MT/s speeds that get even faster as the technology matures. Alongside these speed gains, draw on the improved responsiveness, increased frame rates, and optimized latencies of Ballistix Elite DDR4 technology and revel in an unreal gaming experience.
Outmatch. Subjugate the opposition with 21.3 GB/s bandwidth
Flood your memory bandwidth and process up to 21.3 gigabytes per second – a feat that’s nearly impossible to achieve with DDR3 memory. Leveraging the faster burst access speeds that are only possible on DDR4 architecture, Ballistix Elite DDR4 maximizes performance with four channel memory.
Outwork. Push your memory to the edge – using less power
Ballistix Elite DDR4 memory leverages the latest advancements in efficiency technology and is engineered to run at lower voltages for inherent energy gains. Armed with a thermal sensor and our high-end Ballistix M.O.D. utility for real-time temperature monitoring, Ballistix Elite DDR4 wrings up to 40% more power efficiency out of your memory.
Outfit. Brandish your memory in style
Give your rig a next-gen facelift with a menacing black anodized heat spreader and complementary black PCB that bodes well for any color scheme. Optimized for the latest Intel® X99 boards with support for XMP 2.0 profiles, Ballistix Elite DDR4 module set up is easy: just lock and load your BIOS and get ready to win.
It is time to look upon another mild-overclocked 2666MHz DDR4 memory kit, manufactured by Crucial and to be more exact we are talking about their Ballistix Elite series. Since Crucial is a Micron brand, the Ballistix Elite series is also equipped with Micron ICs and we are really curious to see if we can push more this kit over its stock specifications and see where we end up. The memory kit is supplied in a very compact transparent plastic packaging, where all four modules fit in:
A sticker in the top left corner informs us of the total memory capacity, rated speed, operating voltage, CAS latency, along with some extra serial numbers:
A description of the available Crucial memory series is available on the back, in multiple languages:
Right after we freed the memory from the enclosure, the kit really stands out with its matte black finish:
The product logos are placed on a separate layer of the heatsink; we will get to see here the manufacturer along with the Ballistix Elite DDR4 themed emblems:
On the opposite side, some more details about the memory kit can be found via some separate stickers:
The left sticker is offering us the complete product code name, the XMP pre-programmed timings along with the memory speed and operating voltage. The right sticker supplies some extra serial numbers:
The top area of the heatsink does offer a rather military, rugged look along with a central product logo:
A closer look is revealing us that we are dealing with single-sided modules:
Let’s install these onto the Supermicro C7Z170-OCE board and see what they are capable of!
CPU: Intel I5 6600K Retail
CPU Cooler: Antec Kuhler 620
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170X-SoC Force
RAM: Currently tested kit
Video: HIS 380X
Power Supply: Cooler Master 850W
SSD: OCZ Vector 150
Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840
The pre-programmed timings and frequencies can be also found by using AIDA64:
After powering up the system, we loaded the default XMP profile of this RAM kit which set the timings at 15-15-15-35, with the speed at 2666MHz, while the modules were running at 1.2V. To make sure everything is in order, we also did run Memtest86 (four instances, 2GB RAM each) and no errors were thrown out. We then clocked the RAM higher, at 2933 MHz while keeping the timings the same along with the voltage; since we have received errors in Memtest86, we have decided to increase the RAM voltage; the sweet spot was found at 1.35V, where the memory was running error-free.
We have continued to raise the memory speed to 3000MHz, but in this case the system has become unbootable. Here is also the CPU-Z validation at 2933MHz:
(click to enlarge)
Starting with the JEDEC 2133MHz, we did benchmark the RAM step-by-step up to 2933MHz, in order for you to spot the performance differences.
The Ballistix Elite RAM kit is featuring very sturdy, rugged heatsinks and seem to drive up the module weight quite a bit. Unlike some other manufacturers, Crucial likes to equip some of their RAM series with extra sensors, in this case for tracking temperature per each module, which can be checked out in real time via their Memory Overview Display (or M.O.D.) utility.
The XMP profile of the Ballistix Elite will get you up and running at the specified speeds/timings/voltages right away, without the need to fiddle inside the BIOS in order to set everything manually. Besides that, the memory also offers a bit of overclocking headroom, so we were able to run the modules at 2933MHz by simply increasing the operating voltage a bit. During operation, even with the increased voltage, the modules did remain at a very low temperature, so it will not be mandatory to include extra cooling in the memory area of the system.
If you are gaming a lot, a 16GB kit should be optimal nowadays; however, if you also render/work with video projects quite regularly, these types of activities usually take up a lot of RAM and we would recommend jumping on a 32GB memory kit instead.
This memory kit can be found online for about 90 Euros, so we think that it is a fair price for what we have offered.
We would like to thank again to Crucial for making this review possible!