At first we would like to thank Micron for sending a sample of their Ballistix Sport LT Red 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 Memory Kit for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Ballistix:

 

"Game. Destroy. Win. For more than a decade, Ballistix has injected speed and style into PC gaming in a way that can't be imitated. As the only major brand of gaming memory that builds and tests products from start to finish, Ballistix brings you the proven performance and reliability that pro gamers build with.”

 

Product Features:

 

Speeds start at 2400 MT/s

Faster speeds and responsiveness than standard DDR4 memory

Ideal for gamers and performance enthusiasts

Multi-channel memory architecture maximizes data rates

Digital camo heat spreader available in white, gray and red

Easy plug-and-play installation

Intel® XMP 2.0 profiles for easy configuration

Optimized for the latest Intel platforms

Limited lifetime warranty

 

 

Product Specifications:

 

In this article we will concentrate our attention upon another recently-launched RAM kit from Ballistix and to be more exact the Sport LT. The Sport LT kits are meant to be used in regular desktops and gaming rigs, come with rated speeds of 2400+ MHz, the modules are found in both 4 and 8GB densities and feature different color heatspreaders. Our review sample sported the BLS2K16G4D240FSE code name and was comprised of two 16GB sticks; the packaging style is familiar to us since the previous kits from the same company had the same styling:

 

 

 

The sticker placed nearby does show the kit memory quantity, the rated speed, operating voltage but also its code name and serial numbers:

 

 

 

The back side of the packaging does reveal some more details regarding the different Ballistix memory series:

 

 

 

The middle plastic layer does also show some installation instructions:

 

 

 

After removing the top packaging layer, we will get to see that the modules are held secure inside a custom transparent plastic mold:

 

 

 

Thanks to the different color versions, we can go for the variant that fits our setup best:

 

 

 

The modules do feature a black PCB, while the heatspreaders have a low height, so maximum compatibility is ensured with larger CPU coolers:

 

 

 

In the middle of the heatsink area, we will be able to spot the product logo:

 

 

 

The series it takes part of is represented with a small pictogram:

 

 

 

The opposite side of the module has a similar design, but with two extra stickers attached to the sink:

 

 

 

The left side sticker does hold some extra factory codes:

 

 

 

On the right sticker, we will be able to check the XMP pre-programmed timings along with the operating frequency and voltage:

 

 

 

A view from the top does reveal the width of the modules; fitting these on motherboards that have the memory slots closer together should be no issue at all!

 

 

 

Let’s install these on our Gigabyte Z270X-Ultra Gaming motherboard and start the testing procedure:

 

 

 

Test Setup

 

CPU: Intel I5 7600K Retail

CPU Cooler: Deepcool Captain 240 EX AIO

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z270X-Ultra Gaming

RAM: Currently tested kit

Video: KFA2 GeForce GTX 1060 OC 6GB

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:

 

 

Crucial has certified this piece of kit at 2666MHz with latencies of 16-18-18-38, while running at 1.2V. As with every kit we have tried out in the past, we have also went ahead and overclocked it further, first to 2800MHz; the tests ran fine with the stock timings and we did not need to raise the voltage either. The next step was 3000MHz, and we got full stability by altering the timings to 18-21-21-43 and upping the voltage:

 

 

Validation

 

The next step was 3100MHz, where we did also need to alter the timings to 19-21-21-45 at 1.35V:

 

 

Validation

 

We went even further at 3200MHz with the 20-22-22-46 timings at 1.35V; Memtest passed successfully:

 

 

Validation

 

 

Without increasing the voltage further, we were not able to climb up to the next frequency step.

 

Starting with the JEDEC 2133MHz, we did benchmark the RAM step-by-step up to 3333MHz, in order for you to spot the performance differences.

Test Results

 

SuperPI XS 1.5 2MB

 

GeekBench 4

 

Blender Ryzen Rendering

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIDA64 Bandwidth

 

CineBench R15 Rendering

 

HWBOT X265 Encoding

 

PCMark 8

 

Ashes of Singularity - CPU Focused

 

 

 

The Sport LT 2666 32GB DDR4 kit from Ballistix can be easily overclocked in order to squeeze even more performance out of the system. With this particular model, while working a bit with the timings and voltage, we were able to reach even 3200MHz, which is a big step from their stock frequency. Surprisingly, even with the voltage at 1.35V (they are intended to run at 1.2V at the recommended speed of 2666Mhz) and a half an hour of Memtest, the modules barely became warm so the heatspreaders are doing a really great job cooling the ICs.

 

Speaking of the heatspreaders, they come with catchy designs and are available in three different color schemes so they would color-match your system just right. Not only this aspect is important to mention, but they have been also designed to be less tall than the usual “gaming” memory modules, in order to ensure full compatibility with beefier CPU heatsinks from the market.

 

This BLS2C16G4D26BFSE memory kit can be found online for about 222 Euros.

 

Ballistix Sport LT Red 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 Memory Kit is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Micron for making this review possible!