At first we would like to thank Crucial for sending a sample of their Ballistix 2x16GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM 1.2V Kit for testing and reviewing.

 

 

About Crucial:

 

“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.”

 

Product Features:

 

Ideal for laptop gamers

Crucial Ballistix SODIMM memory is ideal for laptop gamers and performance enthusiasts. Aluminum heat spreader included for thermal management in a compact space.

Redefine Game Performance

XMP 2.0 support and pre-defined profiles let you overclock to extract maximum performance. Select the JEDEC default profile for standard performance.

Compatibility Tested

We work with AMD and Intel, as well as motherboard designers and system builders, to ensure our memory is optimized for high performance.

Precision Parts

As the manufacturer of memory components, we do more than bin parts. We optimize performance at the die level.

 

Product Specifications:

 

Speed - DDR4-2666

Warranty - Manufacturer's Limited Lifetime

CAS latency - 16

DRAM family - Ballistix

Density - 32GB Kit (16GBx2)

Brand - Crucial

Module type - SODIMM

Extended timings - 16-18-18-38

Form factor - SODIMM

Technology - DDR4

Voltage - 1.2V

PC speed - PC4-21300

Kit Qty - 2

Specs - DDR4 PC4-21300 • CL=16 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR4-2666 • 1.2V • 2048Meg x 64 •

DIMM type - Unbuffered

 

In this review we will look upon another 32GB SODIMM DDR4-2666 memory kit for laptops and other portable devices, rated with an operating voltage of 1.2V, timings of 16-18-18-38 but also integrating XMP 2.0.

The kit is shipped inside a standard transparent plastic casing, with a Crucial sticker on top, showing the internal code name, the serial number but also the kit specifications:

 

 

 

On the back side of the enclosure we will not find other inscriptions or documentation:

 

 

 

The RAM can be easily removed from the protective plastic and we will end up with two separate 16GB modules:

 

 

 

Each module does feature large stickers on both sides, which also double as small heatsinks; on one of the sides we will spot a large Ballistix brand logo:

 

 

 

The back side does show again the technical specifications, but we will also lean that these have been assembled in Mexico:

 

 

 

A photo on the top of the module does show how the stickers cover the PCB ICs:

 

 

 

We will proceed with removal of the previous Viper Steel kit from our DELL Inspiron 7577 Gaming laptop:

 

 

 

Next, we will install the Crucial Ballistix kit, which we are currently testing:

 

 

 

After installing the new kit, we did extract some detailed information about it with the usual utilities; the report notes the existence of Micron ICs, while the XMP operating mode is 16-18-18-38 2666MHz at 1.2V:

 

AIDA64

 

After booting with the newly installed kit, we have noticed that the bandwidth scores were not in-line with the previously tested 2666MHz kits and went ahead in order to check the operating frequency; we were surprised to note that the kit was not functioning at the XMP profile but at one of the JEDEC preloaded profiles (16-16-16-39 2400MHz). We also went ahead inside the DELL 7577 BIOS and confirmed the 2400MHz operating frequency; the reason why our laptop did not choose to go with the pre-programmed XMP 2.0 profile is a mystery and for that matter we have also installed the same kit in our DH470 Shuttle barebone with an Intel i3-10100 CPU preinstalled. In the second system, again, we have seen the operating frequency at 2400MHz and not the desired XMP values at 2666MHz; for that matter, we would like to advise buying such a kit only if you have the option to select the XMP profile inside the computer UEFI, because there are no guarantees that your system will go with the settings the kit was designed for.

 

CPU-Z

 

 

Let’s run some benchmarks and notice the performance differences:

 

AIDA64

Ashes of the Singularity

CineBench R15

CineBench R20

GeekBench V4

HWBOT X265 Benchmark Tool

PCMark 8

PCMark 10

We have successfully tested the Ballistix SODIMM 32GB kit by using the JEDEC timings but not the XMP ones, which means that the speed was limited to 2400MHz but with tighter timings. Even in this case, the performance differences are not very big, considering that the previous kits did come with less tight CASes. Many devices such as laptops and miniPCs do have UEFI BIOSes with very limited options and it is really a matter of luck if you will be able to run at the specified speeds; if the option to select the memory profile appears in BIOS, then you are in luck!

 

The mentioned kit can be found online for about 144.98 Euros and offers enough storage capacity for most applications. If you have the possibility to make it run at the specified XMP 2.0 timings with your system then you will get some extra performance out of it as well!

Crucial Ballistix 2x16GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM 1.2V Kit is Recommended for:

 

 

 

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