| Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC3-12800 DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Kit
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Conclusion:
While there are already faster DDR3 kits on the market, the Ballistix 2GB PC3-12800 DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Kit from Crucial is definitely up there, and is the fastest to land at Bigbruin.com so far. To be honest, the idea of 1600MHz memory intimidated me, and before the review started I was unsure how things would go. When everything was all said and done, I was pleased to see that even I was able to crank things up and really see an incredible boost in memory performance with this kit installed.
Serious enthusiasts should be able to make good use of system memory like this. Even though things are constantly evolving, you have to assume memory with such a high frequency and tight timings should keep a modern system humming along nicely for quite a while without showing signs of age.
While other review sites were capable of overclocks to 1800MHz or so, the test system in this review began to peter out over 1640MHz. Considering that the typical system offers 1066MHz or 1333MHz as the default setting for memory speed, the overclock to reach the rated speed of the Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC3-12800 DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Kit isn't trivial to begin with. After a handful of benchmarks were run just above 1600MHz it was clear that there wasn't much to be gained from pushing it much higher anyway. While the performance at 1600MHz was quite impressive, it was interesting to note the spike in performance seen at 1280MHz, as well.
A search of PriceGrabber reveals that this Crucial Ballistix PC3-12800 is quite an investment! Honestly, we're talking about something along the lines of rent, car payments, or some of the other big expenses one might have. While this kit is available from Crucial directly for $680 (US), the best deal is presently from mWave.com where the price is a mere $535. The price of DDR3 is sure to come down with time, and evidence of this is already visible. When I first received this memory kit just a few weeks ago, the best price was $620, so dropping $85 is significant.
As compared to other similar DDR3 kits (which there aren't too many of presently), the price isn't bad. And looking at other recently reviewed DDR3 shows that the PC3-11000 kit from Kingston goes for $450+, and the PC3-10600 kit from OCZ Technology goes for $370+. Considering the incredible speed boost, tight timings, and Crucial reliability, it might be worth the extra money to some people in order to have some of the fastest memory available.
Given the high speed, tight timings, and impressive performance in benchmarks, the Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC3-12800 DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Kit is definitely something for enthusiasts to yearn for. Temper this with the high price and the relatively limited number of systems/people that could put this memory to good use and the kit still earns the rating of "Recommended".
Pros:
» Blazing fast
» Tight timings
» Crucial's traditional quality, reliability, and warranty; in an overclocking DDR3 kit
» Have to assume your system won't need a memory upgrade for a long time
» New heatspreader design looks good and makes great contact with all memory chips
Cons:
» Expensive!
Special thanks to Crucial for providing the Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC3-12800 DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Kit to Bigbruin.com for review!
Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to post any comments or questions.
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