When it comes to memory upgrades, one name springs to mind where ever you go … and that’s Crucial. They are one of big players in this market, backed by their parent company Micron Technology. Not only do they specialise in memory upgrades for servers and desktops, but they are also known for supplying laptop/notebook memory, as well as numerous USB memory devices.
If I’m not mistaken, I would say you’ll find a large majority of Crucial memory modules/upgrades on many PC systems. Why? … because Crucial memory are not only one of the most affordable memory on the market, but they’re also compatible with many motherboards making them a favourite among system builders.
Not content with just being dominant in capturing a large share of the mainstream memory market, Crucial have over the past few years, released specialist memory for the higher-end market. They call this new range of memory upgrades … Crucial Ballistix series, and for the extreme enthusiasts … Ballistix Tracer (with LEDs). For those who want to know a little more about Crucial’s Ballistix Tracer range … here’s some blurb taken from their website.
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“Ballistix Tracer memory is specifically built for performance enthusiasts and case modders who want to push the performance envelope while adding flash appeal to their boxes. The Ballistix line of high-performance memory modules features advanced speed grades, low latencies, and integrated aluminum heat spreaders. And, Ballistix Tracer memory is available in variety of colors depending on technology. DDR3 Ballistix Tracer has been updated with more LEDs (up to 32 total) with one or two rows of 12 activity-indicating LEDs along the entire top length of the module. The wider spacing and pattern moves from the center toward the outside of the module and creates some interesting light patterns and effects in your case. Eight constantly illuminated ground effects lights along the bottom edge will light up your motherboard. DDR3 Ballistix Tracer is available in classic black, as well as red, all blue or all green (PCB/heat spreader/LEDs). Show the world your true colors by picking scheme that suits your style or matches your rig.” For more information about the Ballistix memory line, please visit the Performance Memory section of our Web site. |
In this review, we’ll be taking a look at the Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR3-1600 Dual Channel 4Gb memory kits. They’re rated at DDR3-1600, that’s PC3-12800 spec with memory timings of 8-8-8-24. Supporting XMP (for motherboards that have this option in the BIOS), the modules are aimed and targeted at the higher-end user and extreme enthusiasts. The Ballistix Tracer series comes heatspreaders which are great heat dissipation, and they also feature LEDs that come in several different colours … red, green, blue and multi-colur (a mix of all three).
For our review, Crucial gave us the multi-coloured LED version with black heatspreaders. We’ll be installing these into our test rig, which consist of the following … Intel Core i5 – 650 (LGA 1156), Gigabyte P55 USB3 motherboard (with XMP support), Geforce GTX 460 and a Silverpower 650W PSU.
We’re expecting good performance from these Ballistix Tracer module, and I’m hoping that the support for XMP (when enabled in the motherboard BIOS), will give us a boost in memory performance. Some people might think that the flashing LEDs are all a gimmick. That maybe so … but as far as I’m concerned, I’m more interested in compatibility and performance.
OK, enough talk, let’s take a closer look at the specifications of the Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR3-1600 4Gb Kits …
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