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Far be it for us as a review site to pick favorites, but one thing we can do is point out that Crucial's offerings have performed exceptionally well on our test benches in the past. Today's sample marks the third Ballistix product we've looked at in the past year, and fourth Crucial memory kit overall. Most recently we put their 10th Anniversary DDR2-667 kit under scrutiny and were blown away by the overclocking headroom. In fact, our only real gripe was we felt that it could (and should) have been marketed as a faster kit, so when we received Crucial's Ballistix DDR2-800 with respectable timings (4-4-4-12), we were eager to throw our gauntlet of benchmarks at 'em and see what kind of overclocking performance we could squeeze out of a higher clocked kit. Before diving in, let's have a closer look:
| Kit |
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| Type |
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| Size |
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Timings |
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| Speed |
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| Voltage |
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| Density |
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| Warranty |
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Anyone that's ever ordered a Crucial memory kit before will immediately recognize the familiar brown box. Previous Ballistix owners also have high expectations for what lies enclosed in the cardboard, as this series from Crucial represents their performance line of RAM.
Inside rest two individually anti-static wrapped sticks of RAM, a coupon card, and a simple instruction pamphlet. We can't really gripe about the contents of a RAM kit, but one thing we'd like to see included is a case sticker - you know, the ones that use the same kind of vinyl that the Fast and Furious crowd uses to make their cars go faster?
Puget Custom Computers
Our kit was able to ramp up the frequency to DDR2-1066, which represents a higher memory pricing tier, and we were able to take our 1.86GHz processor to 2.9GHz on stock volts. At DDR2-1066, we weren't able to push our processor very far, so we opted for a less aggressive divider and settled on 2.9GHz and DDR2-828 for our maximum overclock. Given the choice between RAM frequency or processor clockspeed, we'll take clockspeed every time.
Everest Ultimate Edition 2006
Everest Ultimate Edition is a system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for enthusiast PC users, based on the award-winning Everest Technology. During system optimizations and tweaking, it provides essential system and overclock information, advanced hardware monitoring, and diagnostic capabilities to check the effects of the applied settings. For testing memory, we use Everet's Memory Read and Write tests.
Super Pi MOD v1.5
Super Pi is a program used by enthusiasts to benchmark system performance. Owned and maintained by XtremeSystems.org, Super Pi is as much a competition as it is a benchmark, with many forums cataloging user times in the 1M and 32M calculations.
Sciencemark 2.0
Sciencemark 2.0 is an attempt to put the truth behind benchmarking. In an attempt to model real world demands and performance, SM2 is a suite of high-performance benchmarks that realistically stress system performance without architectrual bias. For benchmarking memory, we use MemBench, an unbiased synthetic benchmark that sweeps through more than 15 different, publicly available memory copy algorithms to measure the peak memory performance of your CPU's caches and your memory subsystem.
Doom3
Doom 3 is an 'older' game that still is a good benchmarking tool, as it highly stresses your entire system. For benchmarking, we use TimeDemo1.
Far Cry
The HardwareOC FarCry Benchmark is an easy-to-use tool, that makes Far Cry video card benchmarking fast and easy. In 2004 Far Cry earned the "Best Game of the Year" award because of its awesome graphics and gameplay. It was the first game with Pixel Shader 3 support, which later became a standard in many other games. While the user interface is simple, you can actually change more details than you think. With its one-of-a-kind screenshot feature, you can make snaps from the same frame from different views. You can also use OpenGL instead of Direct3D, or turn on HRD and Geometry instancing.
At the end of the day, we would have preferred to run both a higher memory frequency with our overclock, but we can't complain about a kit that runs at and exceeds advertised specifications. What we can do is gripe mildly about the $299 street price, though it's not too far above other similarly timed kits, and the stellar customer service helps offset some of that pricing discrepancy. We still prefer Crucial's 10th Anniversary DDR2-667 RAM that we recently reviewed and it remains our mainstream choice, but if you need the guarantee of a higher frequency kit with the Crucial label, this 2GB DDR2-800 is calling your name.
Bundle aside, it's the sticks that we're truly interested in. Unwrapping our sticks reveals a black PCB protected with a copper colored heatspreader with the Ballistix logo stamped on each one. For those that need a bit more bling, Crucial's Ballistix Tracers throw top activity LEDs into the mix along with a sleek black heatspreader. Either way, it's interesting to see Crucial remain steadfast in their heatspreader design, while other companies add honeycomb vents, top mounted fins, and even watercooling connectors. In a way, we appreciate this no-nonsense approach Crucial has taken, though we wonder if they have a redesign brewing behind closed doors...
Test System
For testing memory modules, HardwareLogic uses SiSoft Sandra's memory bandwidth benchmark, Scienemark 2.0, Everest 2006 Ultimate Edition's memory read and write tests, Super Pi MOD v1.5 1M and 32M, and WordBench 5. On the gaming front, we run Doom 3's timedemo1 and Far Cry's Trainer demo. All testing was performed on the our recently reviewed (and slightly altered) Puget Quiet Gaming Rig:Puget Custom Computers
- Asus P5WDH Deluxe Wireless Edition
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
- Zalman Reserator1 V2 Water Cooler
- 2GB (2x1GB) Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800
- Gigabyte GeForce 7600GT
- Seagate Barracuda 320GB/16MB
- Seasonic 550w S12 PSU
Overclocking Disclaimer
First and foremost, when purchasing a kit of RAM (or any component, for that matter) overclocking results are never guaranteed. Many factors can influence what a kit is capable of, including complimentary components (motherboard, processor, power supply), user experience, and simple luck of the draw. Two identical systems will not necessarily yield identical results. At HardwareLogic, we will report the results that we obtain with our review sample, but keep the above in mind when making a purchase.Overclocking Results
Our kit proved to be a capable overclocker, both in terms of frequency headroom and processor clockspeed. And best of all, our kit never required a voltage boost to remain stable. Let's take a look:| DDR2-800 (Stock 1.86GHz) |
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| DDR2-1066 (Stock 1.86GHz) |
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| DDR2-828 (OC'd to 2.9GHz) |
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Our kit was able to ramp up the frequency to DDR2-1066, which represents a higher memory pricing tier, and we were able to take our 1.86GHz processor to 2.9GHz on stock volts. At DDR2-1066, we weren't able to push our processor very far, so we opted for a less aggressive divider and settled on 2.9GHz and DDR2-828 for our maximum overclock. Given the choice between RAM frequency or processor clockspeed, we'll take clockspeed every time.
SiSoft Sandra Memory Bandwidth
SiSoft Sandra (the System Analyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is a 32 and 64-bit Windows system analyser that includes benchmarking, testing, and listing modules.
SiSoft Sandra (the System Analyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is a 32 and 64-bit Windows system analyser that includes benchmarking, testing, and listing modules.
Everest Ultimate Edition 2006
Everest Ultimate Edition is a system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for enthusiast PC users, based on the award-winning Everest Technology. During system optimizations and tweaking, it provides essential system and overclock information, advanced hardware monitoring, and diagnostic capabilities to check the effects of the applied settings. For testing memory, we use Everet's Memory Read and Write tests.
Super Pi MOD v1.5
Super Pi is a program used by enthusiasts to benchmark system performance. Owned and maintained by XtremeSystems.org, Super Pi is as much a competition as it is a benchmark, with many forums cataloging user times in the 1M and 32M calculations.
Sciencemark 2.0
Sciencemark 2.0 is an attempt to put the truth behind benchmarking. In an attempt to model real world demands and performance, SM2 is a suite of high-performance benchmarks that realistically stress system performance without architectrual bias. For benchmarking memory, we use MemBench, an unbiased synthetic benchmark that sweeps through more than 15 different, publicly available memory copy algorithms to measure the peak memory performance of your CPU's caches and your memory subsystem.
PC WorldBench 5.0
WorldBench is an applications-based benchmark that automatically installs a series of programs on your computer and then runs various tests to see how those apps perform on your system. WorldBench 5 uses real applications running real-world tasks to assess a PC's overall performance. This edition adds much more varied testing, including multitasking and task-switching tests, more strenuous 3D graphics marks, and audio and video encoding designed to stress today's more powerful systems.
WorldBench is an applications-based benchmark that automatically installs a series of programs on your computer and then runs various tests to see how those apps perform on your system. WorldBench 5 uses real applications running real-world tasks to assess a PC's overall performance. This edition adds much more varied testing, including multitasking and task-switching tests, more strenuous 3D graphics marks, and audio and video encoding designed to stress today's more powerful systems.
Doom3
Doom 3 is an 'older' game that still is a good benchmarking tool, as it highly stresses your entire system. For benchmarking, we use TimeDemo1.
Far Cry
The HardwareOC FarCry Benchmark is an easy-to-use tool, that makes Far Cry video card benchmarking fast and easy. In 2004 Far Cry earned the "Best Game of the Year" award because of its awesome graphics and gameplay. It was the first game with Pixel Shader 3 support, which later became a standard in many other games. While the user interface is simple, you can actually change more details than you think. With its one-of-a-kind screenshot feature, you can make snaps from the same frame from different views. You can also use OpenGL instead of Direct3D, or turn on HRD and Geometry instancing.
| Section | Score | Comments |
| Stock Performance | 19/20 |
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| Overclocking | 16/20 |
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| Versatility | 18/20 |
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| Warranty and Support | 20/20 |
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| Price / Value | 17/20 |
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Our Recommendation
While the memory market continues to see newcomers jump into the fray with varying degrees of success, Crucial just keeps quietly churning out solid RAM kits that perform well and run stable and reliable. We say quietly because rather than focus on outlandish heatspreader designs or record breaking frequencies, Crucial keeps releasing kits of RAM that run as advertised, and better. We've seen this throughout the past year, and the trend continues in this current offering, which is the fourth kit from them we've put under the microscope since the beginning of '06. This 2GB DDR2-800 Ballistix had no problem holding a 1066 memory frequency with our processor at stock speeds, and with a less aggressive divider, we pushed our 1.86GHz E6300 up to 2.9GHz without a hiccup. And whereas we've had to push other kits up to 2.4V when playing with different frequencies and timings, we never touched the voltage on our Ballistix kit.At the end of the day, we would have preferred to run both a higher memory frequency with our overclock, but we can't complain about a kit that runs at and exceeds advertised specifications. What we can do is gripe mildly about the $299 street price, though it's not too far above other similarly timed kits, and the stellar customer service helps offset some of that pricing discrepancy. We still prefer Crucial's 10th Anniversary DDR2-667 RAM that we recently reviewed and it remains our mainstream choice, but if you need the guarantee of a higher frequency kit with the Crucial label, this 2GB DDR2-800 is calling your name.