The Crucial Ballistix range is deigned purely for gaming or other such data intensive task.
There are a range of kits available, but this time we have the 16GB DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz kit on test, product code BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00CEU, priced at roughly £70 (although you could probably find the kit a little cheaper depending on where you shop).
Crucial has greatly improved the quality of its RAM over the years, and as a result the current batch of Ballistix, in this case the Sport range, has an impressive list of technical specifications and manufacturing processes after its name. Just to note, the Sport range we have here is designed for standard desktops, whereas the Sport VL has a low-profile design, Sport XT is much bigger and a little faster for gaming builds, and the Sport SODIMM is naturally made for laptops or other ultra-compact systems.
The Ballistix Sport runs at 1.5V, has a latency of 9-9-9-24 and a clock speed of 1600MHz. It’s a mid-range pair of 8GB sticks and, as such, it won’t perform quite as well as the Corsair Vengeance kit, but it’s also a little more compatible in both terms of specifications and dimensions.
The sticks measure around 31.5mm in height, which is far more manageable than the previous Corsair example we looked at. Needless to say, then, the Crucial Ballistix Sport is more compatible with larger and intrusive heatsinks.
As for overlocking, unfortunately in this instance we didn’t have much luck. Whether it was simply a combination of our motherboard and the memory or the memory itself we’re not entirely sure. However, we did try to up the clock speed slowly, but it failed at every point other than the default auto setting.
The benchmark for the Ballistix Sport managed a decent 23GB/s – not bad for 1600MHz memory, considering the general average seems to be around 20 to 21GB/s for this type of memory.
In terms of real-world computing, we did see some slowdown on the games we were testing, although only on the newer games. The likes of Assassin’s Creed IV worked just as well with this 16GB kit as it did with the more expensive Corsair entry. Batman: Arkham Knight and Submerged, though, did seems to stutter slightly when delivering more intensive scenes.
The Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB kit is actually pretty good. The Ballistic Sport XT is probably the modern gamer’s choice of memory at 1866MHz, although it’s less compatible due to its size. And in all honesty, more advanced motherboard owners will probably opt for the Sport DDR4 RAM kit.
Nevertheless, the Ballistix Sport is perfectly capable and a little easier to accommodate than bigger RAM sticks. Plus it’s a tad cheaper too.