Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB Kit Review

Overview

 

Last month we took a look at the Crucial Ballistix Tactical 3000MHz 16GB Kit stating it was the fastest Memory/RAM kit we had tested to date. But that’s all about to change as today I’ll be taking a look at the Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB Kit. Now we may have seen these modules before here at pcG (Elite 2666MHz) but now there’s been a speed hike we’re going to take another look on our Z170 platform.

The Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB Kit is a DDR4 kit consisting of x4 4GB modules with Timings of 16-18-18-36 at a voltage of 1.35v. The new Elite modules are only available in black with the choice of 2666MHz, 3000MHz and 3200MHz speeds with module sizes of 4GB and 8GB also available. We will be looking at the following kit (BLE4C4G4D32AEEA) 16GB 4x4GB modules at a speed of 3200MHz, that’s the highest (currently) available in the new Elite range.

 

 

 

Packaging is the now standard Memory/RAM affair (no scissors required) with all four modules arriving at pcG in a sealed clear plastic wallet.

 

 

On opening the wallet we find that the four modules themselves sit clipped into two separate plastic trays. Behind this tray there’s a cardboard Crucial folder that gives a basic guide on how to install the modules. And that’s it, nothing else, not even a sticker! For that I applaud you Crucial, I’m so fed up with everything coming with stickers… 😉

At the time of review, the Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB Kit (BLE4C4G4D32AEEA) is available from Kikatek for approximately £123 and comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

 

Specifications/Features

courtesy of Crucial

Series Ballistix Elite

Memory Type DDR4

Capacity 16GB (4GBx4)

Multi-Channel Kit Dual Channel Kit

Tested Speed 3200MHz

Tested Latency 16-18-18-36-2N

Tested Voltage 1.35v

Registered/Unbuffered Unbuffered

Error Checking Non-ECC

SPD Speed 3200MHz

SPD Voltage 1.35v

Fan lncluded No

Height 40 mm

Warranty Limited Lifetime

Features Intel XMP 2.0 (Extreme Memory Profile) Ready

* Additional details available here

 

First Impressions

 

 

First impressions of the Crucial Ballistix Elite modules are really very good, as I very much like the rugged, purposeful design that looks like it’s built to last. They’re also a good size, not what you’d call low profile but at 40mm they’re not too tall either and should fit in with most air cooled builds without issue.

As you can see from the image above the design is very rugged with lots of metal featuring in the design. In the centre of what I would call the front we find an inlaid strip that features the Crucial logo (in white) on the left and the Ballistix Elite DDR4 moniker on the right, also in white.

The opposite side of the module (the back) is pretty much the same; we have the same Crucial logo on the left but the right hand side of the module is now (disappointingly) adorned with information stickers. These identify both the part number, the memory’s speed, timings and operating voltage.

The top of the modules are particularly smart IMHO and is what most of us will likely see most of the time. The modules from this angle look very purposeful with their rugged design with a centrally mounted Ballistix Elite DDR4 logo. But hold on is this logo not printed the wrong way around… 😮

 

Hardware Installation

 

To install the Crucial Ballistix Elite modules could not be easier as it is basically the same as installing any other memory modules. Just line up the slot in the Module with the key in the Motherboard DIMM slot and (carefully) push into place. Make sure the RAM can be secured by the clips, as this is a good way to know that the RAM modules have been pushed in far enough.

 

 

The images above show that there’s good clearance around the modules (that measure in at 40mm) meaning that you are unlikely to run into any clearance issues with this Memory/RAM and an air type CPU Cooler. As you can see our Noctua NH-U12S fitted without issue, although it’s a little close.

But also note that as far as I’m concerned on this Z170 setup (X99 may be different) the Ballistix logos atop the modules are upside down, as the logos on other modules tested read left to right!? 😮

 

• Test Rig Setup

Case	Cooler Master HAF XB	Power Supply	Corsair AX760i 760W
Motherboard	ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 GAMING K6	CPU	Intel Core i5 6600K
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-U12S	RAM	Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB
Graphics Card	EVGA GeForce GTX 980Ti Classified	SSD	HyperX FURY 120GB

 

 

As you can see from the image above left the four Elite modules defaulted to a speed of 2133MHz. This is normal as it is the nominal maximum speed recommended by Intel, everything from here on up is regarded as an overclock.

The image above right shows what happens after enabling the XMP 2.0 setting (Profile 1) in the UEFI of our ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6 motherboard. The memory is now running at its rated maximum speed of 3200MHz at 1.35v.

 

Testing Methodology/Setup

 

The Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB Kit was tested on our new Z170 (Skylake) based platform shown above, using Windows 10 64Bit with all relevant Drivers installed. Prime95 (Blend) was used to test stability and the following benchmarks were also used.

• AIDA64
• 3DMark
• UNiGiNE Heaven 4.0
• Metro Last Light

 

Hardware Performance

 

 

AIDA64 Benchmark Results

Memory	Type	Platform	Read	Write	Copy	Latency
Patriot Viper DDR4 2400MHz 16GB Kit @ 15-15-15-35	DDR4	X99	40550	37050	45891	71.9 ns
G.Skill Ripjaws DDR4 2400MHz 16GB Kit @ 15-15-15-35	DDR4	X99 (Quad)	40502	36974	45615	72.0 ns
Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB @ 16-18-18-36	DDR4	Z170	43686	47800	42689	51.8 ns
Crucial Ballistix Tactical 3000MHz 16GB @ 15-16-16-35	DDR4	Z170	41771	45168	41002	50.9 ns
G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 3000MHz 16GB @ 15-16-16-35	DDR4	Z170	42559	44605	40599	53.2 ns
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16GB Kit @ 16-16-16-39	DDR4	Z170	34023	36352	33339	60.6 ns
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2400MHz 32GB @ 16-16-16-39	DDR4	Z170	32559	35683	33263	67.3 ns
Crucial Ballistix Elite DDDR4 2666MHz 16GB Kit @ 16-17-17-36	DDR4	X99	35829	19186	32148	73.9 ns
Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR3 2133MHz 16GB Kit @ 9-11-11-31	DDR3	Z97	32180	33437	31298	48.9 ns
G.Skill Ripjaws DDR4 2400MHz 8GB Kit @ 15-15-15-35	DDR4	Z170	34439	35588	31274	55.3 ns
HyperX Savage DDR3 2400MHz 8GB @ 11-13-14-32	DDR3	Z97	33409	34811	29523	48.9 ns
Avexir Raiden Series DDR3 2133MHz 8GB Kit @ 9-11-10-27	DDR3	Z97	30478	31445	28178	48.9 ns

 

I have left the DDR3 RAM (Z97) results in the benchmark results table for comparison purposes as obviously much has changed here for Z170 (new MB, new CPU and obviously new RAM). Well the Crucial Ballistix Tactical 3000MHz 16GB kit may well have been top of the (Z170) chart but not for long. The Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB kit takes the crown (easily) with a Copy score of 42689 MB/s. But as you can see it still cant quite match the performance of an X99 based quad channel system.

 

Gaming Related Benchmarks (Z170)

 

Memory	3DMark (FireStrike Extreme)	Unigine Heaven	Metro Last Light
Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB	8610	1111	121.33
Crucial Ballistix Tactical 3000MHz 16GB	8206	1106	116.00
G.Skill TridentZ 3000MHz 16GB	8037	1093	121.00
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2400MHz 16GB	8001	1097	117.00
G.Skill Ripjaws DDR4 2400MHz 8GB	8023	1097	117.00
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2400MHz 32GB	8014	1090	117.00

 

In recent testing and during Gaming using the pcG Test Rig we’ve seen that adding more memory can help when running higher resolutions such as 4K and Ultra Wide (3440×1440), we’ve also seen that that when running higher end Graphics Cards (especially the new GTX 1000 Series) faster memory can help especially when aiming for higher Frame Rates (144Hz). This is down to the fact that there’s now more asked of the MB/CPU/RAM subsystem; and this subsystem if not up to the task can become a potential bottleneck.

As you can see from the data above there’s really very little in it though, but there’s still the fact that the Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz modules provide us with the best results yet seen here at pcG.

 

Final Thoughts

 

If you’re trying to squeeze every last frame out of you’re Gaming then the Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz 16GB Kit is probably just what you’re looking for…

The Crucial Ballistix Elite 3200MHz modules arrived at pcGameware in the (now standard) plastic wallet, with no scissors required to get at the modules within! Once out of the box it was apparent that the Elite modules are some of the best looking and well made modules yet seen from Crucial. I really like the rugged purposeful design and the black colouring and PCB means that they’ll likely fit into any Rig design too. Thanks to their relative low profile at just 40mm they’re also likely to fit with many Air based CPU Coolers, but you should still check first if possible.

From a pure performance point of view there’s no doubting that the bandwidth offered by these 3200MHz modules is impressive. As you can see from our AIDA64 benchmarks the Elite modules put in a fine performance eclipsing all modules that have gone before it. What’s interesting is that the increase in performance also transferred through to the Gaming benchmarks also. Now it may not be much, but there’s no denying that the increase is there…

So if you’re planning a high end Gaming system with a modern day Graphics Card (like Nvidia’s new 1080 or Titan X, or a high end SLI/CrossFire setup) then I think you should consider these new high speed Elite modules from Crucial. Not only do they look good, they’re also built like a tank and work well with most Rig designs and then of course there’s the performance, the best we’ve yet seen!

 

Verdict

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Many thanks to Crucial for providing this sample for review