Crucial delivers DDR3 memory to the high-end enthusiast market ... and it's a sure winner

Introduction

Crucial technologies (a division of Micron) has always produced top quality memory modules. In fact, you'll probably find the same Micron memory chips used in some of the high-end manufactuers such as Corsair and OCZ . We've always had good results from Crucial memory modules. One thing I like about Crucial memory is their compatibility and reliability. I still haven't found a motherboard that has a compatibility issue with their modules. Over the past few weeks, we have had DDR3 samples from both Kingston and OCZ, and we've been pushing Crucial to send us their samples. Now finally, Crucial has sent us their DDR3 2Gb kits. It's their highest end memory product, and we expect these modules to produce some excellent results. 

         

Kingston Technologies were one of the first manufacturers to release their DDR3 modules, and earlier this summer, we reviewed the Kingston HyperX DDR3-1375 PC3-11000 2Gb kit and their ValueRam DDR3-1066. Both kits performed as expected and We even managed to overclock the HyperX modules to 750Mhz ... that's DDR3-1500 spec. So when we received the Crucial DDR3 samples, we were really excited to see what these modules could archieve.

Last time, We spoke about the cost and availability of DDR3 ram. It's true, that cost of DDR3 ram is still very high, but now they're becoming more widely available. This is probably due to the relentless campaign by Intel, to push forward their high FSB processors and chipsets. It's only a matter of time before We see more and more DDR3 products becoming available. If you're still using DDR2 ram, my word of advice is hang until the end of the year. By then prices of DDR3 would have dropped.

Labelling and classification of DDR3 memory can be a little confusing, but I'll try and give you some DDR3 terminology ... More information can be found HERE

PC3-6400 : DDR3-800 : 200FSB : 400Mhz
PC3-8500 : DDR3-1066 : 266FSB : 533Mhz
PC3-10666 : DDR3-1333 : 333FSB : 667Mhz
PC3-12800 : DDR3-1600 : 400FSB : 800Mhz
PC3-14400:  DDR3-1800 : 450FSB : 900Mhz

In this review we'll be taking a look at the Crucial Ballistix PC3-12800 2Gb kit. These modules are rated at DDR3-1600 and can run at 800Mhz with memory timings of 8-8-8-20. Crucial's Ballistix series are aimed at the high-end and enthusiast market, and comes with some nice looking heat speaders to cool the ram chips. 

In our tests we'll bee installing these modules on a MSI P35 Diamond DDR3 motherboard, along with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor and a Geforce 8800GTS, running Windows Vista. During the tests, we'll also see how well they can overclock.

Ok, let's not waste any more time and take a closer look at the Crucial Ballistix PC3-12800 2Gb kit ...