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Testing: To measure the performance of the Crucial Ballistix kit, we will be using the following test setup:
We have two tests here at the club that we are fond of using for gauging memory performance: Sisoft Sandra Memory Bandwidth test, and Lavalys' Everest Ultimate Cache and Memory Benchmark. In order to test overclocking stability, we will use a Linpack test known as LinX, version 0.5.5. We used 20 passes at maximum memory: if it passes this, it almost assuredly passes anything. Each stress point takes roughly two hours to run. Overclocking: Overclocking memory on the i7 platform is not as straightforward as other platforms, as the overclocking limitations are as much tied to the CPU as it is the memory. So we are going to keep the CPU on the down-low, while we keep pushing the memory. We will be keeping vcore within 0.1V of VTT, and vDIMM within 0.5V of VTT. After lots of playing around, here are our results:
Overclocking to the 1866 level gets the modules a bit hot, especially at 1.71V, so to maintain a stable overclock requires some extra air cooling. In this case, I used a simple 80mm camped out on top of the modules to keep things cool. Now let's look at the performance: Everest:
The Everest read tests show steady incremental improvements, showing an 8.1% increase by timing changes alone, and 11.4% at 1866MHz. The Write test shows little change from timings, but increases 11.9% when speed is increased to 1866MHz. The Copy test actually decreases slightly with the tighter timings, but increases 1.8% with the higher bus speed. Sandra:
In the Sandra tests, the tighter timings increased the Int test by 1.1%. Increasing the bus speed improved the performance by 12.8%. In the Float test, tighter timings allowed us an increase of performance by 1.4%, while the higher speed improved performance by 13.4%. Conclusion: There is no doubt that these new Crucial Ballistix are a sweet kit to have. The aesthetics are perfect for any blingtastic LAN box, and there is plenty of overclocking headroom to spare. While the aesthetic, performance, and overclocking performance are top notch, where this kit is lacking is in price. On Newegg, this kit runs for $232, while other similarly spec'd kits go for as little as $90. In fact, the Ballistix are the most expensive DDR3-1600 Triple Channel kit on the market. Not only that, the Crucials are more expensive than many CAS9 DDR3-1866 kits as well. What this means is, if you want the bling, you gotta pay for the bling. Pros:
Cons:
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