Crucial Ballistix Tracer Red 800 MHz 4 GB Kit

Performance

The system being used to test this memory is as follows:

CPU:	Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 G0 Stepping
Motherboard:	DFI LP UT P35 T2R
Video Card:	eVGA 8800GTS (G92) 512MB Core: 670MHz Memory: 972MHz
Harddisk:	2 x 320 GB Seagate 7200.10 in RAID 0 Array
Power Supply:	Silverstone Strider 600W Fully Modular
Software:	Windows XP Pro SP2, 169.21 Forceware

The first step was to test the memory at it's specified settings to set a baseline for which to compare overclocked benchmark results. From there, the maximum memory clock was sought at stock voltage and timings to see just how much overclocking potential this kit has out of the box. As the table shows, 930 MHz was the max overclock reached at stock timings and voltage and is clearly nothing to scoff at considering the high density of these modules.



The remaining tests show how well this kit works with a range of voltages at specific timings. The kit was tested at CL4 and 5 timings to find the max stable memory clock at 1.8, 2.0, 2.2 and 2.3V each. I must note that despite my best efforts with a broad range of voltages and clocks I simply could not get this kit to POST at CL3. Crucial had the following to say when I inquired about my findings:

"These are higher density double-sided components - that makes it much more difficult to run lower latency. Most of the 2GB 800MHz modules on the market today are CL5 with a few (including ours) that are CL4. Hitting CL3 is just difficult with this newer technology. We’ll constantly evaluate if the parts will go lower and generally they get better over time."

After the factory specified settings were tested it was time to see how far beyond their rated speed these modules would go while remaining stable at each voltage setting. Amazingly for 2 GB modules, this kit was able to reach 1120 MHz at CL5 with the stock 2.2V!




As the voltage scaling graph shows, this particular memory kit seems to be more latency dependent than voltage. At either CL4 or 5, 1.8V appears to yield the best overclock/volt while obviously helping to ensure a long lifetime due to low voltage. I should finally note that, while these results are a good indication of expected performance, no two kits will perform identically and that these results are not guaranteed.