Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP 2x 8 GB 1600 MHz C9

[cadaveca]

We take another look at Crucial's memory products, this time a set of tiny Very Low Profile, Low Voltage DIMMs at a rather standard 1600 MHz. Screened for operation at CAS 9, the Crucial Ballstix Sport VLP kit is for those looking to save a bit on power consumption, or those that have a confined case to build their system in.

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[HouBa]

For those who are looking for black PCB there is Tactical LP, moreover with CL8.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

For a second there i thought these were gonna be a rebadge of some LP samsung rams that can hit 2400mhz. Guess those are still the better choice where available.

 

[cadaveca]

For a second there i thought these were gonna be a rebadge of some LP samsung rams that can hit 2400mhz. Guess those are still the better choice where available.

I kinda of had high hopes as well, and sometimes, we see Crucial sticks with Samsung ICs underneath, so I was cautiously optimistic. I would have mentioned the exact same thing in the review, had Samsung-built LV-LP sticks actually been easy to find.

For those who are looking for black PCB there is Tactical LP, moreover with CL8.

Yeah, but then you have the yellow colour that not everyone likes either.

 

[Slomo4shO]

I like their Tactical Tracer kits. I just wish they made kits faster than 1866... I am still waiting for a Tactical Tracer kit that is 2400MHz or higher

 

[qubit]

This review of 1600MHz RAM pretty much fits with every other review I've seen about 1600MHz RAM: they're all the same in terms of performance on Intel systems so it doesn't matter what you get.

Therefore, the distinguishing features to look out for are things like price, brand, product quality, warranty and looks/styling like we have here.

I bought my blue Corsair Vengeance modules because they're a good brand and were priced decently as well as looking nice on my black mobo.

 

[Mescalamba]

Just small question. Can it run with bit of juice at CL8?

Thats what I do when I OC sticks. First I check highest freq, then go back to minimum and minimum CL, till it works. I know that boost doesnt seem huge, but on my old X58 based PC that difference between CL8 and CL9 is there (I have old "value" CSX sticks, which were 1333CL9 - but run all the way up to 2100CL9 .. good nice Micron ICs, also work on that 1600CL8 without much juice needed .

 

[cadaveca]

Just small question. Can it run with bit of juice at CL8?

If it had, and provided a performance benefit, I would have noted it. I do try the same as well, especially with low-voltage sticks, since 1.5V is perfectly fine for most of these ICs. I just love tweaking ram, so I explore every avenue...including trying different boards to see if clocking is better on one board or another due to BIOS or physical design.

 

[HumanSmoke]

Yeah, but then you have the yellow colour that not everyone likes either.

Personally, I have to view at a pretty oblique angle to notice the colour.

At least the C8 kit gives a reasonable expectation of reaching the next bin (1866)- generally not within the grasp of the C9 (or worse) kits. While most of the entry level kits are much of a muchness, I would give a big shout out to Crucial's support. They are the only RAM company that have shipped warranty replacements to me and were happy for me to ship the defective modules back to them after their replacements had arrived which allowed me to keep the systems up and running on the modules which hadn't failed. A definite plus when you're half a world away from Crucial's Idaho facility.

 

[D1RTYD1Z619]

A little late to the party. DDR4 isn't that far off.

 

[cadaveca]

A little late to the party. DDR4 isn't that far off.

AMD APUs will support DDR3 for some time yet, as does any current platform from AMD or Intel. I have several FM2+ boards here for review, and the APUs aren't launched yet. Intel's Haswell launched just 6 months ago, in June, and will be here for at least another 6 months. AT LEAST.

DDR4 will be slow(relatively speaking toward planned speeds) and expensive at launch, and isn't here NOW, so I fail to see how that's really relevant.

There's new DDR3 kits launched recently from a few brands, and I've got another review of a 1600 MHz kit coming real soon.

 

[HumanSmoke]

DDR4 will be slow(relatively speaking toward planned speeds) and expensive at launch, and isn't here NOW, so I fail to see how that's really relevant.

DDR4's stated operating range is usually stated as 2133 to 4266 MT/sec, although JEDEC themselves are proposing an initial upper limit of DDR4-3200, so there is definitely going to be an overlap with existing (and future) DDR3 kits that are already nudging the 3000 mark. If you're buying into a new platform that is DDR4 dependant then all well and good I suppose, but I'd see the situation being akin to the DDR2 > DDR3 scenario. Early DDR3 support seemed mainly limited to DDR3-1066/-1333 for the most part (and DDR3-800 for Intel reference spec if memory serves), while I could push my *much cheaper* D9GMH/D9GKX equipped Ballistix kits to 1150-1200. Even the expensive 1111/1142/1250 Dominator kits of the day tended to be cheaper than most of the earliest DDR3 kits.
DDR3 is a long way from being washed up, although I guess without the "newer = much better" crowd clamouring for the next (barely) best thing companies and standards committees might have to actually exert some effort to provide justification to the rest of us.

 

[D1RTYD1Z619]

Most of us own 4+GB of DDR3 and to spend any more money as an upgrade at this point is a waste of money,especially for web browsing and playing most games, unless you REALLY need it for some very memory hungry program you'd be a fool to buy DDR3.