INTRODUCTION

   Sometimes it's hard for me to "grasp" just how much the computer industry/market has evolved in just less than 30 years. Take RAM for example, who would had thought back in the early 90's that from just single modules of 4MB RAM today (and 5 generations later) we'd had gone all the way to 256GB? Granted back then we had no need for the sheer amounts of RAM we have today (even 16MB was considered overkill) but still the "gap" between then and now is enormous to say the least. Still it is what it is and so today not only have 16GB of RAM become mainstream but popularity of both 32GB and 64GB kits (dual-channel ones primarily) has skyrocketed since last year and largely due to that fact today I’ll be testing the latest Ballistix Gaming 64GB DDR4 3200MHz Dual-Channel Kit by Crucial (BL2K32G32C16U4B).

   Crucial is a global brand of Micron Technology, Inc. Crucial solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory (DRAM) upgrades are compatible with over 100,000 new and old desktops, laptops, workstations and servers. Crucial Ballistix gaming memory delivers a performance edge to gamers and enthusiasts and enhances the overall PC gaming experience. Available worldwide at leading retail and e-tail stores, commercial resellers and system integrators, Crucial products enhance system performance and user productivity. Learn more at www.crucial.com.

   The Ballistix Gaming line by Crucial is currently available in both RGB and non-RGB models (this is also the one reviewed today), three different heatspreader colors (black/red/white) and only in dual-channel configuration (2x8/16/32GB - you can of course pair these kits for quad channel systems) with frequencies all the way to 3600MHz (2400/2666/3000/3200/3600MHz), CAS latency timings as low as 15 (only the 2x8GB 3000MHz kits are CL15, all else are CL16) and voltages set at 1.35v for all kits. Under the low-profile anodized aluminum heatspreaders we find dual rank 16GB B-Die memory chips by Micron (at least in this kit) and a 3D printed RGB LED bar (for the RGB models) with a total of 16 RGB LEDs (8 zones) and full compatibility with all the popular mainboard sync technologies (including ASUS AURA Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync and ASRock RGB Sync). As with their previous lines Crucial covers the Ballistix Gaming DDR4 RAM with a limited lifetime warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

THE BALLISTIX GAMING 64GB

Crucial has moved to a new package for their Ballistix Gaming series (at least the non-RGB ones) which just has their logo at the front along with the amount of RAM, their frequency and a clear plastic window from where you can partially see the modules themselves.

A few words about the Crucial RAM lines are printed at the rear in 11 languages.

Thanks to their large anodized aluminum heatspreaders the new Ballistix Gaming modules look really nice.

The company logo is printed on one side of the heatspreaders whereas on the other we find two 2D barcodes and the module specifications.

I received the non-RGB model which lacks the top 3D printed bar (also do notice how slim these heatspreaders are).

Measuring just 38.6mm (top to bottom) the new Ballistix Gaming modules are not only shorter compared to the older Ballistix Elite ones but also the recently reviewed Fury RGB by HyperX.

The lack of RGB lighting means that these modules fit like a glove with the EVGA Z390 DARK.

It's also worth pointing out that the M.O.D software by Crucial has both the temperature and LED control options disabled for this kit.

As usual I used the popular Thaiphoon burner software to get detailed specifications on this kit.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Thanks to XMP (2.0) profiles the only thing one needs to do in order to run this RAM kit at its advertised frequency, timings and voltages is to choose/enable it from within the Bios and reboot. That being said if you're into overclocking you may not wish to use the main XMP profile but instead to choose your very own frequency, timings and voltages to achieve even higher performance numbers and that's exactly what we'll also be doing during our DDR4 tests. To be more specific aside testing each kit with its XMP profile we will also be upping the voltages (up to 1.4V max – even though most kits can function at higher voltages I don’t recommend doing so) and frequencies (200MHZ increments) until we find the maximum achievable stable frequency. We also thought about upping voltages and reducing timings instead of increasing the frequency of the modules as high as it can go (always stable and without going over 1.4V) but the end results are pretty much identical.

   As for the how we'll be testing each DDR4 Quad/Dual-Kit to arrive in our lab well there aren't that many benchmark programs that only test RAM (or at least RAM and CPU without anything else coming into play) but we got most of them and so you will be seeing results from following benchmarking programs, AIDA64 Engineer Edition, Cinebench Release 20, MaxMemm2 (because we are getting low performance numbers this doesn't seem to play well with our test rig - probably because of the X299 architecture - but we decided to include it regardless), Passmark Performance Test 9, Sisoftware Sandra Titanium and WPrime v1.55. All tests are performed on a fresh Windows 10 Pro installation (complete with all updates until the day of this review) and are repeated a total of 6 times after which the average numbers get recorded into our charts.

* In addition to Quad-Channel tests since March 2020 I’ll also be using the brand new Z390 test rig (check above) for Dual-Channel RAM tests.
** Since May 2020 three game benchmarks (Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, GEARS 5 and Metro Exodus tested on the X299 system at 1080p resolution and with the ASUS ROG RTX2060 OC set at Gaming Mode) have also been added in the charts.

TEST RESULTS – XMP PROFILE / DUAL CHANNEL

TEST RESULTS – OVERCLOCK / DUAL CHANNEL

Since I might end up replacing my 9900k test rig for an 10900k one (more future proof for reviews, plus it's hard to have 4 test rigs in the office – some of the memory kits in this review will also be benchmarked with that as well) inside the month I ended up spending a good deal of time with this one so not only was I able to overclock the recently reviewed Fury RGB modules (unable last time - i included those results in today's charts) but I also managed to push the Ballistix Gaming modules all the way up to a stable 3600MHz without changing timings, just by upping the voltage to 1.38V (I was also able to hit 3800MHz at CL17 and 1.4V but the system wasn’t stable during all benchmarks).

CONCLUSION

   Having a total of 64GB of RAM may seem as a bit over the top to some people (including gamers) but I wouldn’t go that far. Yes, even 32GB will cover your current daily needs (and then some probably) but long term I expect 32GB will not be enough, gaming included. And then we have professionals working with heavy software suites for who even 64GB might not be quite enough. Of course if you are one of those people who upgrade their systems once every 2 years RAM shouldn’t be much of an issue (you can always opt for 64GB next time around) but for people who invest on a system for long periods of time and/or enthusiasts who are just after the best, 64GB is the way to go and the Crucial Ballistix Gaming is a very good choice. They may not be the fastest modules around but they OC effortlessly at 3600MHz without even changing timings (at least with the Z390 Dark) and feature low-profile anodized aluminum heatspreaders which are not only very thin but look great as well (even without RGB).

   The Crucial Ballistix Dual-Channel Kit (BL2K32G32C16U4B - the top picture is of the RGB kit) of todays review currently retails for USD341.41 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 327Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk), a price tag which is quite reasonable for 64GB of DDR4 RAM running at 3200MHz (still not what many will consider affordable). Again, however this kit is clearly not for everyone out there so at the end of the day whether you need it or not comes down to your needs and requirements (personally I think it will not be long before 64GB becomes what 32GB is today). Personal needs and requirements aside this Ballistix Kit is very fast, has very good room for overclocking and should provide ample RAM for many years to come which is why it deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Performance (Up To 3600MHz CL16)
- Short & Thin Heat Spreaders (Zero Clearance Issues)
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- 3 Different Colors (Black, White & Red)
- RGB & Non RGB Versions Available

CONS

- Dual Channel Kits Only
- Price (For Some)