Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16GB 2400MHz DDR4 Memory Review

[section_title title=”Conclusion”]

Conclusion

DDR4 memory and DDR3 memory currently aren’t too far apart in terms of performance; DDR4 edges the DDR3 out by about 5-10% in most cases but is that enough to justify the jump?  With Intel’s latest X99 socket consumers really don’t have too much of a choice but with Broadwell and Skylake coming out, who knows?  Maybe DDR4 will be a lot more mainstream across the board in the next 9-12 months.  With that aside, DDR4’s main advantage over DDR3 is efficiency; the world of technology has gone efficiency mad the past couple of years and the voltage drop from 1.2v on DDR4 from 1.5-1.65v on DDR3 is quite large in the grand scheme of things.  Ok your electricity bill isn’t going to be much lower, but less volts = less heat = better efficiency = better all-round capability for the technology as a whole in the years to come.

Not stepping away from the main topic of today’s conclusion, the Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16GB 2400MHz CL16 DDR4 memory kit has been a very interesting product to review for multiple reasons.  First of all the performance in certain benchmarks is phenomenal and credit must go to Micron for their impeccable manufacturing processor of their IC’s; Micron IC’s to me have always provided solid performance and although they aren’t widely known for being super overclockable, not everything is designed with that in mind.  That being said, this particular kit does overclock pretty nicely and the CAS timings tighten up like a dream; the performance increase is also reciprocated in the benchmarks too showing that the increase in clock speeds doesn’t effectively do squat.

In terms of design, the low profile style heat sinks will fit under most coolers with no issues whatsoever but given the nature of the platform they are designed for, you will most likely have an AIO CPU cooler or a custom water-cooled loop effectively making the heat sink down to a case of personal taste; tall heat sinks do not usually restrict water cooling so bare that in mind.  Will it be different Skylake comes out?  Who knows but for now I think you are safe regardless.  The digital Camo clad heat sinks also show an element of style although it might not be to everyone’s taste; I personally like them and if you love the slightly aggressive but combative overall theme of the Ballistix, you won’t be disappointed!

A quad channel 16GB (4x4GB) kit of the Ballistix Sport LT 2400MHz will set you back around £190; this offers pretty decent value for money all things considered and if all batches of this memory do the overclocked speeds/tighter timings then Crucial are onto a clear winner.  This is extremely good value when you compare it to the Corsair Vengeance LPX memory kit , as although it features higher specs, it out performs it in a lot of benchmarks and that is what is important here.  Although the design is a little marmite (you either love it or you hate it), the Ballistix Sport LT is a fantastic addition to a pretty popular and already established range; Crucial have many prestige level ranges which feature the Ballistix moniker.

If you are looking for a decent looking, great performance and not so wallet crunching kit of DDR4 memory then make sure you check out the Ballistix; prices can fluctuate depending on the market but even at its current price, it is a worthy purchase for anyone demanding solid performance without wanting to pay a stupid price.

Huge thanks to Micron/Crucial for sending the Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16GB kit in for review and I look forward to seeing more in the not too distant future!