Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 Memory Kit

Test Setup & Benchmarks Used:

For our testing procedure, we used MemTest86+ to check for stability, Sandra XII 2008, Everest v4.00, and PCMark05 for our benchmarks. Also if we say "stable", it means that the memory was stable through many loops of MemTest86+. If the memory could not run through MemTest86+ without giving errors, we did not even bother to boot into windows and run the benchmarks. Benchmark results were averaged over five trial runs.

When testing memory, there are a million different ways one can test it, timings, voltages, FSB, all play an important role. For review purposes we try to focus on the overall performance of the memory, as each module will perform different on various setups. We test the memory in 5MHz increments since each module will vary some on its maximum overclock.

Overclocking Results:

This 2x1GB kit is rated for 1066MHz @ 5-5-5-15 timings. Although this speed is good, we wanted to see how much higher it could go. At 2.2V, the memory did not pass MemTest86+ much higher than the stock settings. The voltage was continually bumped up to 2.4, when it passed MemTest86+. Unfortunately, the highest overclock we were able to obtain was 1100MHz. The memory divider was set at 2:1, where the RAM clock was running at twice the FSB.

I then tried to find the fastest speed the modules would run at with tighter timings of 4-4-4-12. It was assumed that these modules could pull these timings off because the lower-end models of the Ballistix Tracer modules are rated for these timings. The highest clock speed we were able to obtain at 4-4-4-12 was 1080 MHz. It maxed out around 900Mhz with 2.2V, but when boosting the voltage up to 2.4V, I was able to get it to 1080. This is quite a surprise, and just goes to show the high quality of components Crucial puts into their Ballistix product line.