Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB 4000 MHz DDR4 Review

The DDR4 memory market has been a rocky road in recent years. Prices went absolutely mental soaring to record highs. Unsurprisingly, sales went way down as many PC users were priced out of the market. However, we're in a dip now, prices are great, and ultra-fast DDR4 kits are back on the menu. We kick things off today with a look at the new Crucial Ballistix Elite Gaming Memory. Capable of 4000 MHz, it's bound to be a prime choice for the high-end PC market. Crucial Ballistix Elite 4000 MHz We've got a 16GB kit to play with today, albeit it was shipped as two 8GB sets, but that's hardly an issue. The Ballistix Elite features support for XMP 2.0 Profiles and is also verified for AMD Ryzen platforms too. However, Crucial does say "Optimized for the latest Intel platforms" which likely means that the fastest memory speeds are easier to hit on Intel; which isn't uncommon. Features Speeds up to 4000 MHz(MT/s)Radically increase memory bandwidthMenacing black heat spreader and PCBExclusive Ballistix® M.O.D. Utility and thermal sensor allow for real-time temperature monitoringAMD® Ryzen™ ReadyXMP 2.0 profiles for easy setup and configurationOptimized for the latest Intel® platformsLimited lifetime warranty The memory looks fantastic and doesn't change too much from previous Ballistix designs. A thick aluminium heatsink with some aggressive ridges to increase the surface area. A black PCB, black heatsink, and that's about it. No RGB, no fuss, no mess, just plug and play. Specifications For in-depth specifications and compatibility charts please visit the official product page here. What Crucial Had to Say "Open fire before your opponents even pull the trigger. Overwhelm them with unthinkable speed. And draw on the improved responsiveness, increased frame rates, and optimized latencies of Ballistix Elite Series memory for an unreal gaming experience. Engineered for pros and overclockers to push the fastest platforms to the edge, the Elite Series fuels hardcore processors and crushes the memory bottleneck with some of the fastest speeds and bandwidths available." - Crucial Photo Gallery How We Test Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose vital information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their hardware. When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there's always a margin for error when using any software. Therefore, your experience may vary. Testing Your Own System Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you're looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using our benchmarks and settings where possible. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware we tested to give you a ballpark figure of how much an upgrade this will provide you with. Test System Motherboard – Gigabyte Aorus Pro Z390Processor – Intel Core i9-9900K @ StockCPU Cooler – Noctua NH-D15SPower Supply – Be Quiet Power Zone 1000WMain Storage Drive – Toshiba OCZ VX500 500GBOperating System – Windows 10 64-bit Software Used CineBench R15 (download)AIDA 64 Engineer (download)WPrime (download)3DMark Fire Strike Physics (download)PCMark 10 Productivity (download)HWMonitor (download)CPU-Z (download) Methodology In our RAM reviews, we keep things relatively simple. We put the RAM kit that is being tested into our test system and benchmark it at its first XMP profile using a variety of benchmarks and tests. Once complete, we apply a reasonable overclock where possible and benchmark the same software with the overclocked values. The CPU clock speed is set to default for both runs. Stock While the memory kit is rated at 4000 MHz, that is technically an overclocked speed. The memory booted at the first profile at 3600 MHz, which is pretty damn faster on its own. However, even at the slower speed, it manager to score a new record in Cinebench. The score matched the 2060 points of the Corsair Dominator Platinum. It even hit the top score in PCMark 10, and our second fastest in WPrime. Pretty good for the first set of benchmarks. Overall, the read, write and copy speeds were pretty decent, but nothing amazing. Then again, we haven't exactly maxed out this memory to its rated speed yet. Latency was right where we expected it though, sitting around 49.9ns. Overclocked Punching up to 4000 Mhz is tricky territory for a lot of memory kits. For one, you need good quality memory, which we have. Next up, your CPU and motherboard are basically operating in an overclocked state too at this frequency. Fortunately, I did get to the 4000 MHz, although I had to apply a tiny voltage bump manually to get it stable. The end result is worth it though, with the score boosting to an impressive 2071 in CineBench. That is 2nd place, but the Dom Plat kit was a lot more expensive and also 32GB. The same is true of AIDA 64, as those read, write and copy speeds took a huge uplift. Going from 46444 Mbps to 52232 Mbps read speed tells me we're right on the money with 4000 MHz. Latency also dropped to 49.2ns. WPrime wasn't quite as quick this time, but still very competitive with similar speed kits. However, when it comes to 3DMark Physics and PCMark 10 it blazed a trail to scoring our two highest results to date. CineBench R15 AIDA64 WPrime 3DMark Fire Strike PCMark 10 Productivity How Much Does It Cost? There are quite a few versions of this kit available, ranging in 8GB up to 32GB but they're all in 8GB multiples. A single stick will set you back £130.10. However, a full 32GB set is just £371.97. There's also speeds below 4000 MHz, which are quite a bit cheaper, so it's really up to you to decide what your build needs. In the US the kit ranges from $105.99 - $549.99. Overview Crucial is one of the best-known names in the memory market. They have many years of experience (of 35 years actually!) creating high-performance, reliable and well-made memory kits, and that shows in today's review. The Crucial Ballistix Elite may not have the RGB magic of some of their rivals. However, I like that, there's enough RGB out there already. This is a simple black kit, with big performance, at a competitive price. Now, that's the kind of deal I can get behind. Durable Everything is kept nice and simple here. The PCB is all black, with an all-black heat spreader. The matte black finish means it'll blend into virtually any theme for your new build too, with no clashing colours here. Plus, with their Ballistix M.O.D. Utility, you can monitor real-time temperatures for each DIMM. Not that I think you'll need to, but I like the attention to detail there for the enthusiast market. Plus, with a lifetime limited warranty, you can buy with absolute confidence. Should I Buy Them? Well, I certainly can't find any fault with them. It's fairly priced, delivers massive performance, and simple and clean aesthetics. Highly recommended! Crucial Ballistix Elite 4000 MHz DDR4 Review