Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4-2666 MHz 4x 4 GB

[cadaveca]

Crucial's latest has spent some time being punished in my memory testing rig, stretched to the limits and back again. Before giving it a chance to rest, I put Crucial's Ballistix Elite DDR4 through the paces. With a big black heatsink, this kit not only looks mean; Crucial's Ballistix Elite DDR4 packs a good punch, too!

Show full review

 

[fullinfusion]

Nice review Dave!

I was like are these the tracers after looking at the software, and then noticed under the light tab they weren't detected

Ahh the ol DDR2 Tracers... Ya gota love blinky lights

 

[Chaitanya]

This is one manufacturer who has terrible(at best) after sales service. I still don't understand how can Crucial who gets the first choice in memory chip bins make the most unreliable RAMs on market. I am still waiting for the replacement of my Tactical tracers RMA's back in March.

 

[Woomack]

As far as I know Tracers won't be released soon. Next in line are Ballistix Tactical but not released yet.
My Elite kit is great, especially looking at the timings. I was able to set something like 2666 CL12/13 stable at ~1.25-1.35V and up to 2750 CL10-10-11 or 3000 12-12-12 ~1.4-1.45V for benchmarks. This memory doesn't like high voltages so everything was below 1.5V.
Some more results here.

@Chaitanya ... are you joking ? Crucial has one of the best supports you can have on the market. Every RMA I made ( not so many of them as I generally don't have problems with their products ) took up to 10 days with shipping ( count shipping from Poland to UK and back ). You can't count on anything like that from most other manufacturers who often can't even fit into 3-4 weeks. Similar experience have all my friends who made RMA at Crucial.

 

[Chaitanya]

As far as I know Tracers won't be released soon. Next in line are Ballistix Tactical but not released yet.
My Elite kit is great, especially looking at the timings. I was able to set something like 2666 CL12/13 stable at ~1.25-1.35V and up to 2750 CL10-10-11 or 3000 12-12-12 ~1.4-1.45V for benchmarks. This memory doesn't like high voltages so everything was below 1.5V.
Some more results here.

@Chaitanya ... are you joking ? Crucial has one of the best supports you can have on the market. Every RMA I made ( not so many of them as I generally don't have problems with their products ) took up to 10 days with shipping ( count shipping from Poland to UK and back ). You can't count on anything like that from most other manufacturers who often can't even fit into 3-4 weeks. Similar experience have all my friends who made RMA at Crucial.

I never received any replacement for my DDR1 ballistix kit which I had sent for RMA all the way from India(had to collect half a dozen documents in order to export it and then pay bribes to get those documents in time) only reply I got was that they never recieved the kit for RMA. As far as DDR3 kit is concerned I RMA'd it back on 23rd March(this time I did receive mail of confirmation of receipt of RAMs) after that there is no communication from their end. Those bastards are lucky I live in India, or I really want to drag them to court for this delay in RMA. Crucial has left a very bad taste in my mouth, their RAMs dont last more than couple of days and then their RMA is a joke. Only other manufacturer I despise more than Crucial are Asus and Logitech whose service department even worse than this.

 

[Woomack]

I never received any replacement for my DDR1 ballistix kit which I had sent for RMA all the way from India(had to collect half a dozen documents in order to export it and then pay bribes to get those documents in time) only reply I got was that they never recieved the kit for RMA. As far as DDR3 kit is concerned I RMA'd it back on 23rd March(this time I did receive mail of confirmation of receipt of RAMs) after that there is no communication from their end. Those bastards are lucky I live in India, or I really want to drag them to court for this delay in RMA. Crucial has left a very bad taste in my mouth, their RAMs dont last more than couple of days and then their RMA is a joke. Only other manufacturer I despise more than Crucial are Asus and Logitech whose service department even worse than this.

Your experience base more on place where you live than Crucial support quality. First spot where you make RMA is store where you purchased the product. Next is manufacturer - usually when store can't process the RMA.
Most manufacturers are not providing direct RMA support to retail. I only make RMA directly in Crucial because it's much faster while shipping costs are about the same.
If there were shipping problems ( lost package etc ) then support couldn't replace anything, simply not their fault. Regarding DDR3 ... were you trying to contact them or just wait for reply/product back ? Each time when I send mail to their support, it takes no more than ~24h for reply, usually with more info than I need.
When I had problems with SSD then I got reply in about 2h with full info how to solve it. What more, I got mail with firmware updates some weeks later even though case was already closed.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Never had problems with them, their forums are quite good and response is very timid. I am very pleased with my sticks too.

Regarding RMA... it depends on your local laws, actually the talent of the working people in that location... if they are dorks they can screw any brand quality... the same is with ASUS, I simply cannot understand what's the problem, yes their inner order system is quite nightmarish, but our local consumer laws tell that the seller is responsible for your product, a month and get a new one or get sued.

 

[Random Murderer]

Great review as always, Dave, but I have to say, I'm really missing the overclocking sections of your reviews. What happened?

 

[Farmer Boe]

Great review as always, Dave, but I have to say, I'm really missing the overclocking sections of your reviews. What happened?

I am also curious as I always enjoyed that section the most. Most enthusiasts won't keep their RAM at stock speeds/timings so it's nice to see a quick OC attempt to see how flexible the dimms are.
Don't make me drive over there Dave! lol

 

[cadaveca]

Great review as always, Dave, but I have to say, I'm really missing the overclocking sections of your reviews. What happened?

Because of how memory overclocks. Unless you have my board, you won't get the same clocks. So, I will do overclocking separate.

Like, how much overclocking do you want to see? With stock voltages? added voltage? And how MUCH added voltage? Do I use a board with a "OC socket", or not? Does it matter that my memory testing board can get higher clocks on cache than any other board, including ones of the same model?
It does take time to generate OC results, and to write about it, and that cost is too high compared to the effort, given the OC socket fiasco. If I report what I deem as realistic OC values, then I need to use a board that generates OC results that are valid on any motherboard, which means changing boards and re-testing a bunch of kits.

So, I am doing this exact exercise now. Win10 is out, new platform is coming, and I'm updating my memory testing platform. I'm generating all new results in a new OS, with a new videocard, too. OC results will be included in future reviews, and OC results from current DDR4 sticks will be summarized and presented in an "review" that covers that topic alone. But it is going to take a bit of time to test this all. So please do have some patience on that subject. I am doing everything I can to bring you useful and accurate data.

I am also curious as I always enjoyed that section the most. Most enthusiasts won't keep their RAM at stock speeds/timings so it's nice to see a quick OC attempt to see how flexible the dimms are.
Don't make me drive over there Dave! lol

In January my son broke his leg, and almost lost his foot. He spent a bit over 3 weeks in hospital for this injury, which normally involves a visit to the hospital, a cast, and a kick in the butt out the door in a wheelchair. Instead, his lower left leg is nearly 50% scarring from skin grafting. I had to drop out of school to care for him, which meant not only did I lose a bunch of money in tuition, I also lost a lot of time. He can walk now, but he is still far from a full recovery. In May, we were forced to move, and moved out of Edmonton. Honestly I had planned for many more reviews than what I've posted in recent months because my family and I have had some big issues to deal with, and my family comes first (as it naturally should be). SO I do apologize for not being able to have this content, but given this and other mentioned thing, it simply has not been feasible. If I had the time, I'd simply grab both and OC socket board and a non-OC socket board, and just post both results. But it simply seems it just wasn't meant to be. I could also add that I was in a car accident a year ago, and am not still fully healed myself yet... There are real unavoidable reason for why things are the way they are when it comes to me.

 

[Random Murderer]

Because of how memory overclocks. Unless you have my board, you won't get the same clocks. So, I will do overclocking separate.

Like, how much overclocking do you want to see? With stock voltages? added voltage? And how MUCH added voltage? Do I use a board with a "OC socket", or not? Does it matter that my memory testing board can get higher clocks on cache than any other board, including ones of the same model?
It does take time to generate OC results, and to write about it, and that cost is too high compared to the effort, given the OC socket fiasco. If I report what I deem as realistic OC values, then I need to use a board that generates OC results that are valid on any motherboard, which means changing boards and re-testing a bunch of kits.

So, I am doing this exact exercise now. Win10 is out, new platform is coming, and I'm updating my memory testing platform. I'm generating all new results in a new OS, with a new videocard, too. OC results will be included in future reviews, and OC results from current DDR4 sticks will be summarized and presented in an "review" that covers that topic alone. But it is going to take a bit of time to test this all. So please do have some patience on that subject. I am doing everything I can to bring you useful and accurate data.

Honestly, the way you did your memory reviews on X79 was great, and the OC socket was around even back then. I'm sure that most people care more about knowing what hardware you used in your testbed than whether they would be able to attain the same results. Just like W1zz says in his GPU reviews, each sample overclocks differently, so YMMV.
Though, the way you plan on doing a future review with a lot of previous kits overclocked sounds nice, too. I know from doing a few reviews back in the day for another site how time-consuming they can be, and you're especially thorough. I am in no way devaluing the work you do, just pointing out one of the things that has been missing from recent reviews, and one of the main draws of your reviews (at least for me).

In January my son broke his leg, and almost lost his foot. He spent a bit over 3 weeks in hospital for this injury, which normally involves a visit to the hospital, a cast, and a kick in the butt out the door in a wheelchair. Instead, his lower left leg is nearly 50% scarring from skin grafting. I had to drop out of school to care for him, which meant not only did I lose a bunch of money in tuition, I also lost a lot of time. He can walk now, but he is still far from a full recovery. In May, we were forced to move, and moved out of Edmonton. Honestly I had planned for many more reviews than what I've posted in recent months because my family and I have had some big issues to deal with, and my family comes first (as it naturally should be). SO I do apologize for not being able to have this content, but given this and other mentioned thing, it simply has not been feasible. If I had the time, I'd simply grab both and OC socket board and a non-OC socket board, and just post both results. But it simply seems it just wasn't meant to be. I could also add that I was in a car accident a year ago, and am not still fully healed myself yet... There are real unavoidable reason for why things are the way they are when it comes to me.

I'm sorry to hear this, Dave. I know how hard you've been working to finish your degree, and of course no parent wants their kid(s) hurt. On top of this, you're still not healed from that accident a year ago? I remember you mentioning last year you were in a crash, but didn't think it was this bad.
Dave, you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. I wish you and your son a full recovery, regardless of how long it takes.

 

[cadaveca]

Yeah, I have this issue where I randomly fall over. One moment I'll be walking, the next I'm laying on the ground. Been pretty lucky that I have only hit my head and knocked myself out a few times. I take anti-vertigo meds, but the doc says that I have developed this problem from the car accident and that TMJ is causing Meniere's disease. So I have a mouth splint that should re-align my jaw and hopefully fix the problem, but it is going to take some time. My jaw ALWAYS hurts, and my head ALWAYS spins. Rather annoying, to be honest. LOL.

 

[Vlada011]

Nice kit, I was interesting for him, but they are launched later than others...
Mushkin is still silent about DDR4. I expect some nicer premium kit for them too.
They have some Red Line, but...

 

[alwayssts]

Thanks for all the hard work, Dave. It's especially amazing given your trying times.

I wish you and your family all the best, and have absolutely no doubt things will get better. While our bodies are strange things, from what I know of you from your contributions over the several years (and forums) your mental acuity has always been (and continues to be) very strong. I have no doubt you'll get through all this, as will your son, and will soon be back on track to accomplishing your goals (regardless of how they change and adapt).

As for the reviews, which please understand means much less to me than the previous point of this post, I don't think people are worried about having multiple socket results, etc. It's simply nice to see a quick reference (like in Wiz' gpu reviews) to what certain products are capable compared to their rating....often times this can be explained simply by referencing the chips used (and pointing to a similar product and/or traits of those chips). If you have time for stock voltage overclocking, that's great. If you can accomplish perhaps up to 1.35/1.5v, all the better.

Again, please don't take my suggestion as demanding more than you have time to complete; do what you can and don't turn it into a 'job'. Keep it something you can enjoy as a hobby when you have time. I appreciate the fact you continue to contribute, and am happy to see any reviews that use the fabulous TPU format.

I think I speak for everyone when I say we're all pulling for you, hope to continue to see more of your thoughts/work, and when able...we demand to see a blurry and redacted degree pic at some point in the future!


Be well, brother.

 

[Chaitanya]

Your experience base more on place where you live than Crucial support quality. First spot where you make RMA is store where you purchased the product. Next is manufacturer - usually when store can't process the RMA.
Most manufacturers are not providing direct RMA support to retail. I only make RMA directly in Crucial because it's much faster while shipping costs are about the same.
If there were shipping problems ( lost package etc ) then support couldn't replace anything, simply not their fault. Regarding DDR3 ... were you trying to contact them or just wait for reply/product back ? Each time when I send mail to their support, it takes no more than ~24h for reply, usually with more info than I need.
When I had problems with SSD then I got reply in about 2h with full info how to solve it. What more, I got mail with firmware updates some weeks later even though case was already closed.

In my case the seller was newegg and they have a 30 day return policy, so this time around I asked a friend of mine from US to RMA the kit for me. Since the 30 days had passed since I purchased the memory, the RMA was done directly with Crucial and now its been a long time and I still haven't received my RAMs back. This is the 2nd time Crucial support division has failed to provide service in timely manner. Regarding the DDR3 kit, I received email that the RMA was received at Crucial end on 28th of March and since then there has been no communication from their part regarding the RMA status or any communication for that matter. I tried calling them and the my call are kept on hold for hours on end before I hang up.

 

[Deleted member 138597]

Hey Dave, I'm really sorry to hear that tragedy of yours and your son. I'll pray that you & your son may get better soon. I wish I could be more sympathetic than just being sorry, but that's all I got. I am really sorry for your situation.

I get that your ground for not including the OC results, and that seems legit. But did you try any OC on this set yet? How far could you get with it (not that I'm wanting an official response in the review )?

 

[cadaveca]

more than with past Micron ICs that seemed to cap out around 2666.

 

[Deleted member 138597]

let's assume ~2800?

 

[cadaveca]

bit higher than that.

 

[Deleted member 138597]

bit higher than that.

3000? Or ~2900?

 

[cadaveca]

3000? Or ~2900?

I couldn't get 3000 stable. 2800 was easy. So somewhere between there. Now that Z170 is out, and dual-channel DDR4, maybe I can drop two sticks and push further. That's part of the thing with quad-channel kits... it's usually one stick that fails before the others. So you don't really get the full picture of what's possible. I still have these sticks, and will test them on Z170 and see the best I can get.

 

[Deleted member 138597]

I couldn't get 3000 stable. 2800 was easy. So somewhere between there. Now that Z170 is out, and dual-channel DDR4, maybe I can drop two sticks and push further. That's part of the thing with quad-channel kits... it's usually one stick that fails before the others. So you don't really get the full picture of what's possible. I still have these sticks, and will test them on Z170 and see the best I can get.

Well you could just test two of the DIMMs in the kit with X99, or am I missing something?

 

[cadaveca]

Well you could just test two of the DIMMs in the kit with X99, or am I missing something?

On X99 it is more advantageous for normal usage to lower timings than to scale speeds higher. Not all X99 CPUs can overclock memory well.