Ballistix Elite 3466 MHz DDR4 Review 17

Ballistix Elite 3466 MHz DDR4 Review

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Value & Conclusion

  • The 32 GB (4x 8 GB) Ballistix Elite 3466 MHz kit is available for US$380.
  • High-speed DDR4 from Ballsitix
  • New higher frequencies and decent performance
  • No LEDs
  • Built-in temperature monitoring
  • Lifetime warranty
  • Software issues on some motherboards
  • No LEDs
  • Logo up top looks funny on quad-channel systems (but this is true of many brands)
Ballistix's new Elite sticks make an interesting addition to any Intel-based PC right now - while running at 3466 MHz. They've got the speed and relatively decent latencies, good looks, and a decently high build quality; all things you want when choosing high-end DDR4. If we look at these sticks really closely, we can see what appear to be Samsung ICs. Again, what every serious DDR4 clocker wants. Many kits are similarly equipped, so it makes sense for Ballistix to avoid Micron ICs here as well. All the bits and bobs you'd want are here, and when combined with the simple aesthetic that allows these sticks to look good in nearly any build, Ballistix has built themselves a great kit for their enthusiast users.

When it comes to memory performance, few metrics, in my opinion, decently relate how that performance benefits the end user. High-speed DIMMs offer lower overall latency that can have your system feeling super-responsive and ultra-fast at normal desktop uses while also potentially increasing minimum FPS in games and such that are sensitive to it. High-end multi-GPU systems hammer memory hard and show the most benefit, but you don't need to have one of those dual-GPU systems to notice that difference. On Intel's mainstream platforms, that performance benefit is realized at around 3200 MHz. It's not a huge difference, but it is enough for most enthusiasts to notice, although it can at times be so subtle you'll never see it. It's all about how you use your PC. All that said, Ballistix's choice to top out at 3466 MHz, just slightly above that 3200 MHz barrier, seems amazingly prudent to me; they don't have to spend too much time binning kits, which results in lower production costs that can be passed on to the end user at the cash register. Meanwhile, some of these sticks do have incredible overhead available you just don't get from other brands if you like to play with memory because they've got kits all the way up to 4000 MHz and then some; Ballistix hasn't screened their ICs for higher frequencies. Yet with Ballistix Elite DDR4 sticks, finding those upper limits is all up to you. That's a small bit of enthusiast overclocking that remains alive, with Ballistix at the helm.

As for the software, obviously that's a problem. Memory brands are trying hard to give us added value with things like RGB LEDs and temperature monitoring, but using those features requires software that just doesn't always work right, if at all. Yet it IS software, so those problems are easily remedied, and I hope Crucial works on adding more boards to the support list for their Ballistix MOD utility. Nobody likes that feeling of disappointment that comes with hardware that doesn't work perfectly, and I know that Ballistix is for a fact working on fixing such issues. They also aren't the only brand with such a problem. Outside of the software issue, I could not be more pleased by what Ballistix is offering with these sticks, and you should be too. Well, maybe they could cost a wee bit less...
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Jan 17th, 2025 10:09 EST change timezone

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