Test – Crucial Ballistix 2 x 8 Go DDR4 2400 MHz blanche |Specs | CPU | Hashrate

Hi all!

We continue the tests of DDR4 memory kits with today a return to Crucial with a kit of 2 x 8 GB DDR4 2400 MHz modules, but not just any because the brand has decided to change a bit of the banal gray into passing to white, which will be able to blend more easily into a PC with a predominance of the same color. Announced for some time now, the kit is finally available on the market and at the same price as the “normal” gray version (tested here), namely around 150 €, a good point for those looking to make an all-white configuration.

The kit from Crucial is therefore composed of two 8 GB strips, for a total of 16 GB, the heatsinks are white (there are the same ones in dark gray). Crucial has also ignored the standard 2133 MHz profile here, supported by one or more XMP profiles (which automatically overclock the kit to the frequencies for which it is sold) and offers basic operation at 2400 MHz for latencies of 16- 16-16-39 and a voltage of 1.2V. An XMP profile is present but the settings are identical to the base speed, so the interest here is limited.
Offered at a price of around 150 €, the Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB kit in white version will satisfy almost all users of the market, whether they are users of 3D rendering software, office automation or even, of course, players who need a lot of memory.

The box of the kit from Crucial is very basic, in fact we are entitled to a transparent plastic box equipped with a sticker in the left corner. It contains the amount of memory, the number of modules, the frequency, the voltage as well as the serial numbers. We can’t say that Crucial is doing extravagantly, but this is a memory kit, it’s hard to blame them.

The label present gives the essential information, the total capacity, the number of bars as well as the operating frequency and voltage.

At the rear nothing exceptional once again, only a small description of each memory model in the Ballistix range, we learn that the “Sport” (therefore the memory of this test) are intended for the general public and “gamers. “,” Tactical “are intended for enthusiasts (with improved speeds and latencies) and” Elite “are logically for high-end kits with selected components and advanced settings. To summarize, we learn that today’s kit is an entry-level kit, and that in no way detracts from its interest because for Mr. Everyone clearly does not need “advanced” kits.

Here are the beasts, the least we can say is that they have mouths! In addition to the white painted radiators, the PCB is also entitled to the same treatment, as a result of the bars which are the most beautiful effect and will integrate perfectly with a modded PC and / or oriented white components! In addition to the look, of course, we find the required stickers here, a large one that highlights the make and model, another for the serial numbers and a last one that informs about the frequency, latency and voltage. As you can also see, we are dealing with a “low profile” memory which will therefore not interfere with the installation of a large be quiet type cooler! Dark Rock Pro 3, or Noctua NH-D15 and monsters of the genre.
The build quality was already excellent on the same kit but with a classic finish (green PCB and gray radiator) but we go up a notch here, most certainly due to the white overlay which even covers the connection points.

Note that unlike DDR3 DDR4 strips do not have a straight PCB at the pins, in the center the pins are longer than at the sides, there may be a practical reason for this, such as a drop breakage during installation, I could not say!

As we can see in the photo above there are two radiators per strip, one on each side and they do not meet above leaving the PCB visible. Some would like to have the name of the brand written above to be able to play it with their friends when they look inside the PC, point of that here, it’s a shame for white bars!

The test platform

The Crucial Ballistix Sport 2 x 8 GB 2400 MHz White Memory Kit has been tested with the configuration below:

The software used will be as follows:

Profil XMP et Overclocking

As I said above from the start the kit works at the frequency for which it was sold, namely 2400 MHz, so there is no adjustment of any kind to be made in the BIOS, which could be a very good stuff for those who don’t want to get their hands on it!

After various tests, the kit managed to stabilize at a frequency of 2800 MHz, like its gray-coated brother, the voltage had to be pushed to 1.35V but the original timings could be kept. Overclocking 400 MHz for an entry-level kit is really not that bad, but these results should not be taken as 100% reproducible because every kit / motherboard / processor is different so you can very well have more, like less 😉

Aida64 5.30

Aida64 is a very good indicator of maximum achievable throughputs and responds very well to ramping up, it stands to reason that results are skyrocketing with today’s Crucial Ballistix Sport kit! The white kit is logically placed at the same level as its brother, the frequencies as well as the timings being in all points identical.
Clocked at the original frequencies, we go up to 34.8 GB / s in reading for 36.8 GB / s in writing and 33.5 GB / s in copy, results logically very slightly behind compared to the Corsair kits which operate at a higher frequency.
Once the kit is overclocked to 2800 MHz we can clearly see that the bandwidth is much greater, we go up to 38.4 Gb / s in reader (+ 10.4%), 41.3 Gb / s in writing (+ 12.4%) and 37.4 Gb / s in copy (+ 11.6%) thus exceeding the bandwidth available on Corsair 2666 MHz kits, a very nice gain.
Now that the maximum bitrate is highlighted, let’s see what this gives in practice, because bitrate doesn’t have to mean huge gains, so let’s see it all right away!

Cinebench R15

We start with Cinebench R15, the increase in frequency shows a gain of course, but which remains rather marginal, indeed we go from a score of 635 (2400 MHz) to 639 (2800 MHz) once the kit is overclocked (2800 MHz) . Cinebench is therefore very clearly not very sensitive to memory overclocking.

Handbrake

Handbrake is a video encoding software and is more representative than the pure and hard benchmarks, here the PC must encode an .avi file of 860MB in .mp4.
The gain by increasing the frequency is more significant than on Cinbench R15, in fact we go from 116s to 112s when increasing from 2400 MHz to 2800 MHz. The gain is there, even if it is only 3.5% when going from 2400 MHz to 2800 MHz.

WinRAR

WinRAR also really likes the increase in frequency, as we can see in the results, we go from 5713 at the original frequencies to 6004 once the kit is overclocked, that is to say an increase of 5%, it is always won!

WPrime

Wprime does not react much to the increase in frequency and offers similar results. At 2400 MHz Wprime 1024 takes 279.01s and at 2800 MHz 278.1s while for Wprime 32 we go from 8.9s to 8.87s, which means that the memory frequency will hardly influence the results.

3DMark and Games

With 3DMark we also do not notice any difference, the results are identical (with a normal variation, there will never be two tests with the same results). On the other hand we can see something quite interesting in games, when the number of FPS is high and the graphics card can express itself as it feels we can see a very slight gain, indeed under Bioshock Infinite we gain 4 FPS by going from 2400 MHz to 2800 MHz (from 176.15 FPS to 180.1 FPS), on the other hand under Crysis 3 which remains very greedy (in terms of graphics card and processor) we gain absolutely nothing.
What can we conclude from this? If the graphics card is not limited by the processor then we can observe a very slight gain (of the order of 1 to 2%), otherwise the gain will be even more marginal.

We have arrived at the end of this test, what about the Crucial Ballistix Sport 2 X 8 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 kit?
DDR4 is gradually settling on the market and since the release of the latest “Skylake” processors from Intel, a large part of the new machines on the market will soon switch to this new standard, DDR3 is clearly at the end of its life!
Like its brother, the Ballistix sport 2 X 8 GB DDR4 2400 MHz kit previously tested Crucial offers an entry-level “gaming” oriented kit that is made to meet the needs of a greater number without artifice and without difficulty of installation, as much say that Crucial achieves its goal without a hitch here! The memory is recognized directly at its frequency of 2400 MHz without needing to touch the BIOS, the performance is good and I did not have the slightest stability concerns during all the tests (luckily you will tell me!).
Even though the kit looks like two drops of water like its brother the build quality is still a bit better thanks to the extra coat of white paint, modding fans clearly won’t be disappointed! On top of that the kit is sold at the same price as its sibling, if you are looking for a white 16 GB DDR4 memory kit then the white Ballistix sport will be an excellent choice!

A big thank you to Crucial and Thibaut who allowed me to do this test.

Where to find Crucial Ballistix Sport 2 X 8 GB 2400 MHz DDR4?

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