Crucial Ballistix 1GB Memory Review :: Packaging, Aesthetics, Specifications

These modules came to us in small, relatively uninspired cardboard boxes. While these little guys looked fairly unassuming, their contents would be deadly. While it is questionable whether or not these cases will protect the memory during a long and arduous trek, fret with falls and hardware soccer playing couriers, the modules arrived to us in pristine condition, wrapped only in a thin layer of everybody's favorite - bubble wrap, lining the inside of an envelope. When I slid the little boxes from the envelope, I was at first perplexed by the simplicity of the packaging, a thought which passed quickly as a knife made haste for the box's seal. On opening the box, we were presented with the module itself, wrapped within an anti-static bag and coddled within a small cardboard insert intended to keep it from moving. Along with the module came a quick start guide and a Ballistix sticker. While it's not the most extravagant or flashy packaging, it does its job well, and that's all that matters. It wouldn't take me long to snip the tops from these packages, and to find myself in possession of two beautiful memory modules, fresh from Crucial themselves, carrying that new hardware smell that we all know and love.

No doubt these modules look great. Their simple gold heatspreaders leave enough room open on the top to allow for convection to occur, as well as to leave the tasteful black PCB in full view. Perhaps the most interesting point to these heatspreaders however, is that they seem to closely resemble the bulk of the models sold on the market today, the only difference being the golden-orange coating. While we're sure that there's more to these modules than meets the eye, the similarity is striking. Displayed prominently in the middle of the heatspreader on both sides (as you can clearly see in the photo) is the Ballistix logo, which is embossed from a sunken section in the metal. Also visible, are the batch number and serial stickers. These can be quite helpful things to have readily visible in the time where an RMA is necessary. Moving back to the PCB itself, the rich shade of black is sure to compliment any motherboard, and has looked great and still does with all of the motherboards these modules have graced over time (from Pentium 4 to Athlon XP and now onto Athlon 64, these sticks have seen them all). What makes them look so good you may ask? The simple, utilitarian and Spartan combination of subtle golden orange on silky black allows them to be as unobtrusive or noticed as need be, without grabbing attention via flashing lights that indicate memory usage. Moving past the subtle eye candy, we come to the module's official specifications. Considering that these are rated in fact as DDR500 sticks, they carry two separate sets of specifications - 2.5-3-3-8 for DDR400, and 3-4-4-10 for DDR500 - both of which are relatively conservative, and can more than likely be dropped on some modules to attain faster speeds with tighter timings.