Crucial Ballistix 1GB Memory Review :: Performance

Overclocking was once a dark art, practiced by only the most hardcore of geeks; the only ones who were willing to modify hardware, customize their cooling and switch jumpers in hopes to squeeze a few extra MHz out of their hardware. As time has progressed, Overclocking has become more and more mainstream, to the point now where nearly every motherboard you can find out there - even the cheapest budget modes - will allow some form of Overclocking, or at least pseudooverclocking. While Overclocking is not as difficult as it once was, it still possesses some elements of risk. Hardware can die from being pushed too far with inadequate cooling. Thus, while we here at Motherboards.org love to overclock, we do not force you to follow in our footsteps, and as such any ill-effects of the experiments are your own doing. Let's get onto the methodology and the results.

We start off with the memory modules at their stock timings (2-3-3-8) and voltages (2.8V), on a system where the processor's multiplier has been backed and voltage increased by a healthy .15V, in order to provide headroom. We begin by moving the HTT bus (also known as FSB) up slowly, taking relatively safe 5MHz hops, and using SuperPi to test for the resulting stability. When the memory becomes unstable, thus crashing SuperPi or causing a BSOD, we take to boosting the Memory voltage - usually by .1V intervals, up to 3V in the end.

When 3V has been reached, we start loosening the memory's timings by the lowest possible intervals, starting with RAS to CAS. When the benefits of this drop dry up, we take to loosening the TRAS - usually producing little change in frequency gains, but facilitating stability at higher frequencies. When the benefits (if any) of this increase are negated, we boost the CAS and RAS Precharge simultaneously, and continue to push the modules onward. At the point where these raises no longer prove beneficial, we once again loosen the timings, this time dropping CAS, RAS to CAS and RAS Precharge simultaneously, to a maximum of four. At this point, we find the module's maximum frequency, and with a voltage of 3V, we begin to run a 32M test in SuperPi, to check for stability. In the event of a crash, the memory's frequency is backed off in 5MHz intervals until stability is attained.

Normally, we begin the testing of these modules at these stock timings. Considering that Crucial's Ballistix line is aimed at the enthusiast however, we were appalled by the initial 2.5-3-3-8 rated timings. It was a sure thing that these modules could run on tighter timings, so the first order of business was to drop their timings to a far more aggressive 2-2-2-8 at the standard 2.8V. The modules not only held up the torch at these speeds, but proceeded onward, finding a relatively lofty limit of 220MHz with the standard 2.8V, which increased minorly to 225MHz as voltages were pushed to our testing limit, 3V.

On boosting the CAS to RAS timing, we found something both interesting and disturbing - for our particular micron chip based Ballistix; this awarded us with no clock speed jump, something strange indeed. We chose to press onward however, hoping the next drop would permit a higher clock jump, and proceeding now with essentially the module's stock timings (3-3-3-9 versus the rated 2.5-3-3-8), we found the ability to push these sticks to a gleaming 266MHz - not bad for stock timings and a little extra voltage. In a vain attempt to go even faster, we tried loosening the module up to 3-4-4-9, which gave us no results aside from a loss in speed. Thus, we found the maximum at 266MHz. While not astounding, it wasn't disappointing either. What really surprised us however, is what grace and ease these modules skidded up to just under the 7GB/s mark in, all while maintaining full stability with timings lower than those rated for DDR500 use.

Let's get onto the benchmarks shall we, and see how Crucial's Offering in the Ballistix Modules fares against the competition.