Crucial Ballistix 8GB DDR3 2000MHz CL9 Memory Kit Review

Overclocking: AIDA64, F@H and 7-zip

After our modules failed to Post at a 2133MHz memory speed, we tried to tighten the timings. We were able to achieve slightly tighter timings of 9-10-9-24 at 1866MHz, compared to the 9-11-9-27 timings at which this RAM is designed to run at 2000MHz.

We ran our AIDA64, 7-Zip, and Folding@Home tests again with these new speeds to see if there is a demonstrable improvement from the tighter timings, and we were rewarded with performance improvements of roughly 1% on average compared to the default timings.

While these new results arent mind blowing, they do bump up the performance level of this memory by a bit to help justify its higher price tag. Folding at Home contributors might appreciate a 4,000 point boost in their points per day production. It is possible that with more voltage this RAM would scale higher (traditionally Micron based RAM chips often scale well with high voltages), but we were reluctant to set a voltage value higher than the Intel recommended maximum of 1.65v for their integrated memory controllers. On an AMD system, where a user has more freedom in terms of bus speeds and memory voltages, this RAM might truly shine.