Introduction:

Crucial Ballistix DDR3 PC3-12800 XMP 2GB Dual Channel Memory

Whenever the name Crucial Technology crosses the old monitor, the names Ballistix and Tracer come to mind. Crucial was one of the first after market memory suppliers I used way back during the AMD Socket A days. That was about the time I learned that lower latency memory kits tend to always offer up a better performing gaming system. How times have changed.

Many of the motherboard manufacturers list many Crucial memory kits that they've approved for their platforms. And quite often, a generic or OEM proprietary computer system works easily with another Crucial stick over any off or name brand kit. Their kits are tuned to work on a huge variety of systems no matter who maker may be. That's something to keep in mind if you happen to have one that needs an upgrade.

Crucial carries memory upgrades for just about every manufacturer of computers. Their Crucial Memory Advisory tool lists about 150 various names for which you can find a compatible module. And if you aren't sure what you need for your computer system, they also have a tool that scans just your memory and can give you the information needed to buy the correct memory. I have to admit, that's a pretty handy tool especially for users that aren't computer savvy. Can you think of a time or two when you've asked someone what kind of memory they had?

Crucial has been all over the market as of late with new capacity Flash Cards, USB drives, Solid State Drives, and especially, Performance DRAM. I've been thoroughly testing and experimenting with their latest Ballistix DDR3 PC3-12800 2GB Dual Channel Kit, or DDR3 1600MHz memory. And yes, this kit does scream at 1600MHz. Read on and see.

Specifications:

2GB kit (1GBx2), Ballistix 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 Memory Module BL2KIT12864BA1608

Ballistix DDR3 240-pin DIMM

Approximately 5.25 in. by 1.18 in. (133.35 mm by 30 mm)

What is Ballistix memory?

The Ballistix line is specifically built for performance enthusiasts who want to push the performance envelope without worrying about data loss or corruption, mysterious intermittent errors and display problems, or worse — the dreaded BSOD! The Ballistix line of high-performance memory modules features advanced speed grades, low latencies, and integrated aluminum heat spreaders.

For more information about the Ballistix memory line, please visit the Ballistix section of our Web site.

What is a Ballistix DDR3 240-pin DIMM?

Ballistix 240-pin DIMMs are found in DDR3 memory. DDR3 — the next generation of memory — boasts an improved architecture allowing very fast data transmission. Ballistix 240-pin DIMMs are available in DDR3 PC3-12800 SDRAM (DDR3-1600).

A Ballistix dual inline memory module (DIMM) consists of a number of memory components attached to a black printed circuit board. Gold pins, found on the bottom of the DIMM, provide a connection between the module and a socket on a larger printed circuit board. The pins on the front and back of a DIMM are not connected to each other.

To use DDR3, your system motherboard must have 240-pin DIMM slots and a chipset that supports DDR3 — which is a different technology than that of than its predecessors, DDR2 and DDR. DDR3 incorporates different sockets; they are not interchangeable or backward-compatible. (Information about which memory technology your system uses is included in the Crucial Memory Advisor™ tool.)

The number of black components on a Ballistix 240-pin DIMM can vary, but it always has 120 pins on the front and 120 pins on the back, for a total of 240. Ballistix 240-pin DIMMs are approximately 5.25 inches long and 1.18 inches high, though the heights can vary. These 240-pin DDR3 DIMMs have only one notch within the row of pins, and each technology has the notch in a slightly different location on the module.

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