Closer Look:

I'm not sure if Crucial sends their modules in inconspicuous boxes for everyone, but this kit arrived in a plain box aside from the Crucial on the outside. There wasn't any fancy marketing packaging right down to the static free bags the memory modules were sealed within. Do I mind? Not really, since it's what's inside that counts.

2 Static Bags

Kit Information

There aren't any stickers with the actual timings and voltages which can be helpful. The static bags have the kit's model, product, and barcode number information. The only actual spec listed is the CL 8, meaning CAS Latency 8 which is partly correct.

Product Number

Lead Free

The official specs of the Ballistix DDR3 PC3-12800 memory can be a little confusing to a new DDR3 user because it's XMP Memory. XMP means Xtreme Memory Profile which are profiles supported by certain new Intel chipsets. Many of the latest DDR3 kits have the ability to operate under these different profiles as long as the motherboard supports the settings in the BIOS. Otherwise, you can manually set the timings as you see fit.

I call it: Tech Orange

The memory can operate at 1600MHz under two different XMP profiles. XMP Profile 1 automatically adjusts the system and memory to 8-8-8-24 at 1600MHz requiring a mere 1.8 volts. XMP Profile 2 sets the memory to lower 7-7-7-24 timings. Naturally, this is the optimal choice given the benefits of lower memory timings.

Fortunately for those who have a motherboard that doesn't support XMP, then you can at least set the memory manually via the BIOS. The memory was tested mainly on an ASUS Blitz Extreme with the P35 motherboard, but also worked well on the P5K3 Deluxe AP WiFi Edition just as well. So, the memory's capabilities were at least confirmed on two fronts.

As you can see, the modules ship with with a sort of fiery, orange heat spreaders over the modules which are attached to a black PCB rather than green. This is a new touch on things. The spreaders are almost the same color as most of the nice copper heat pipes seen on some motherboards and CPU coolers.

My Life On Lin

It almost matches the ASUS Silent Knight II as well as the Blitz Extreme. In this particular instance, this isn't a bad choice of colors. Some people don't care for anything other than silver, black, or gun metal in color. We've seen Kingston's HyperX blue do just fine, so why not "electric" orange?

Copper everywhere

Now that you know what the kit supports, how it looks, and what to expect, let's get on with the testing.

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