Testing:
The following system was used to test the
Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500 2GB DDR2 Memory Kit:
» Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz processor (Overclocked to 3.32GHz)
»
Scythe Mine CPU cooler
»
ECS PN2-SLI2+ (v1.0) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI motherboard
» ATI Radeon X850XT 256MB video card
» OCZ Evostream 600W power supply
» Antec Performance One - P160 mid-tower case
» 1x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA2 16MB 400GB hard disk
» 2x optical devices (CD-RW, DVD-R)
In this review, the Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500 2GB DDR2 Memory Kit was compared to the
Super Talent T1000UX2G5 2GB PC2-8000 DDR2 Memory Kit reviewed here last month. Both memory kits have quite similar specifications, with the slight advantage going to Crucial with a 66MHz higher rated clock speed. To ensure testing was fair for both kits, three separate test points were established for each:
» Default rated clock speeds and timings
» Maximum (stable) clock speeds with tighter timings (4-4-4-12)
» Maximum (stable) clock speeds with default timings (5-5-5-15)
Note: Memory stability in all cases was verified using multiple passes of
MemTest86.
Installation:
As most of you are aware, installing memory is a simple plug-and-play operation. For those of you less familiar with the process, Crucial has included a generic instruction pamphlet for installing the kit (pictured below).
The Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500 2GB DDR2 Memory Kit was installed in memory slots DIMM0 and DIMM2 on the ECS PN2-SLI2+ test motherboard. Once the memory was installed the post screen was used to verify dual-channel mode was functioning properly and then the first-boot default memory timings were recorded as (5-7-7-25). As we have discussed in previous reviews, these relaxed timings help ensure compatibility and ensure successful first-boots. However, if the timings remain unchanged you will be missing out on the performance you paid for. Therefore the memory speed was adjusted in the BIOS to reflect the rated memory clock speed of 1066MHz, with a rated DRAM voltage of 2.2V, and timings of 5-5-5-15. At default speeds and timings MemTest86 reported no errors so we proceeded to benchmark the system at default speeds and later the overclocking tests.
Pictured below is the memory as installed in the ECS PN2-SLI2+ motherboard. The first picture is with the test room lights on while the second picture has the lights out. The "tracer" lights are easy to see in both high and low light conditions.
