Ballistix Elite 3200 MHz 16GB Quad Channel DDR4 review - Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words

I have mentioned in many, MANY DRAM related reviews that your focus really shouldn't be faster memory yet your focus should be more volume. The truth admittedly is a bit in the middle. You can gain a bit of performance with faster clocked low latency memory, but you do need to put logic into place and define what you need the DRAM for. For transcoding videos and movies, faster memory helps and shaves off transcoding time, for content creation multiple cores matter more and for gaming the GPU is the all decisive factor. For gaming, as we have shown today, memory does matter... up-to the point where your GPU will become the bottleneck, typically at 1080 or 1440P depending on your graphics cards. In CPU or GPU bound situations my advice thus stands, you are better off purchasing more memory opposed to faster memory.

By Design

Ballistix offers a really nice DDR4 memory series with the Elite 3200 MHz kit as tested, not only is it performing spot on with nice tight timing, it's a series that looks pleasing to the eye as well and that is an important factor, as a PC is not 'just a PC' anymore, we call them builds. DDR4 DIMM memory can be found for everybody, cheap, mid-range, uber overclockable -- but the fact remains that there is an enthusiast segment in the market that wants great performance with no hassle with that one variable, it must look great... something special. These DIMM modules are exactly that. Honestly, each time I look at them the one thing that pops into my mind is the word "Nice". 

 
Frequency & Latency

The DIMMs we tested today are four normal-density 4GB DIMM modules and, as such, it is good to see that this kit can easily run a 3200 MHz frequency. Our kit does so with what is considered fast latency timings (CL16) and a 1.35 Voltage. Obviously the kit tested today is targeted at the latest series Z170/Z270 and X99 Intel platform solutions with an accompanying processor series that allows 3200 MHz on that memory, and that's where this 32GB kit is relevant and works nicely. Overclocking wise we fooled around with it a little and you will be limited alright, changing CL from default results in crashes. Testing a nice chunk over 3200 MHz also was a no-go. So if you are not an uber enthusiast pro-overclocker, your best bet is to simply use the XMP configured timings. 
 

Conclusion

So should you buy a 3200 MHz kit over, say, a 2133 MHz one? The truth is that on quad-channel that higher-frequency is a bit harder to justify as you will already have so much memory bandwidth. But these Ballistix Elite DIMMs will be more expensive than your average 2133 MHz memory modules, but not that much. A 4x4GB kit can go from as low as 95 EUR (2133MHz DIMMs) while the kit as tested today at 3200 MHz was 168 euro. So that price difference is something you should weigh in as the benefit is relative. The Elite series DIMMs are a powerful product series aimed at a very specific group of people, the people that want the uber fastest stuff at the high-end of the spectrum and with the niche designed PC, the enthusiast class PC gamer. The kit remains easy to configure and offers nice quality. From an aesthetic point of view the new kits honestly are great looking DIMMs. The performance is good, but slower clocked memory with slightly faster timings (especially on quad-channel configurations) will get you the very same end-results. High frequency 3200+ MHz kits remain trivial when it comes to actual real-world performance benefits, but the reality is that this kit does run rock solid at 3200 MHz with a whopping ~70GB/s memory bandwidth available.The Ballistix memory series is covered with a limited lifetime warranty. The DIMMs perform stable and have proven to be working on many brands and platforms perfectly. Definitely recommended as such.

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