Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words

If you are not planning to tweak the memory, then the Ballistix Elite kit might be just what the doctor ordered if you specifically have a need for 3600 MHz high-frequency memory. I am saying that because in general your focus really shouldn't be faster memory yet your focus should be more volume. However on AMD Ryzen, frequency does matter and we've been able to boot into 3600 Mhz with this kit by merely enabling the XMP profile, and that is pretty golden stuff at just over a hundred bucks. For Intel platforms, 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 but only 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 high-frequency memory.

By Design

Ballistix offers a really nice DDR4 memory series with the Elite 3600 MHz kit as tested, not only is it performing spot on with fairly okay timings for its frequency, 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. They look nice in that all black design, and no RGB is perhaps a plus for some.

 Frequency versus latency

The DIMMs we tested today are two high-density 8GB DIMM modules with Micron ICs and, as such, it is good to see that this kit can easily run a 3600  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 Intel platform solutions with an accompanying processor series that allows 3600 MHz on that memory, and that's where this 16 GB 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 and increasing the frequency also was an issue. So this is not a kit for tweaking. Then again, at 3600 MHz CL16 do you really need more memory bandwidth? 

Conclusion

Should you buy a 3600 MHz kit over, for example, a 3200 MHz one? The truth is that my answer is a harsh no for Intel platforms. That higher-frequency is a bit harder to justify as you will already have plenty enough memory bandwidth. But I will make an exemption remark here, these Ballistix Elite DIMMs ran perfectly fine on a Ryzen 7 2700X system, CL16, and 3600 MHz, and there it is golden and will help you to squeeze out a bit more on your gaming framerates. So at 109 EUR, it might be a good investment on AMDs Ryzen platform. The Elite series DIMMs are a proper product series aimed at a very specific group of people, the more high-end and enthusiast class PC gamer. The kit remains easy to configure and offers nice quality. From an aesthetic point of view, the kits honestly are great looking DIMMs unless you really want RGB. The performance is good, but slower clocked memory with slightly faster timings (especially on quad-channel configurations) will get you the near same end-results. High-frequency kits remain trivial when it comes to actual real-world performance benefits, but the reality is that this kit does run rock solid at 3600 MHz with a whopping ~50 GB/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. And as shown on the Ryzen platform, definitely recommended as such.

• Sign up to receive a notification when we publish a new article
• Or go back to Guru3D's front page