Crucial Ballistix Sport XT DDR3-1866 16GB Memory Kit Review

Final Thoughts
Back when we reviewed the Ballistix Sport Low Profile memory from Crucial we were really excited about it because it was one of the first offerings of performance memory in a very low profile design. This meant that the kit could fit in pretty much any situation. The Ballistix Sport XT kit is a full-sized kit, which does offer good performance and reliability.

But this kit according to Crucial is supposed to be aimed at gamers. To me the larger heat spreader is rather boring, especially with the plain-jane green PCB. On top of that the kit is only available in speeds up to 1866 MHz. Most gamers that I know have kits that run at 2133 MHz if not higher. To me and other gamers this just looks like a simple mainstream kit and I really think that Crucial should have marketed it that way.

Don’t get me wrong this is a solid kit. We were even able to get an extra 334 MHz out of it, but it really is just another 1866 MHz kit with an aftermarket heat spreader on it. Other memory that is labeled as gaming memory has more attractive and aggressive heat spreaders, higher speeds and other features. This kit simply does not.

If you are looking for a solid kit with timings over 1600 MHz then the Ballistix Sport XT is a great choice and Crucial does back it with a limited lifetime warranty. Right now the BLS4K4G3D18ADS3 16 GB kit that we reviewed today is selling for around $150 online. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Crucial Ballistix Sport XT DDR3-1866 16GB Memory Kit an 8 out of 10 score.

Pros:
– Solid performance
– Decent overclocking
– Large heat spreader can handle higher temperatures
– Limited lifetime warranty
– XMP support

Cons:
– Pretty boring for “Gaming” memory
– Heat spreaders may interfere with some coolers

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