Conclusions
[ad#review978-top]Looking at the test scores, though the advertised clock is definitely the “sweet spot” of the Tracer Blue, performance gains can be seen with both tightening the timings and overclocking the memory.
The Crucial Ballistix Tracer Blue DDR3-1600 is everything I expected from a triple channel kit from Crucial. It looks good, I particularly like the blue LEDS over the earlier Tracer kits I’ve owned, since I invariably have some blue LED components in my rig. I didn’t mention earlier, blue is only one option, the DDR3-1600 Tracer also comes in red, green, and multicolored, the latter having a black heatspreader. So Crucial’s DDR3 Tracer Triple Channel line has something to fit anyone’s case lighting color scheme.
The DDR3-1600 6GB performs well, and has a high level of flexibility. For the motherboard incapable of overclocking, I was able to get CAS 5 timings at a lower clock speed at the standard DDR3 VDIMM of 1.5v. For the overclocker, I was able to attain a 21% overclock, allowing for plenty of headroom for overclocking the CPU. I was also able to tighten the timings at DDR3-1600 to 7-8-7-24, a feat that is seldom accomplished. (by me anyway)
The Crucial Ballistix Tracer Blue DDR3-1600 6GB kit runs $222 at my favorite online retailer. Yes, that’s a little pricy, considering you can actually pick up cheap DDR3-1600 CAS 8 6GB kits for just under $100, but with the Tracer Blue, you aren’t just getting LEDs, you are getting Crucial quality and experience, and memory that is more likely to be compatible with your motherboard. ThinkComputers.org gives the Crucial Ballistix Tracer Blue DDR3-1600 6GB Triple Channel Kit a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Sharp looking
– Crucial Tracer’s light show lends some interesting lighting to an otherwise drab case interior
– Very flexible
– Good overclocker, easily attained a 21% overclock
Cons:
– Pricy
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