Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP DDR3-1600 16GB Kit - Installation and Testing

Installation & Testing:

Installation is pretty simple, you just locate your Memory slots, insert the RAM, and once completely seated make sure your latch is fully engaged.

Test Setup:

For these benchmarks I will be using Aida64 and SiSoftware Sandra. I will also be using CPUID CPU-Z to show the changes and timings in each setting.

I used some other memory (listed above) as a comparison for my benchmarks to determine where the Ballistix Sport VLP will fit in. I placed all ram modules in default mode for my first set of benchmarks, then in XMP1 for the second set. The corsair ram only supports one XMP mode, but both of the Crucial modules support XMP1 (1.35v) and XMP2 (1.5v) modes.  In each test, with both of Crucial's modules, XMP2 mode rated virtually the same as XMP1 modes.

Benchmark Results:

CPUID CPU-Z:

I was somewhat surprised when the Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP defaulted to the listed speed and timings.  Both default and XMP modes rated at 1.35v with a speed of 1600 MHz and timings of 9-9-9-24 1T. XMP2 bumped the voltage to 1.5v with no other noticeable difference.

The Crucial Ballistix Tactical LP defaults to a lower setting of 1333 MHz @ 1.35v with timings of (9-9-9-24) 1T. When put into XMP1 Mode the settings are increased to 1600 MHz @ 1.35v and timings of (8-8-8-24) 1T.

My Corsair XMS3 was in a similar boat. At default settings it was registering settings of 1333 MHz @1.5v with timings of (9-9-9-24) 2T.  After I put it into XMP mode the only change was the clock speed jumping to 1600 MHz where it was originally advertised to be. Timing remained the same.

On the next page, we'll jump into the benchmarks and see how this memory stacks up against another couple 16GB kits.