A-Data vs Crucial: Battle of the PC2-8500

Product(s): A-Data Extreme Edition DDR2 1066+
                 Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500
Provided By: A-Data and Crucial
Price: ~$229CDN and $274CDN Respectively

Introduction:

Faster, better and hotter.  These three words describe today's computers and especially computer memory.  Not too long ago, Intel was the only ship sailing the DDR2 ocean, and now AMD has followed suit making DDR memory virtually obsolete.  Although many different speeds are available, today's Core 2 Duo systems love PC2-8500 memory that runs at 1066FSB.  This allows the memory to run at a 1:1 ratio with the CPU and offers the best performance.  AMD does very well with fast memory also, but like tighter timings but can easily handle DDR2-1066.  Today we will be looking at a couple of 2GB kits from A-Data and Crucial and see which one offers the best value and performance.  Both kits can be found online for well under $300CDN, and while the Crucial kit of Ballistix Tracer is more expensive, it also offers some added bling.  Stick around as we'll test out both kits.

A-Data Sticks

Crucial Sticks

Specs & Features:

Both kits offer very similar features and run at  near identical specs.  A-Data has a rated voltage of 2.2v - 2.3v, while the Crucial Ballistix Tracer is rated at 2.2v.

A-Data Vitesta Extreme Edition DDR2 1066+ 2GB Kit Specs:

• Suitable for: Desktop PC
• 240 Pin Unbuffered-DIMM non-ECC
• Configuration: 64Mx8
• Bandwidth: 8.5GB/Sec (PC2 8500)
• Timings: 5-5-5-15-2T
• Voltage: 2.2V~2.3V
• Supports nVIDIA EPP Technology
• Suggested Platform: Intel 975X、P965(*); AMD AM2 (nForce 590 SLI)
• Warranty: Lifetime Warranty
• * For Asus P5B Series mobos, BIOS Settings "Write to Precharge Delay" should be set to 12+.
  

Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500 2GB Kit Specs:

• Module Size: 2GB kit (1GBx2)
• Package: Ballistix Tracer 240-pin DIMM (with LEDs)
• DDR2 PC2-8500 (1066MHz)
• Timings: 5-5-5-15
• UNBUFFERED
• NON-ECC
• Voltage: 2.2V

Although the information is lean regarding the Crucial memory, both appear to be very similar.

On the next page we'll take a closer look at the memory kits.