Review: Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP 2x8GB DDR3-1600MHz CL9 1.35v
Category : DDR3
Published by Christian Ney on 19.12.12
About four months ago, we reviewed no less than four Crucial DDR3-1866 and DDR3-1600 memory kits and we noticed that all of them share the same, highly overclockable Micron ICs. This got us thinking whether or not it is possible to have a similar experience using their brand new Ballistix Sport VLP modules, which hit the market exactly one month ago.
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The modules name already tells what the main feature of these modules is going to be. The shortcut VLP stands for "Very Low Profile" and we have to say, these modules, they indeed feature a very low profile form factor. Not only the height of these modules is low, the rated voltage has also been lowered compared to today's standard. The Ballistix Sport VLP series only need 1.35v.
The Ballistix Sport VLP are available in single, dual, tri and quad channel kits with a capacity per module of 4 or 8GB.
| Manufacturer | Crucial |
| Series | Ballistix Sport VLP |
| Part Number | BLS2C8G3D1609ES2LX0CEU |
| Type | DDR3 |
| Capacity | 16 GB (2 x 8GB) |
| Frequency | 1'600 MHz |
| Timings | 9-9-9-24 |
| VDIMM | 1.35 Volt |
| Registred/Unbuffered | Unbuffered |
| ECC | No |
| Cooling | Passive Heatspreader |
| Waranty | Lifetime warranty |
| Package Type | Plastic Blister |
The kit we are having a look at today is the dual channel 16 GB one. The rated frequency isn't extraordinary with timings at 9-9-9-24 but they do so at only 1.35v, which is quite an achievement for 4Gb chips. From all the 2x8GB kits we tested there is only the HyperX DDR3-2133 MHz from Kingston based on Hynix's MFR that managed to surprise us overclocking wise. Let's hope Crucial changes that!
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Results |
| Page 2 - Closer Look | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Photo Gallery |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Closer Look
In Crucial’s recent fashion, all memory with heatspreaders makes its way to the potential customer cocooned in transparent plastic packaging that permanently stops being solid and protective once it’s opened for the first time.
Inside, we find them, the ultra small Ballistix Sport. They're almost so small that it's hard to take them out of the plastic box. It's like an original Ballistix Sport kit took part in Joe Johnston's movie "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and they didn't recover back to their initial size. It looks like that's how you make VLP memory! Joke aside the modules features a tiny version of the Sport heatspreader on a green PCB. The heatspreader is black with silver on the edges and with Ballistix Sport VLP's logo printed in the middle of it on both sides. The Height of the module is only 19.76 mm which makes it the performance memory with the smallest form factor.
Removing the heatspreaders isn't easy at all because of their size. But we are pros so we managed to get rid of at least one heatspreader.
Even if the chips are relabeled there are a few hints that help to find the maker. Timings fomula, rated voltage, dot on the IC, IC's size and the number at the top left of the IC tell us that they come from Micron. Micron doesn't have that many different 4Gb chips so my guess goes for the D9OBJ.
Each module is flashed with an SPD that provides basic information on the manufacturer, capacity, part number, serial number and the production week.
SPD is also responsible for setting the memory up out of the box, for which it features not three, not four but well seven JEDEC profiles and two XMP. The XMP profiles were well recognized by both BIOS and CPU-Z.
When you look at the two XMP profiles you might think they are the same but if you take a closer look you will spot a tiny difference regarding the voltages. That's a very smart move from Crucial, in this case motherboards that can't set a voltage lower than 1.5v will still be able to run the memory flawless.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Results |
| Page 2 - Closer Look | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Photo Gallery |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Results |
| Page 2 - Closer Look | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Photo Gallery |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Testing Method & Test Setup
It's the first time we are dealing with Micron's D9OBJ chips so we armed ourselves with an Ivy Bridge testing platform that should allow our memory to show every last bit of its overclocking potential.To make sure that our figures represent the sort of stability safe to use ever day, we are going to run each setting until we get a 150% pass of eight 1500MB instances of HCI Memtest that is considered one of the toughest memory stress-tests around.
| Motherboard | ASUS Maximus V Gene (BIOS 1204) |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.0 GHz |
| Graphic card | ASUS GTX 580 |
| Memory | Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP BLS2C8G3D1609ES2LX0CEU |
| HDD | Intel SSD 330 120 GB |
| PSU | Seasonic Platinum 1000 Watts |
| OS | Windows 7, 64 bit SP1 |
Results
First of all we have noticed that unlike all recent Micron 2Gb D9 chips we tested previously those 4Gb D9 fall flat on their face using identical primary timings. Raising tRCD and tRP by one value above tCL has noticeably improved the situation.
Secondly, you can see from the results chart, past 1.65 Volt scaling comes to an end. More juice only increases the power consumption and heat. Usually Micron ICs are able to digest higher voltages, but it looks like here it's not the case with 4Gb chips unfortunately.
Still with 1.65v we managed to push the kit all the way up to DDR3-1980 CL9 and DDR3-2160 CL10 which is very good considering the form factor and the capacity of these memory modules. Small design, Big performance!
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Results |
| Page 2 - Closer Look | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Photo Gallery |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Conclusion
Using geizhals as our price research tool, we find that offers for 2x8GB sets of 1600C9 Ballistix Sport VLP start at 69 Euros excluding shipping across the EU. Taking a look at similarly clocked kits from other manufacturers shows us that from 27 kits they are the cheapest along with the non-VLP version that is 3 Euros cheaper.The Ballistix Sport VLP are not only the cheapest and smallest memory on the market they also offer good manufacturing quality and overclocking headroom. In a nutshell if you are looking for a 2x8GB memory kit in this price range then you should definitely consider the Sport VLP as choice number one.
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Rating
The Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP BLS2C8G3D1609ES2LX0CEU kit receives the perfect rating of 5 out of five stars.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Results |
| Page 2 - Closer Look | Page 5 - Conclusion |
| Page 3 - Photo Gallery |
Discuss this article in the forums