Maximum Overclocking...

And we went one step further and tried some extra overclocking on the Tracer memory modules and ended up with a maximum of 257MHz. The one thing that is bothering me and makes me wonder is the Intel processor. For some reason I don't think it is the memory holding the overclocking back but rather the CPU and cooling we used. Some water cooling might have taken our P4 processor to some higher levels.

We could only run some minor benchmarks but after trying some more intensive run the system would just reboot, so either the CPU couldn't handle the extra 100MHz overclock on top, which is most likely the case or we have found the maximum memory overclocking of 257MHz (514MHz DDR). I got the feeling the CPU cooling is what is holding us back...

Final Thoughts

The Crucial Ballistix Tracer modules are definitely very impressive. Clearly the Tracer line is marketing itself to users that want more from their memory than other manufacturers provide. Case modders are the first to come to mind, but really anyone with a windowed case would be interested in the Ballistix Tracer modules. Seeing as how the Tracer modules respond differently due to the chipset and BIOS of the motherboard they are used with, it gives a real sense that the activity LED's are truthfully portraying the amount of work the memory modules are performing.

Crucial's Ballistix Tracer PC-4000 definitely lives up to the Crucial name. Not once did we experience stability problems with the memory, not even while playing with the latency settings. This memory is ideal for any enthusiast who wants to get something more out of his system. The Tracer series can be tweaked quite a bit and have some extra room for overclocking. The ability to overclock to DDR514 speeds and being able to run with low latency timings allows the user a lot of flexibility to configure these modules to their system setup.

And, don't forget about the main feature of the Crucial Ballistix Tracer memory, the flashing LED's! While most people will consider the LED's just for show, they do also serve somewhat as a visual diagnostic, letting the user know the system's memory activity in real time. With eighteen red/green alternating activity LED's on the top and eight blue under light LED's near the pins, the Crucial Ballistix Tracer memory is a dream come true for all case modders!

So to sum it all up, Crucial has hit the mark with the Ballistix Tracer, providing high quality, high performance, visually appealing memory, and backing it up with Crucial's reputation for taking care of their customers. These modules should not be overlooked by anyone in the market for DDR memory.

Pros

• Nice design, beautiful heat spreaders
• Solid overclocking capabilities
• Awesome unique LED's
• Great overclockability
• Outstanding memory latency
  • 2-2-2-5 at 200MHz HTT
  • 2.5-3-3-7 at 250MHz HTT
• Covered by Crucial lifetime warranty
• Excellent for gamers and case modders
• Very affordable pricing

Cons

• N/A

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