Introduction

Crucial Technology has a long tradition in producing quality memory modules for all categories of users. Crucial as many hardware enthusiasts know is the retail arm of the Micron who actually makes many of the RAM chips used by other manufacturers such as OCZ. Crucial has been known as reliable partner, a company which is stable and pushed the bar in terms of enthusiast memory modules. If you wanted a solid, brand memory module which would be almost guaranteed to work, Crucial was one of the few brands which one should look for. As the only consumer memory upgrade supplier that's part of a major DRAM manufacturer, Crucial sells high quality memory that has been qualified and approved by all major original equipment manufacturers.

Crucial has been known for their quality memory, great prices, and fast shipping. Recently Crucial has a new high performance memory product line, which goes by the name of Ballistix. The Ballistix line of memory encompasses both DDR and DDR2 products, and emphasizes performance while still maintaining Crucial's high standards of quality. The Ballistix memory modules features advanced speed grades, low latencies, and integrated aluminum heat spreaders. And these Ballistix modules are specifically built for performance enthusiasts who want to push the performance envelope without worrying about data loss or corruption. It doesn't matter how fast a memory module is if it isn't stable and doesn't fit your system. Software crashes, choppy game play, and driver and operating system hiccups, all can be caused by bad memory modules. Performance and stability are crucial for any system.

The Ballistix product line was developed specifically for gamers and power users who are trying to squeeze every bit of performance out of their systems. The Ballistix products are offered at faster speeds and lower latencies than standard Crucial products. The Ballistix line comes with the same limited lifetime warranty and award winning support you expect from Crucial. As already mentioned we will be taking a look at a high performance series of dual channel DDR2 memory from Crucial. To support the power hungry users, Crucial has introduced some years back the Ballistix series. The memory is sold under the Crucial Ballistix name and produced in a dual channel 2GB kit following the PC2-8000 specifications. The 240-pin (unbuffered, non ECC) DDR2 DIMM's are dual channel compatible and have a default rated speed of 1000MHz. The default timings are optimized for high performance and listed at 5-5-5-15. To reach their rated 1000MHz speed, the memory is rated for use with voltages as high as 2.2V.

The little brown box contains Crucial's latest and greatest offering, specifically the Crucial Ballistix DDR2-1000 2GB dual channel memory kit. The packaging is quite different then what we are used to see for memory modules, although quite common for Crucial. Most of the time we get a thin plastic package equipped with the memory and specifications. But not Crucial, they have their own way of doing things and a different way on getting their memory products to the market. Yes, and that includes their own style when it comes to the package and that is all part of the Crucial way of doing business. It is done so that is not like any other DDR2 memory kit, which means it will be catching the eye due to being different just by looking at the package itself.

Most of you will already know the brown paperboard box; certainly it should look very familiar. The same way of shipping as with previous packages is used by Crucial for all their memory products. The box comes sealed with a blue Crucial sticker, and by this making sure the package has not been opened yet upon arrival or purchase. So no fancy artwork or packaging details, but a neat package. Although we somehow feel it would be nice to have different boxes for the different memory products. But in the end all that really matters is that the memory arrives safe and sound.

A quite sturdy box sealed of with the typical blue colored Crucial branding, looks good but wouldn't you expect a bit more? This box needs to represent their Ballistix high-end DDR2 memory, so a cooler design would certainly have paid off. Although Crucial is selling most of their memory online, which means the box doesn't matter that much as long as it is good for transportation... Which it is, giving excellent protection for the memory sticks enclosed. Enough on that, let's take a peek inside and see what we got. First we gently remove the Crucial seal and open up the box.

Inside the inner box you find each memory stick with its own cradle to separate them during shipment and prevent damage. Each module is enclosed in an anti-static bag with clear labeling on what is inside. This isn't the first that we see this approach so far, except that it seems as only Crucial is doing so. It is actually the best way of securing the memory modules against damage and electronic interference. By adding this extra protection Crucial is showing their professional way of thinking and making sure that you get what you paid for, some high performance memory. Quite high standards for packaging, for these high performance memory sticks... What more do you want?