Review: Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB DDR4-2666 (BLE4C4G4D26AFEA)

Conclusion

Adoption of DDR4 memory has been stifled by only having one platform to date, and this is perhaps why we've seen companies such as Crucial adopt a wait-and-see approach before committing to DDR4 memory with fast(er) speeds.

Following on the from Ballistix Sport topping out at 2,400MHz, Crucial has released the aggressive-looking Ballistix Elite sets, increasing bandwidth to 2,666MHz but shying away from competing with the limited-volume 3,000MHz kits out there.

And maybe Crucial has it right, for we have demonstrated that faster DDR4 doesn't provide a tangible leap in performance when used on the premier Intel platform. Such knowledge brings into question the need for super-fast, super-expensive DDR4 presently, but there remain regional markets, mainly in the Far East, where higher frequencies are used as an obvious selling point.

We find it hard to recommend the Crucial Ballistix Elite memory for the simple reason that its extra bandwidth is, in the main, wasted on X99. Its time will come soon enough, likely when Intel makes the transition to Skylake-based processors harnessing bandwidth-hungry integrated graphics.

HEXUS.awards

Crucial Ballistix Elite DDR4-2,666 CL16 (BLE4C4G4D26AFEA)

HEXUS.where2buy

The reviewed Crucial Ballistix Elite modules are available to purchase from Crucial.com/uk.

HEXUS.right2reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.