It's great to see how individual memory stacks up against one another under stock configuration, but we're also going to show how they stack up to each other when overclocked. The results are listed below for some of the recent memory to cross our test bench. The higher the speed, the better.

Maximum Overclocked Speeds - PCstats Results
AMD System Results	Timings	Max Speed	Ranking
Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC4000	2.5-3-3-8	502 MHz
OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev2	2-3-2-6	486 MHz
OCZ PC3200 Plat LTD Ed	2-2-2-5	480 MHz
OCZ PC3500EB Platinum	2.5-2-2-5	460 MHz
Mushkin PC3200 Special Edition	2-2-2-5	454 MHz
GeIL Ultra-X PC3200	2-2-2-5	454 MHz
Mushkin PC3200 LII V2	2-2-2-2	452 MHz
Corsair TwinX3200XL	2-2-2-5	450 MHz
PMI PC4200-512DG	2-3-3-6	434 MHz
Buffalo Firestix FSX5000V	3-4-4-8	424 MHz
Corsair TwinX1024-4400PT	3-4-4-8	410 MHz
OCZ PC4000EL Gold	2.5-4-4-7	406 MHz
Intel System Results	Timings	Max Speed	Ranking
Corsair TwinX1024-4400PT	3-4-4-8	550 MHz
OCZ PC4200 EL	2.5-4-4-7	542 MHz
OCZ PC4000EL Gold	2.5-4-4-7	536 MHz
PMI PC4200-512DG	3-4-4-8	526 MHz
Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC4000	2.5-3-3-8	524 MHz
Buffalo Firestix FSX5000V	3-4-4-8	522 MHz
Corsair TwinX3200XL	2.5-3-3-7	520 MHz
GeIL PC4000 Platinum	2.5-4-4-7	520 MHz
Corsair TwinX4000PRO	3-4-4-8	520 MHz
Corsair TwinX4000	3-4-4-8	516 MHz
OCZ PC3200 Plat LTD Ed	2-2-2-5	480 MHz
GeIL Ultra-X PC3200	2-2-2-5	480 MHz
Mushkin PC3200 LII V2	2-2-2-5	474 MHz
Mushkin PC3200 Special Edition	2-2-2-5	472 MHz
OCZ PC3500EB Platinum	2.5-2-2-5	460 MHz
OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev2	2.5-4-4-7	460 MHz

On both AMD and Intel platforms the Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC4000 DDR memory overclocks very well. We were able to overclock it to 251 MHz which is extremely fast for Athlon64, and on the Intel rig it maxed out at 262 MHz. It's a shame that the Tracer PC4000 DDR couldn't run with tighter CAS timings though.

Bright Lights, Cool Memory

With a majority of enthusiasts still rocking away with DDR memory (and ignoring DDR-2), manufacturers have had to be creative to woo potential consumers. Adding little LED lights that represent memory activity seem to be the current craze, and Crucial have taken that ball and are now running with it. Enter the companies' Ballistix Tracer memory series.

With eighteen red/green alternating activity LEDs on the top and eight blue underlight LED's near the pins, the Crucial Ballistix Tracer memory is a case modders dream! They'll definitely increase the "cool" factor of any pimped out computer, and will surely draw some attention at LAN parties. I know when they were running in my main PC, it looked much better. Oh I'll be sad to see them go...

By default, Crucial's Ballistix Tracer PC4000 memory is hums at a quick 250 MHz while maintaining 2.5-3-3-8 timings. Not the greatest for AMD users who should probably go with memory with tighter timings, but these figures work well with Intel systems. In both cases, the Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC4000 DDR memory was able to overclock extremely well. On our Athlon64 system we saw an amazing 251 MHz overclock, the highest ever thus far. On the rig, the tracer PC4000 DDR eached a top speed of 262 MHz.

In terms of performance, at stock speeds the Ballistix Tracer PC4000 memory performs slightly slower than the memory that could run aggressive timings like the Mushkin PC3200 Level II Version 2 or Corsair TwinX 1024-3200XL. Still I doubt anyone but the most hardcore of enthusiasts would notice this, and for everyday use gaming, it's still a good deal.

With a retail price of $389 CDN ($320 US) for the 1GB pair, the Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC4000 memory is quite aggressively priced. Crucial has done a bang up job with its new Ballistix Tracer memory and all those blinking lights will certainly add charm to even the dullest of cases.

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1. Corsair TwinX1024-3200XL Pro Memory Review
2. Mushkin Enhanced PC3200 Special Edition Memory Review
3. OCZ PC3500EB Platinum DDR Memory Review
4. Corsair TwinX1024-4400PT Platinum Memory Review
5. Memory Bandwidth vs. Latency Timings