Micron is a well-known and highly respected company when it comes to storage and memory. As for their consumer products, these are marketed under the names Crucial and Ballistix. Today, Ballistix is an independent brand of Crucial and goes by Ballistix Gaming. The Ballistix Gaming memory line is made up of Tactical, Elite, and Sport memory series.
The Elite series is known as Ballistix’s premium line while their Tactical series leans more on the mainstream line. As for their Sports series, this is entirely an entry-level line of memory.
About a month ago, Ballistix released their Sport AT DDR4 memory which has been produced in collaboration with ASUS to support their TUF Gaming Alliance. The TUF Gaming Alliance of ASUS is a freshly announced brand that was made known during Computex 2018. It is specifically aimed for gamers on a budget.
We’re going to focus on the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 32GB RAM and we’ve got the BLS4K8G4D30CESTK model with us. Curious about what it has in store for you? Then just read along and know more about its features, specifications, performance, and if it’s something that you’d need for your system.
Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 32GB RAM Review – What’s in the Box?
If you’re interested in getting the same model as ours (the BLS4K8G4D30CESTK), it will be delivered to you in a basic-looking plastic box. It features clear sections so you’ll be able to see the modules. In front, you’ll see various details about the capacity, voltage, and speed of the Sport AT DDR4. At the back, you’ll find a thorough description of the memory series written in various languages.
The Sport AT DDR4 from Ballistix features a nice, sleek, and classy design with hints of dark gray and yellow along the aluminum heat spreaders. It also sports a black PCB which makes its exterior looking better. Since the device is part of the TUF Gaming Alliance brand from ASUS, it only comes in the dark grey and yellow theme.
If you take a look at its heat spreader, you’ll notice that it’s fixed in place with glue. With that, moving or removing it is pretty easy and may come in handy when you’re installing a big CPU cooler.
The memory kit is about 44 millimeters tall but you conveniently decrease its height to 35 millimeters; this is if you detach the heat spreader from it. Removing this will give you a couple more millimeters to work with when you’re installing those big air coolers for the CPU.
The Product
Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 32GB RAM Review – Tuf Performance
Exclusive to the Sport AT, Crucial and ASUS collaborated to make the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 heat spreader complement the unique style of ASUS TUF Gaming motherboards. This is why the memory kit is only available in one color scheme which is a combination of black, grey, and streaks of yellow.
Aside from the excellent performance that the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 32GB RAM offers, we really liked the brush metal and black heat spreaders on top of the black PCBs. The color scheme adds to the memory kit’s aesthetics and makes it look attractive for any style which is is not something that a lot of memory kits can boast about.
Aside from its aesthetics, it’s also nice to see that the heat spreaders do not touch each other. This allows each spreader to cool the IC’s placed under these on both sides and does not combine the heat load.
The Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 32GB RAM model that we have is the BLS4K8G4D30CESTK. It makes use of non-ECC / non-parity memory which is something common in a lot of laptops and desktop computers. This features unbuffered DIMM type that is also often utilized by most workstations and PCs. This is due to it being faster than your usual registered memory. It has a speed of 3,000 MT/S while its voltage is just 1.35 Volts
The Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 32GB RAM features a CAS Latency or CL CAS of 17; the CL CAS being the number of clock cycles required before data begins to flow after receiving a command. For lower CL, this is much faster, and modules with varying CL can be combined on a system.
This device has a UDIMM form factor and a total capacity of 32GB (8GB x 4). It also has a multi-channel quad channel kit, as well as a limited lifetime warranty. Not only that, but the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 is also Intel XMP 2.0-ready which makes it better and all the more convenient.
When it comes to its size, the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 stands 44 millimeters tall, but this can be lowered to 35 millimeters by removing the heat spreader. Removing this will give you additional space for installing big CPU coolers. Traversing the top of the memory module, you will find two yellow stripes which are a nice touch to its aesthetics.
For the aluminum heat spreaders, these stand at an approximate height of 10 millimeters above the PCB. These are fairly thick but still allows for proper airflow. You can see that the heat spreaders also do not touch each other which is really vital since you want each of these to cool the ICs separately without combining the heat load.
Product Features
Increased Gaming Performance
Include this Ballistix Sport AT memory to your build and you can fire up your gaming performance to a whole new level. With its impressive RAM density and speed, the Sport AT DDR4 32-Gigabyte RAM modules allow for faster and smoother performance. With that, you can successfully complete all missions and goals in your games.
Excellent Module Densities
The Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 allows you to enjoy fast performance and close to instant responsiveness that will help turn your computer into a lethal gaming device.
Battle-Tested Design for TUF Gaming Motherboards from ASUS
From components to cases, the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4’s excellent performance also comes with style, so your build not only plays well, but also looks great. Additionally, the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 3000Mhz 32GB RAM was developed in collaboration with ASUS, so it’s guaranteed to be compatible with TUF or The Ultimate Force gaming setup.
A heat spreader with unique aesthetics is also present to match the TUF Gaming style; thus, making your board look more impressive.
Easy Building and Quick Plug-and-Play Setup
Sport AT modules come with the appearance and specifications that will help you accomplish your gaming objectives. It doesn’t matter if you’re a first timer in building or an experienced gamer, the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 RAM also features XMP 2.0 profiles that make installation of modules simpler and easier.
Ease of Use
While this specific device is a 1.35 Volt RAM kit and is meant to be for motherboards that are ASUS TUF only, we can say that it’s one easy piece to work with. It doesn’t matter if you’re using the high-end X-299 or AMD systems, the kit is extremely user-friendly so you won’t have any problems installing this.
Micron Quality just for Pro Gamer Reliability
Ballistix DRAM gives you higher performance levels compared to regular PC gaming memory. This is because it’s the only major gaming brand built and tested from beginning to end as part of a major manufacturer of PC memory products. For 40 years, the company has engineered classic DDR memories that go all the way to the Ballistix DDR4 modules. With this, you can guarantee to get the best of gaming performances.
Build Quality & Warranty
It is obvious that a lot of effort and throughput was placed on this brand-new series and it definitely shows. Its build quality is great and is strong enough to withstand heavy loads; also, the RAM ICs and heatsink are also very good. What makes it even better is the inclusion of a limited lifetime warranty from a top-notch manufacturer.
Using the Product
When we began testing the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4, we expected this to be just like the other devices under the Ballistix Sport line. However, the Sport AT DDR4 has better memory and is generally really good for a value-oriented memory kit. It was really designed with the ASUS TUF Gaming motherboards in mind.
Overclocking the RAM is incredibly simple, especially considering almost all gaming targeted motherboards will auto overclock your RAM and the BIO easily allows you to select for XMP settings.
Overall Performance
Generally speaking, the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 performed excellently during our tests. We can also say that this device is excellent for making new series of RAM that has been customised for some motherboards; this is while still being an excellent choice for a wide selection of boards and builds. Its clocking speed was outstanding and during tests, we were able to decrease the timings to the C14 range.
Aside from excellence in performance, the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 32GB RAM is also something that’s quite eye-catching. Though it has a minimalist design, we really like where the direction of this company is going when it comes to their device’s appearance.
We personally really appreciate the more neutral blacks and greys; plus, the heat spreaders’ gunmetal shade was really nice too. Ballistix is also smart for adding the yellow and black accents to bring more aesthetics to the device; it also blends great with the TUF board which makes it even better.
Honestly, we think that other manufacturers should take down some notes and look at what the company has done to this specific product because obviously, the Sport AT DDR4 is definitely some competition.
And while the Sport AT series is basically aimed for the mainstream intel users, the people who do not make use of the Intel HEDT system will most likely find this kit adequately impressive.
Specifications
Conclusion
The Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 3000Mhz 32GB RAM does not only have an attractive design; it also has a good build quality, and of course, performs excellently as a RAM device. The combination of dark grey and yellow gives it a sleek and sturdy look.
The aluminum heat spreaders excellently keep the memory cool; it is also useful when you overclock the RAM above 3000Mhz. If you have to install large air coolers, you don’t have to worry much about it since this this RAM is quite low profile.
Overall, the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 3000Mhz 32GB RAM is one of the easier and more user-friendly devices we have worked with, and it’s a good memory kit as long as you have reasonable expectations. Add Ballistix Sport AT memory to your build and you can instantly enhance your gaming performance while still staying within your budget.
This memory kit comes with RAM density and speed to help give you a faster, smoother, and more enjoyable gaming experience. With that, you can successfully achieve your gaming objectives.
If you are looking for ways to improve your gaming, we highly recommend the Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 3000Mhz 32GB RAM. Equip your rig with this high-performance memory kit and game just like a boss.
Where to Buy
If you want to have your own Ballistix Sport AT kit you can pick up 32GB for only $400USD from over at the official Crucial store.
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