Category: Memory
Manufacturer: Crucial (Micron)
Product: Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500
Gallery: Click Here
Price: $152.00

Intro
Crucial RAM is back for another go here at FPSLabs. The last sticks we looked at were some of the best DDR2 modules we had tested. With DDR3 on the horizon it’s relieving to see companies still putting money and development into DDR2 RAM which is still in high demand. In recent months prices on DDR2 have dropped considerably, becoming more and more affordable as the days pass. Two gigabytes of RAM used to be a luxury when you considered cost and performance, but within the last six months to a year it has become the standard for any modern gaming machine.

The latest 2GB kit from Crucial is the Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500. It seems Crucial realized how well their Micron D9 memory chips overclocked in their DDR2 1000 series RAM and decided to up the clocks of these latest sticks to 1066MHz. We will see if these sticks overclock even further and try to find out just how much of an improvement Crucial made over their previous offering.

The Packaging

Crucial keeps to the “less is more” motto when it comes to their packaging. Whenever these brown boxes show up they seem to come in under the radar as they are simple and to the point. However, thinking about the technology inside tends get you over the packaging real quick. Each individual stick comes packed in anti-static bags as they sit in a cardboard holder within the box. A quick cut with scissors at the end of each bag and we are off and running.