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Pence Per Megabyte: 13.7
Torture Test at 266MHz – Passed
Torture Test Overclocked - Passed

First Impressions:

To remind us that the expensive Ballistix flavour of DDR2 isn’t your only choice, Crucial also sent over their more value-orientated DDR2. These are single-sided modules and use Micron chips mounted to a regular green PCB.

Crucial quote a latency of CL5 for 667MHz operation, which proved a little pessimistic.

Testing – 266MHz:

Rank When Tested at 266MHz: Joint 5th from 9

At 266MHz the Crucial modules gave a slightly pedestrian performance, probably by virtue of their programmed CAS5 latency. Reliability and stability were as you’d expect from a company with Micron’s pedigree.

Testing – Overclocking:

Maximum Frequency - Overclocked using timings of 4-4-4-12: 373MHz
Rank – based on maximum operating frequency joint 4th from 10
Rank – based on overclocked benchmark performance: Joint 6th from 10

A healthy 373MHz using a setting of CL4 certainly makes the suggested CL5 at 333MHz seem a little unnecessary, but bare in mind we’ve hiked up the voltage too so it may be that at the rated 1.8 Volts Crucial felt it was necessary.

Verdict:

Overall Rank: Joint 5th from 9

At 13.7per MB, these Crucial modules are reasonably priced, though they can’t compete with Buffalo. They do however, represent greater value for money than the enthusiast-orientated Ballistix series, which really need to come down in price or move up in performance if it’s to look competitive.

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