Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: a new breed of LED RAM
While it certainly is true that not every build requires lighting as the finishing touch… a lot do. A little bit of color can indeed make a good build into a great one. This is why motherboards, video cards and even RAM now come equipped with LEDs for custom light effects. Unfortunately, when it comes to RAM getting LEDS on to the extremely small form-factor DDR4 standard has not be without its numerous issues and downsides. G.Skill and their Evo-X series is probably one of the best examples of this, as while pretty they are a pretty big pain in the backside to integrate into a custom system build. Worries about CPU cooler clearance issues, having to snake a secondary cable across the motherboard to control the LEDS, even having to plug in a secondary power connector. All are typical issues that any system builder runs into when trying to integrate LEDs into the RAM area… and big reason why many choose to not include light enabled RAM in all but their most uber-expensive custom builds.
That is until today. For the first time a RAM manufacture has actually thought about the implications of adding LED lights to their product and spent a lot of time and effort in making it as easy to use as non-LED equipped models. The end result of this (pardon the pun) enlightened thinking is the all new Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB DDR4 Gaming Memory series. Yes that is a long name, but as we will show you in this review it easily justifies its length name… and then some.
Just as with the non-Tracer versions the new Tactical Tracer RGB series (as we are going to call it for brevity’s sake) comes in a variety of frequency and capacity options – with everything from 8GB single rank DDR4-2666 1.2volt options all the way to 16GB dual rank DDR4-3000 1.35 volt options. Better still these new DDR4 memory modules are offered in two and four-piece kits and have reasonable price tags that range from as little as $130(USD) for a 16GB kit to a relatively reasonable 1K for a monster 64GB kit. In between these two extremes is where todays review sample of the 4x8GB DDR4-3000 version of this new series resides with a relatively reasonable $523(USD) MSRP.
As time goes by we are sure that Ballistix will added even more options but with everything from 16GB to 64GB kits offered this certainly is the way to launch an entirely new series – as the vast majority of the buying public will find a LED enabled kit that is right for them and their budget. With that all said, if you are like any experienced system builder these specifications may raise a red-flag or two. Namely the MSRP is within a few dollars of what the original Ballistix Tactical non-LED enabled options retail for. For instance, the focus of this review – the $523(USD) 4x8GB DDR4-3000 kit – is literally only eight dollars more than the non-LED equipped option. That is darn near a rounding error in a system budget.
This obviously raises the question on how Ballistix was able to do all this and charge such a little premium. Fear not. We are going to go over all the pros and cons of this new series, show what it can do on everything from AMD’s Ryzen to Intel’s monster HEDT systems. Then with all the data you can make your own decision… but we do have a sneaking suspicion that you will come to the same conclusion we did.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: Specifications & Features
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: Closer Look
In what is going to be a reoccurring theme with the Ballistic Tactical Tracer RGB series, the shipping container it makes use of is a near clone of what the non-LED Tactical series uses. In fact, with the exception of the ‘Tracer RGB’ rainbow stripe added to the front it is the same box. This means the same see-through plastic container that allows potential buyers the luxury of actually seeing the product – and not just a graphical representation – of the RAM before they even open the box up. It does however also mean a bit less shock protection than what cardboard based shipping containers offer.
The internal protection boxes are also the same, but unlike the exterior box we have no issues with this reuse. These plastic clamshell style protectors keep each of the RAM sticks separated, protects against ESD damage, and generally is more than enough. The only time this level of protection will prove to be ineffective is if mister shipping agent decides to drop kick your parcel across the warehouse… and then run it over with his little cart. Barring such calamities, the shipping container’s dual level of plastic protection should be more than enough.
The one downside to using the same container with only a slight modification done to it to make it a ‘Tracer RGB’ shipping container is the back actually does not make mention of the Tracer’s special feature! Instead it just lists the three ‘main’ model lines just as the Tactual series did and ignores the new Tactical Tracer RGB series all together. This is unfortunate as unless you precisely know what the Tracer RGB feature brings to the table you would not be able to tell it from the shipping container. Though with that said the rainbow stripe and ‘Tracer RGB’ running across the front of the box should be a pretty big clue for people who are in the dark. Major hint or not Ballistix should have updated the back label to go over exactly what Tracer RGB is and what it can offer buyers. On the positive side the extra splash of color and 3D ‘diamond tread’ pattern of the box does make it both aesthetically pleasing and attention getting on store shelves – without being garish or over the top about grabbing your attention.
For those who have never heard of the Tracer RGB series, and since the box is not going to help you out, a bit of explanation is in order. ‘Tracer RGB’ is what Ballistix calls their new LED enabled RAM. At this time, only the mainstream ‘Tactical’ series gets the Tracer treatment but the design philosophy and technological innovations are easily carried over to the Sport and Elite series – so expect them to be upgraded in the near future too.
Unlike most other DDR4 manufactures Ballistix did not simply tack on a LED strip to the top of an existing model, increase the MSRP and call it a day. Instead they started with a blank slate and decided to create RGB RAM that does not have any of the usual downsides associated with LED RAM. The first thing they did was to integrate the 16million color combination LEDs directly on to the RAM PCB itself. To be precise each stick of Tracer RGB has eight LEDs on each side of the PCB – for a total of 16 LEDs per stick (or sixty four for this 4 stick kit!).
This integration does two things. The first is that the LEDs can be fed power directly from the DIMM power bus itself. This is why there is no 4-pin connector tacked on to the side (or top for that matter) of each stick like there is with say the G.Skill Evo-X. We can not overstate how much more elegant a solution this is. Those small wires may not sound like much a big deal but when dealing with four or eight of them hanging off the top of a motherboard it makes cable tidying a nightmare. Even then the end result is not that neat or tidy – as you really can not hide them behind the motherboard. Conversely, the Tactical Tracer RGB series does allow for as neat and tidy a final build as if you are using non-LED RAM. This change really does make a difference and turns an amateur looking build into a professional one.
The next is the controller for the LEDS can be tied directly into the system bus itself. By being visible to both the motherboard and Operating System, either can send the appropriate signals to the Tracer RGB’s integrated LED controller and have the LEDs change color. What this means is that in a final build you can have the GPU, motherboard, RAM, LED light strips all in sync with each other and create some rather advanced lighting effects. Of course, if you own a motherboard that is older and is not Auros/Mystic Light/Aura/etc compatible Ballistix includes their rather impressive M.O.D. utility. In the past the MOD was for Elite model’s only but the latest version also supports Tracer RGB models. This utility is lightweight and yet is packed with features.
For instance, you can not only change the brightness, color and light effects but you can have each stick act independently of each other or stay in sync with each other. The end result is a color display that is only limited by your imagination. Also as a nice benefit, is you can turn the LEDs off if you so wish. This may indeed be a great boon for overclocking enthusiasts as the downside to having the LEDs being powered via the DIMMS is that when you set the voltage in the BIOS… some of this voltage is going to be siphoned off to power the LEDs. They don’t take much power but when off it is one less variable to deal with when overclocking.
The next design change that Ballistix did was to not make the lightbar stick up and over the top of the RAM like most LED RAM. Instead Ballistix took their existing Tactical heatspreaders and simply spread the top portion of the heat-spreaders a smidgen, cut a bit off the height, stamped a channel near the new top of the heatspreaders, and then installed a white diffuser cap in the new hole.
To secure this plastic diffuser cap they then drilled two holes near the center of the top edge of the heatspreader and installed two easily removable plastic pins. Yes this ‘cap’ does stick up a few millimeters over the top of the heatspreaders but nowhere close to as badly as with most LED equipped RAM.
This design tweak also does a few things. Firstly, the diffuser allows for well over 180=-degrees of light for the RAM and takes what is usually a small, bright, and harsh light source and turns it into a pleasant ‘glow’. Since it is only held in place via small channel and two pins if you so choose you can remove it and allow for much more… direct lighting. Conversely you can 3D print an even larger diffuser and get even more diffusion of the light.
This adaptability though is more of secondary feature than the primary benefit. The largest benefit it brings to the table is that keeps the height of the RAM in check. So much so that while it is a smidge taller than the regular Tactical series it actually is a touch shorter than what the Elite series is. In other words, this RGB enabled kit of RAM is going to have next to zero clearance issue with large CPU air coolers that overhang the DIMMS. Put another way, if a G.Skill Flare-X kit of RAM will fit… this kit will fit as well – and the Flare-X non-RGB series is not considered tall by anyone.
Beyond this addition of ingenious light design the Tactical Tracer RGB is regular Tactical DDR4 Ballistix Ram. This means the included RAM ICs will easily bootup with only 1.2v of power and upwards of DDR4-2400 speeds before needing their rated 1.35v. So even systems that are temperamental about RAM changes will POST with no user-intervention beyond sticking the kit in and pushing the on button. Of course, to then get the full speed users will either have to enter the BIOS and manually enter the timings and speeds they are rated for (AMD users), or turn on XMP (Intel users). That is a lot less than what you will have to do with the usual ‘overclocking’ kit. Some bleeding edge DDR4-3000 kits literally require you to over-volt your existing set to 1.35v before installing the new set as otherwise they simply will not work. This was a very nice bonus feature that made the original Tactical series so user-friendly and it was very good to see those multiple 1.2v SPD timings carried over.
Also carried over is the weight and thickness of the heatspreaders. These heatspreaders may not be as ‘armor plate’ thick as the Elite, but they are much more robust than the typical heatspreader. In basic terms this allows this new Tactical Tracer RGB series to not need active cooling and yet at the same time be ‘thin’ enough to not cause issues when all DIMM slots are populated. Of course you will have to remove the odd number sticks before you can pull the pins and replace the diffuser… but this is still much better than average when dealing with LED enabled RAM.
Overall the Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB series represents a new breed of LED RAM. One where buyers need not juggle ease of use vs aesthetics – as Ballistix has made a new series that offers both in equal measure. Brilliant stuff indeed.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: Testing Methodology
The reasons to purchase a high-performance RAM kit are as varied as the consumers who purchase them. For some application load time is the deciding factor in their purchasing decision. For others it is Virtualized Operating System performance, or game load times. For others still, it is to shave a .1 of second off their synthetic test scores so as to climb ever higher in the online rankings that various sites host.
With such a wide variety of criteria it behooves us to use as wide and varied a list of testing protocols as possible. As such we have used a blend of synthetic and real world benchmarks, as well as custom real world game benchmarking.
To further highlight the impact RAM has on performance we have chosen an AMD Ryzen 7 based system and an Intel HEDT 12 core system. Both systems use a ‘mesh’ style interconnect for their massive core count. While Intel’s design is not as reliant on RAM speed as AMD’s, the shear amount of computing power each option has to offer can indeed put stress on even the widest of DDR4 buses.
The OS was a fresh clean install of Windows 7 with all latest hotfixes, patches and updates applied.
To show the performance differences we have tested at numerous frequency settings and timings. All tests were run 4 times and average results are represented.
For overclocking we do not overclock the CPU and rather only the RAM is overclocked to show performance gains that the RAM will net consumers. To ensure that any overclock we do obtain is realist we also limit voltage to – at most – 1.40volts. Anything above this bordering on dangerous to the RAM and will noticeably reduce the longevity of the DDR4 RAM ICs.
Main Test System AMD
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 1800x
Memory: Test Kit
Video Card: MSI 980Ti Lightning
Motherboard: MSI X370 SLI Plus
Cooling: Noctua NH-D15
SSD: 1x Intel 750 1.2TB NVMe SSD
Power Supply: Corsair AX860i
Monitor: Dell U2714H
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
Main Test System Intel
Processor: Intel i9 7920X
Memory: Test Kit
Video Card: MSI 980Ti Lightning
Motherboard: ASUS TUF X299 Mark 1
Cooling: Noctua NH-D15
SSD: 1x Intel 750 1.2TB NVMe SSD
Power Supply: Corsair AX860i
Monitor: Dell U2714H
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: AMD and Intel Overclocking
To begin lets make one thing perfectly clear. Ballistix may have indeed created an entirely new RGB LED enabled DDR4 model line-up but the underlying tech is the same as what is found in their non-RGB LED enabled Tactical series. This is both a good and a bad thing. On the positive side it makes for a very predictable series that will offer the same performance options as what buyers of previous Tactical series have come to expect. On the downside, the same overclocking limitations of the original Tactical series are also carried over. Put another way if overclocking is your main reason for purchasing new kit of DDR4 RAM the Elite series is still a more optimal solution.
With that said this kit is bordering on the impressive with what it can do. Let’s start with AMD. As usual, our default caveat needs to be firmly stated. When dealing with already high frequency DDR4 RAM and AMD Ryzen based systems a certain amount of lowered expectations has to be taken into account. Basically, anything above DDR4-3000 is going to be a crapshoot. Some integrated memory controllers (and Infinity Fabric ‘controller’) are going to be worse than others, making RAM overclocking more chance than anything else. Our particular Ryzen 7 1800X may not fall into the ‘golden chip’ category but based on numerous Ryzen builds it certainly is in the middle to upper end of what you can expect. As such take our results with a grain of salt as you may not be able to replicate them… or may even find them overly conservative. It really will all come down to your Ryzen CPU.
With that taken care of, the Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB DDR4-3000 kit proved to be pretty decent in the overclocking arena given the fact that it is factory overclocked and factory over-volt’ed RAM. It does however have very little room for additional voltage. This is why it will require 1.40v to hit a stable overclock of DDR4-3200 frequencies, but unless you are willing to push the voltages even higher that is as far as you can take them. No combination of extremely loose timings proved to be 100% stable – and if it is not 100% stable it is not a successful overclock.
With that said DDR4-3200 with timings of 16-18-18 is not terrible by any stretch of the imagination given this model’s more ‘mainstream’ orientation. Equally impressive is for those who care more about tight timings that shear frequency speed everything from DDR4-2133 to DDR4-2666 proved 100% stable at 1.2volts at 18-15-15 and by simply pushing the voltage to 1.4v allowed for extremely tight 13-14-14 timings. That certainly is not too shabby a result for a mainstream orientated kit of ram.
On our Intel testbench the Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB DDR4-3000 kit proved to be an even better performer. Not only were we able to achieve a slightly higher overclock of DDR4-3400 but we were also able to tighten the timings up a touch more to 16-17-17 at this rather high frequency. Of course, in order to do so we had to use 1.4v and we do believe that if we had turned off the LEDs that it could have been even tighter. Remember those LEDs do use power… power that comes from the DIMMS power bus, so if we had been willing to break our own limit of 1.4v and used 1.42 even tighter timings may have proven to be stable. However, not amount of voltage will allow for better than DDR4-3400 frequencies. This really was a hard limit for our particular sample.
‘Under-clocking’ with tighter timings proved to be rather anticlimactic as in this area the Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB kit proved that what it could do on Ryzen based systems is what it can do on Intel. Once again hitting extremely tight timings of 13-14-14 is nothing to sneeze at… but we do know of a more enthusiast orientated kits that can do better. Of course, you will have to be willing to pay a fortune for them and give up on LED – as none come with LEDs. You will also have to be willing to forgo height restrictions as all are taller than this impressively low(ish) profile model. Only you can decide if these tradeoffs are worth even tighter timings. We have a sneaking suspicion few will want to look elsewhere… or at least that should be the case until an “Elite Tracer RGB” series is released.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: Adobe Testing (AMD)
Adobe Photoshop CC 2017
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Systems for macOS and Windows. To further make loading slower we have included a bunch of extra brushes that need to be loaded before the program is ready to use.
Adobe Premiere Elements 2015
Adobe Premiere Elements is a video editing software published by Adobe Systems. It is a scaled-down version of Adobe Premiere Pro and is tailored to novice editors and consumers. The entry screen offers clip organization, editing and auto-movie generation options. To stress the CPU we have disabled GPU rendering and instead Premier will use the CPU only.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: Adobe Testing (Intel)
Adobe Photoshop CC 2017
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Systems for macOS and Windows. To further make loading slower we have included a bunch of extra brushes that need to be loaded before the program is ready to use.
Adobe Premiere Elements 2015
Adobe Premiere Elements is a video editing software published by Adobe Systems. It is a scaled-down version of Adobe Premiere Pro and is tailored to novice editors and consumers. The entry screen offers clip organization, editing and auto-movie generation options. To stress the CPU we have disabled GPU rendering and instead Premier will use the CPU only.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: Cinebench, Geekbench, POV-Ray (AMD)
CINEBENCH R15
CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation.
GeekBench Benchmark
Geekbench is a cross-platform processor benchmark, with a scoring system that separates single-core and multi-core performance, and workloads that simulate real-world scenarios
POV-Ray Benchmark
The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, or POV-Ray, is a ray tracing program which generates images from a text-based scene description, and is available for a variety of computer platforms.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: Cinebench, Geekbench, POV-Ray (Intel)
CINEBENCH R15
CINEBENCH is a real-world cross platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s performance capabilities. CINEBENCH is based on MAXON’s award-winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation.
GeekBench Benchmark
Geekbench is a cross-platform processor benchmark, with a scoring system that separates single-core and multi-core performance, and workloads that simulate real-world scenarios
POV-Ray Benchmark
The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, or POV-Ray, is a ray tracing program which generates images from a text-based scene description, and is available for a variety of computer platforms.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: AC, BF 4, Crysis (AMD)
Assassins Creed: Syndicate Gaming Benchmark
Assassins Creed: Syndicate is an historical action-adventure video game, published by Ubisoft and released in October 2015. Like Battlefield 4 this games does not include an in-game benchmark. This makes it perfect for more real world gaming testing. To obtain repeatable results we have used FRAPs and recorded a custom run through Thames River section starting on St. Pual’s Pier. An average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are stock highest settings for quality, VSync disabled and a resolution of 1920×1080.
Battlefield 4
Battlefield 4 is first person shooter video game, published by EA Digital Illusions CE and released in October 2013. Unlike most, this games does not include an in-game benchmark. This makes it perfect for more real world gaming tests. To obtain repeatable results we have used FRAPs and recorded the first 90 seconds of the single player Tashgar level. An average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are Ultra pre-set for quality, with VSync disabled and a resolution of 1920×1080.
Crysis 3 Gaming Benchmark
Crysis 3 is a first person shooter video game, published by Electronic Arts and released in February 2013. While older than some of the others it is one of the most visually stunning games released to date and puts a lot of demands on the GPU. This makes it perfect for more real world gaming testing. To obtain repeatable results we have used FRAPs and recorded 90 seconds of the single player ‘Post Human’ level, starting as soon as soon as prophet is handed a Hammer II pistol by Psycho. An average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are highest settings for quality, VSync disabled and a resolution of 1920×1080. Texture Quality, Game Effects, Objects, Particles, Post Processing, Shadows, Shading, Water, and System Specs all set to Very High. Motion Blur was set to High and Lens Flare was set to On. Anti-Aliasing was set to MSAA 8X and Antistrophic Filtering was set to 16x.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: AC, BF 4, Crysis (Intel)
Assassins Creed: Syndicate Gaming Benchmark
Assassins Creed: Syndicate is an historical action-adventure video game, published by Ubisoft and released in October 2015. Like Battlefield 4 this games does not include an in-game benchmark. This makes it perfect for more real world gaming testing. To obtain repeatable results we have used FRAPs and recorded a custom run through Thames River section starting on St. Pual’s Pier. An average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are stock highest settings for quality, VSync disabled and a resolution of 1920×1080.
Battlefield 4
Battlefield 4 is first person shooter video game, published by EA Digital Illusions CE and released in October 2013. Unlike most, this games does not include an in-game benchmark. This makes it perfect for more real world gaming tests. To obtain repeatable results we have used FRAPs and recorded the first 90 seconds of the single player Tashgar level. An average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are Ultra pre-set for quality, with VSync disabled and a resolution of 1920×1080.
Crysis 3 Gaming Benchmark
Crysis 3 is a first person shooter video game, published by Electronic Arts and released in February 2013. While older than some of the others it is one of the most visually stunning games released to date and puts a lot of demands on the GPU. This makes it perfect for more real world gaming testing. To obtain repeatable results we have used FRAPs and recorded 90 seconds of the single player ‘Post Human’ level, starting as soon as soon as prophet is handed a Hammer II pistol by Psycho. An average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are highest settings for quality, VSync disabled and a resolution of 1920×1080. Texture Quality, Game Effects, Objects, Particles, Post Processing, Shadows, Shading, Water, and System Specs all set to Very High. Motion Blur was set to High and Lens Flare was set to On. Anti-Aliasing was set to MSAA 8X and Antistrophic Filtering was set to 16x.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: GTA V, Metro: LL (AMD)
Grand Theft Auto 5 Gaming Benchmark
GTA V is an open world action-adventure video game published by Rockstar Games and released in April 2014 for the PC. The game has a benchmark component to it that mimics game play and an average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are stock ‘very high’ settings for quality, VSync disabled and AA set to off, with a resolution of 1920×1080.
Metro: Last Light Gaming Benchmark
Metro: Last Light is a DX11 first-person shooter video game developed by Ukrainian studio 4A Games and published by Deep Silver released in May 2013. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world and features action-oriented gameplay. The game has a benchmark component to it that mimics game play. Scene D6 was used and an average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are Very High for quality and a resolution of 1920×1080. DirectX 11 is used, texture filtering is set to AF 16X, motion blur is normal, SSA turned on and tessellation is set to high.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: GTA V, Metro: LL (Intel)
Grand Theft Auto 5 Gaming Benchmark
GTA V is an open world action-adventure video game published by Rockstar Games and released in April 2014 for the PC. The game has a benchmark component to it that mimics game play and an average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are stock ‘very high’ settings for quality, VSync disabled and AA set to off, with a resolution of 1920×1080.
Metro: Last Light Gaming Benchmark
Metro: Last Light is a DX11 first-person shooter video game developed by Ukrainian studio 4A Games and published by Deep Silver released in May 2013. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world and features action-oriented gameplay. The game has a benchmark component to it that mimics game play. Scene D6 was used and an average of four runs was taken.
The settings used in the testing below are Very High for quality and a resolution of 1920×1080. DirectX 11 is used, texture filtering is set to AF 16X, motion blur is normal, SSA turned on and tessellation is set to high.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: WinRAR, x264 HD (AMD)
winRAR Benchmark
WinRAR is a popular file compression and decompression tool that also happens to be multi-threaded application. While it does have a built in benchmark we have opted to use a custom 5GB test consisting of small, medium, and moderately large files. We then time how long it takes to compress the files into one .rar file with all WinRAR settings left at their defaults.
x264 HD Benchmark
x264 HD Benchmark is a benchmark that allows you to measure how fast your PC can encode a 1080p video clip into a high quality x264 video file. It allows for an easy comparison because everyone running it will use the same video clip and software. The x264 video encoder has a fairly accurate internal benchmark (in frames per second) for each pass of the video encode and it also uses multi-core processors very efficiently. All these factors make the x264 HD Benchmark an ideal tool in comparing the video encoding performance of different processors and systems.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: WinRAR, x264 HD (Intel)
winRAR Benchmark
WinRAR is a popular file compression and decompression tool that also happens to be multi-threaded application. While it does have a built in benchmark we have opted to use a custom 5GB test consisting of small, medium, and moderately large files. We then time how long it takes to compress the files into one .rar file with all WinRAR settings left at their defaults.
x264 HD Benchmark
x264 HD Benchmark is a benchmark that allows you to measure how fast your PC can encode a 1080p video clip into a high quality x264 video file. It allows for an easy comparison because everyone running it will use the same video clip and software. The x264 video encoder has a fairly accurate internal benchmark (in frames per second) for each pass of the video encode and it also uses multi-core processors very efficiently. All these factors make the x264 HD Benchmark an ideal tool in comparing the video encoding performance of different processors and systems.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: Score Card and Summary
Performance:36 out of 40.
Since the new Tactical Tracer RGB is the standard Tactical series but with LEDS added the performance is everything we have to come to expect from Ballistix mainstream offerings. That is to say very good, but still not in ‘Elite’ territory. In other words, very good but hardcore over-clocking enthusiasts may be left wanting even more. Everyone else though will like what it has to offer.
Ease of Use:20 out of 20
While this is a 1.35v RAM kit, and while it is light enabled, the new Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB is easily the most user-friendly LED RAM kit we have seen to date. It really is a joy to work with and the fact that it is not a prima-donna that needs 1.35 in order to POST is just icing on top of a cake that is made out nearly entirely of icing.
Build Quality & Warranty: 19 out of 20
A ton of engineering went into this new design and it shows. While we do have some minor quibbles over the use of plastic pins to hold the light diffuser bar in place overall the build quality of this new Tactical Tracer RGB kit is hard to beat. Mix in a lifetime warranty from a top-tier manufacture and we really have nothing but good things to say about this kit on this side of the equation.
Value: 20 out of 20
Usually LED RAM and ‘value’ never belong in the same sentence – even ironically. That is because typical LED RAM is more expensive, harder to work with and usually not worth the effort to just add a bit more light to a custom build. The Ballistic Tactical Tracer RGB is not your typical LED kit. It is a new breed of light enabled RAM that simply smokes the competition.
Final Score: 95 out 100
With its combination of excellent ease of use, amazing versatility, and very good performance the Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB DDR4-300 kit really needs to be on your short list even if you have no interest in LED enabled RAM. It just is that good and that flexible a kit.
Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB: Closing Statement
Final Score: 95 out 100
Quite honestly the vast majority of the buying public is going to love what Ballistix was able to do with this new series. Owners will get the same lifetime warranty, the same capacity and frequency options, even (almost) the same lack of installation issues as the non-RGB Tactical series. The last bit is actually what took us the most by surprise as LED ram is usually a nightmare to work with. Having to worry about tidying up more cables, having to worry about where the nearest free RGB header on a motherboard is located, even worrying about if the RAM’s height will work with a chosen CPU cooler is a non-issue with the Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB series.
Ballistix was able to sidestep all these issue by not simply tacking on a RGB light bar to an existing series but actually thinking long and hard about how to create lighting that could be integrated directly into the RAM’s chassis and be powered by the DIMM slot itself. The end result is near perfection… especially when you then consider the LED lightbar is removable/replaceable and can be controlled via software that also does not require a data cable.
If this was all the new Tactical Tracer RGB series had to offer it would still be the be best value LED kit we know of. It however is only the start. On top of all these features that make it the best LED DDR4 RAM kit right now is the fact that buyers will even get an MSRP that is so close to non-LED models as to be a veritable rounding error. Put simply if the regular Ballistix Tactical series was right for a new build the Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB series will be even better.
This a great boon for system builders and the general buying public alike as now one option can replace two previous options with one. No longer will enthusiasts and system builders alike have to think about the pros and cons of LED lighting… and instead can use one kit and see if it adds anything to a build or not.
Now with all that said this kit may indeed be one of the most flexible models Ballistix has ever offered but it still is not going to be perfect for everyone… close, but not perfect for everyone. At this time maxing out at DDR4-3000 with factory timings of 16-18-18 may leave AMD Ryzen and Threadripper owners wanting even more. If Ballistix had just upped the max frequency to DDR4-3200 most AMD users would have been more than satisfied. This in conjunction with the fact that the LEDs are powered via the DIMM power bus means that overclocking to hit above DDR4-3000 is not as simple an endeavor. Basically, some of the voltage supplied to the DIMMS is going to be used for LEDs so to hit faster frequencies with tighter timings users are going to have to be willing to push more than 1.35v. In the grand scheme of things having to use a bit more voltage than you ‘think’ is needed is not that big a deal and should not deter you, but it will do precisely that to novice users.
The lack of even faster frequency options is also not that concerning… as we are sure that an ‘Elite Tracer RGB’ is in the works once Ballistix realizes what they now have created. So if you really need DDR4-3200 or above without manual overclocking we doubt you will have all that long a wait for the Elite version. In the meantime, the Ballistic Tactical Tracer RGB series is the series most of the buying public should be looking for. There really is almost no downside to it and there are so many positives that the few negatives are easily eclipsed.
Congratulations Ballistix for creating what is easily the best designed RGB LED enabled RAM series released to date. Hopefully other companies will take a page from your playbook and also start creating ‘proper’ LED DDR4 RAM series!
