In their continuing efforts to ensure that their entire line-up is not only as chockfull of value as possible, but as enticing to a broad range of consumers as possible Ballistix has once again revamped, revised, and refreshed another of their classic line-ups. Considering the last few centered around the Sport and Tactical series it should come as no surprise to see their top of the line ‘Elite’ series get a (somewhat) needed touchup. Yes, Ballistix’s ultra-conservative engineers have finally decided that their Elite series needed even more performance. Specifically, to saturate this new craving for even more speed Ballistix has just recently released a new entry in their Elite series with a few new additional models that come factory overclocked to DDR4-3600 speeds with rather tight 16-18-18 timings. Today we will be looking at the Elite DDR4-3600 32GB (4x8GB) kit of ram.
We can quite honestly say that we have very few concerns over the performance this new $400 (USD) set of RAM will have to offer. After all, they come clad in the exact same beefy (bordering on insanely thick) heat spreaders, have the exact same cooling potential as previous Elite models, and should have the same OCD levels of ‘attention to detail’ that make the Elite series tailor-made for enthusiasts wanting to push the boundaries of overclocking.
Instead what may make the new DDR4-3600 Elite models a tough(er) sale is the fact that Ballistix has not spent much time on upgrade the aesthetics of their Elite line. Yes, the Elite is known for its ‘classic’ style and elegance, but with less expensive models like ASUS Republic of Gamer themed SPORT AT series, the drop dead gorgeous Tactical Tracer RGB series, and even the newly refreshed SPORT LT series… taking the ‘Henry Ford’ approach to aesthetics (i.e. “you can have it in any color you want as long as it is black”) is going to make the Elite series a bit more controversial a choice.
Put simply with asking prices of $12.5 (USD) per GB (compared to $7.50 for the Tactical Tracer RGB DDR4-3000, or $6’ish range for the various Sport LT and AT series options) the new Elite will not just have to impress potential buyers with its performance and overclocking abilities… it will have to knock their socks off. Anything less than ‘stupefyingly amazing’ will simply not be good enough to tip the scales back in the Elite’s favor. After all, the DDR4-3000 Tactical Tracer RGB series is more attractive, more adaptable, is pretty darn good in the overclocking and stock performance categories… and costs significantly less than the new Elite DDR4-3600. On paper that is one heck of an uphill battle the latest Elite model has to climb. So, let’s see if it indeed can overcome these significant obstacles… or if stepping down a notch (or two) in Ballistix’s model line-up makes more sense.
