Performance: 37 out of 40.
Thanks to Micron E-dies and conservative binning, the MAX RGB series has a ton of overclocking potential. Enough overclocking potential that 95-99 percent of the general buying public will find them ‘more than enough’. That certainly is not good for Ballistix’s bottom line, but it certainly is good for consumers.
Ease of Use: 19 out of 20
For a ‘thoroughbred’ line intended for experienced overclocking enthusiasts, the MAX RGB line is extremely mild mannered. So much so that it is plug and play easy to get up and running. Mix in extremely consistent, “even tempered” overclocking and the end result is a kit of RAM that may be able to satisfy your need for speed but does need you to treat it like some precious snowflake or prima donna. The only issue is that they only come in black. Black can work with a lot of colors, but having a similar color as the rest of a build really is easier to work with. Ballistix really needs to offer the same color options as their less expensive lines if they want to make the new MAX truly standout from the crowd… and justify their doubling (and then some) of asking price over the ‘standard’ Gaming line.
Build Quality & Warranty: 19 out of 20
Unlike the lower tiered models, the new MAX comes with a lifetime warranty. That is a big deal (for some). Such a big deal that it does go along ways towards justifying their higher asking price and overcoming the lack of color options. This goes double when you realize that they are built like tanks, and can take a level of ‘abuse’ that would crush the lower tiered models.
Value: 11 out of 20
“Value” and “premium series” typically do not go together in the same sentence… unless used ironically. Sadly, the Ballistic MAX RGB DDR4-4000 16GB kit is not an exception to this generally accurate rule of thumb. They just cost too much to make them a great value. Especially when for only 90 bucks you can get a kit of RAM that can exceed this kit’s stock settings and come close to their ‘optimal’ slower settings on AMD systems. Mix in AMD’s Infinity Fabric ‘issue’ and while you can go much higher and/or tighter than the standard Gaming series, few will actually want to do so. As such only Intel based system users will find them a good deal.
Final Score: 86%
The new Ballistix MAX Gaming Desktop series is indeed a wonderful upgrade over the older Ballistix Elite, but for many this ‘entry level’ model option will leave you wanting even more. More color options. More speed. Just more. With that said, if AMD ever delivers on the 2000Mhz Infinity Fabric promises the equation will change quickly. As such we would not count out this particular kit, and rather take a wait and see approach to it.
