There is no denying that Ballistix’s design team did have to make certain concessions on the aesthetics front in order to really look like they were designed for a TUF motherboard. Gun-metal gray with yellow pin-stripping clad RAM is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. However, given the design constraints of having to make a series of RAM that enhances ASUS TUF lineup Ballistix did indeed do an excellent job at treading the line between niche (‘TUF only’) and broad stream appeal. So while we would be hesitant to pair the Ballistix Sport AT with say a white or green themed motherboard, yellow does indeed work well with black, silver and even red accented motherboards. As such we would recommend not ruling out this particular kit without first thinking through the overall theme of a build. If it works… it works. Regardless of what the label on the RAM says.
To our way of thinking the color scheme of the Ballistix Sport AT is actually one of its lesser merits. Yes that is ironic given the fact that the look of the Ballistix Sport AT series is supposedly is main claim to fame, but moving beyond the color scheme these are rather low-profile sticks of RAM that do still get the job done at cooling the RAM ICs – even when pushed to 1.4 volts. This makes the Ballistix Sport AT perfectly suited for numerous scenarios that range from massive dual tower CPU heatsink (e.g. Noctua D14 and D15) builds all the way to custom ‘shoebox’ builds where lack of installation issues is of paramount concern.
Digging down even further we come to the performance this series has to offer. While yes the Ballistix Sport AT does not have the overclocking abilities of say Ballistix’s own Elite line, they do offer a surprisingly large amount of overclocking – this kit actually has more overclocking headroom than the last Sport kit we looked at. Hitting upwards of DDR4-3333 speeds is nothing to sneeze at, and this level of additional performance should be included in any purchasing decision – especially with AMD systems that need the Infinity Fabric going as fast as it can. Equally impressive is while it does require 1.35v to hit its DDR4-3000 specification the on-board EEPROM SPD has 1.2v settings that work first time, every time when you plunk this RAM into a system – even on AMD systems. That is has always been a hallmark of Ballistic memory and was nice to see it carried over to this new line.
Last but not least is the price. Yes, the Ballistic Elite line will have better-overclocking headroom. Yes, the Ballistix Tactical Tracer RGB series will fit a wider range of custom builds… but both cost more. Even yes standard DDR4-3000 32GB kits will cost less, but the difference is not that great. Basically, for only a few dollars more than the typical 32GB DDR4-3000 kit of RAM buyers can expect to get a very user-friendly set of RAM that can enhance the final build’s looks and will (usually) overclock better than the competition. That is a lot to like, with very little to not like. So while its appeal is going to be somewhat limited the new Ballistix Sport AT is still an excellent addition to Ballistix’s venerable SPORT line-up.
The Review
Ballistix SPORT AT DDR4-3000
While certainly not an optimal choice for every scenario or every build the new Ballistix Sport AT series proves that you can create a new series of RAM that has been customized for specific motherboards and yet still be a good choice for a wide range of ‘boards and builds. Other manufacturers should look at what Ballistix has done and take notes – we are looking at your TeamGroup and your Vulcan TUF series!
