ballistix

DDR3 Triple Channel

by Sandra Prior on Oct 12, 2009

Memory group tests like this tend to get all hung up on speed, but of course there's another major issue when it comes to buying RAM. How much of the stuff do you need? Six gigs has become the de facto sweet spot for high-end gaming machines, but with so few games and applications being 64-bit, does stretching about the 32-bit OS cap of 3-and-a-bit gig really achieve anything? Hence, we're pitching Crucial's affordable 3GB DDR-1600 kit against Trident's pricier, fancier 6GB DDR3-2000 kit. Reflective of the massive variance to be found in the confusing DDR3 market, this is an unusual pairing - the Crucial sticks offering faster latency than their otherwise better-specced rival here. The Tridents also sport a fancy-pants heatspreader/sink, while the Ballistix go for just subtle side-panels. That 2 000MHz speed rating on the Tridents is a funny bugger too, as bus and QPI limitations on many Core i7 motherboards mean your plum won't get up that high, unless you've got one of the...Read More >>