Well, Crucial Ballistix has a dark secret...

[James]

Apparently, even though the RAM is rated at 2.8v 250MHz 3-4-4-8, it will fry if you run it on that voltage 24/7.

I have been running 2 x 1GB PC4000 Crucial Ballistix for nearly 6 months now, with no problems. Then one day, I find that my computer is no longer stable. Narrowed it down to one of the sticks of RAM. RMA'd it. Less than a week later, the other stick dies. RMA'd that one too... (bless you Newegg, bless you.) 2 weeks later, one of the new sticks dies. Thinking I'm just pushing my computer too hard, I RMA it yet again. This time, no chances are being taken. Everything to the specs on Crucial's website. I am now running on my backup stick of 512MB PC3200 that I keep for emergencies, after the pair died. Yes, both sticks at once.

So I start searching, and sure enough, it seems I am not alone, not by a long shot. Most of the people running Ballistix find that their memory deteriorates over time. Even if you (like me) run active cooling on it. Apparently, despite what Crucial rates the RAM at, something on the PCB fries from a constant 2.8v. Very sad, I've had nothing but good luck with the memory, and now I find that I've been killing it by following the manufacturers specs. :rolleyes: So, I will try to RMA one more time, then run it at a lower voltage.

My co-worker/friend has nearly an identical rig to mine, and he's running 2250MHz (250x9) with stock CPU voltage and 2.6v 3-3-3-7 timings on the memory. Runs like a charm. And apparently his won't die after a few months due to over voltage.

I guess I'm just posting this to let people on this board know about it. It's been well documented on other sites, but I haven't seen anything around here.

The moral of the story is research before you follow the manufacturers specifications. I bought the memory because it's rated to run 250MHz. With a 10x multiplier, that slightly overclocks my CPU and gives me a decent increase in memory bandwidth over 200MHz.

The amusing part in all this? I still use lowend Crucial RAM for my backup RAM, and all the RAM I put in other systems. I've never had a single problem with it.

[nails]

crucial should do a recall. theres no reason any ddr period shouldnt run at 2.8v, let alone if its specified for that. its some component theyre using thats inadeqaute.

[ImaNihilist]

DFI motherboard?

[RPG Junkie]

Hmm thats kinda wierd. If I remember right sticks of RAM should be able to take 2.75-2.8V just by JEDEC Standards....I mean shoot thats 10% overvolt...

Even now most sticks can take 3V and still keep on ticking for a while....I got mine at 3V and I thank Mushkin for them very much. That is definitely wierd....and Crucial SHOULD do a recall on em...

[mikead_99]

DFI motherboard?

Not the cause on this problem, people with Asus boards have the sticks falling out too.

Sucks, I just recently got a set. The b***h is that to get DDR500 2.5-3-3 mine need 2.78V. By messing with timings only, and leaving the voltage there I can get 285 MHz 3-3-3, but I'm just waiting for the fallout on my own set, even though the volts are within spec.

[proxops-pete]

Wow... at least I'm glad it's not MY PC3200 Ballistix!!
But dude, sorry to hear that about your PC4000s... here's for the best...

[rabidmoose171]

I thought all hardware that is overclocked deteriorates overtime...

[flutie98]

I thought all hardware that is overclocked deteriorates overtime...

well when you run it at stock pc4000 speeds at defualt voltage they shouldnt be dieng left and right...

[kenrippy]

i have my ballistix pc4000 running at 2.8v and recommended timings @ 250mhz right now. after reading this and the newegg comments, i think i might just return them for something else while they're still new.

[Thunderbird1GHz]

why not buy TCCD chips? Its superior to the ballistix in speed, volts and timing. I run 250MHz too but at much tighter 2.5-3-3 timings plus ive been running 2.8v for many months no problems.

[G19]

Thx for the heads-up info James. We will all take a look into this further now and keep it in mind. Funny how I was just thinking about going a bit further with new ram types just like you did. I'll take a look @ that article I think I saw on CB ram a while ago another pass.

[xcessiv]

how can u tell when the memory is just not stable anymore?

[G19]

how can u tell when the memory is just not stable anymore?

Programs will simply cut off during running and send you back to the desktop. Esp noticable at spec points on certain benchmarks, maybe while playing games or multitasking and at worst you get no system post @ all. In cases where the ram modual is actually bad/corrupted you get windows errors, blue screens, restarts and just plain no system posts.

This is all of course relative to the amount of performance tweaks you are pumping into the ram by lowering timings and increasing the voltage to maintain the settings (hopefully within tolerable spec) you are looking for. In the case of flaky ram, well if the ram is not close to its advertised limit and all of the above occur, then you've got bad ram or compatability issues period.

[mikead_99]

why not buy TCCD chips? Its superior to the ballistix in speed, volts and timing. I run 250MHz too but at much tighter 2.5-3-3 timings plus ive been running 2.8v for many months no problems.

Pretty much just to run 2x1GB at 1T, TCCD 1GB dimms don't exist and 4x512 can only be made to do 1T at 200MHz. Regarding the timings, my Ballistix range from 2.5-3-3 @ 250 MHz to 3-3-3 @ 285 MHz (still 2.78V) with tighter low-level timings (meaning A64Tweaker or DFI BIOS) than any TCCD I've owned. So as an added bonus to running 2x1GB at decent clocks with 1T, they outperform TCCD in that clock range since CAS 2.5 => 3 really isn't much of a hit and the lower level timings are tighter.

how can u tell when the memory is just not stable anymore?

Programs crashing would be the first indication, as mentioned above, but you can check your memory out pretty thoroughly using memtest86+ as well. Apparently when these sticks go bad, they will fail memtest86+ pretty spectacularly even at stock clocks.

[James]

There's another indication, you can't boot into windows anymore. :/

Yes, I'm running a DFI motherboard. DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra-D.

Now that I've found out that they will run 250 @ 3-3-3-7 with 2.6v, I think I'll stick with that. The timings aren't quite as tight as I would like, and the memory clock isn't quite as high, but I am starting to lean towards the "stable" rather than "fast" side of things. Especially now that I'm 2 months into my own business. (No money coming in = no new parts if I fry the old ones.)

I would not take this thread as a "Don't use Crucial Ballistix". I would rather people read this thread and realize that Crucial just screwed up on the voltage rating of the ram. Keep it at 2.6v or so, and you will be just fine.

I would really like to run 275 x 10, but we'll see what the new sticks bring, especially since I will no longer be pumping them full of voltage.


*Edit: Oh, and why not use TCCD? Because, from personal experience as well as reviews, the Micron memory holds it's timings much better, even as speed increases. So even though TCCD starts at tighter timings at lower speeds, by the time you get up into the 280's, the crucial is still running 3-3-3-x, and the TCCD will have blown past it. I hope that makes sense.

*Edit again: Rabidmoose, yes, all overclocked systems deteriorate faster than non-overclocked ones. But when running at the manufacturers rated settings, and the sticks still burn out, that's the issue. If crucial simply labeled them as 250MHz 3-4-4-8 @ 2.6v, I wouldn't have a problem. I probably wouldn't have had to RMA the sticks either.