Crucial Announces 16GB Ballistix Sport LT DDR4-2400 SO-DIMMs
by Anton Shilov on May 18, 2016 11:45 AM EST
This week Crucial is introducing its first DDR4 SO-DIMMs for enthusiasts, designed for high-performance notebooks and small form-factor PCs. The Crucial Ballistix Sport LT PC4-19200 SO-DIMMs are available in 4 GB, 8 GB and 16 GB capacities and can operate at DDR4-2400 with 16 16-16 timings with 1.2 volts. The modules feature SPD with XMP 2.0 profiles for devices that support XMP.
PC makers focusing on Intel enthusiast mobile parts usually ship their computers with DDR4-2133 memory modules, as per the JEDEC standard and the supported standard on the chips, and provides a peak 34.1 GB/s bandwidth when operating in dual-channel mode. By contrast, a pair of DDR4-2400 SO-DIMMs enables 38.4 GB/s of bandwidth, or 12.6% higher, which could provide a noteworthy performance improvement in applications that demand memory bandwidth (e.g., graphics applications). At the same time, the binned 2400 MT/s data rate and 1.2 volts modules with additional heatsinks are geared to maintain temperature equilibrium similar to the base frequency modules. In short, it should be relatively safe to use such modules even in highly-integrated systems with moderate cooling.
| Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 SODIMMs and Kits | |||||||
| Density | Speed Latency |
Part Number | Price | Price per GB | |||
| 4 GB | DDR4-2400 16-16-16 1.2 V |
BLS4G4S240FSD | $21.99 | $5.4975 | |||
| 8 GB | BLS8G4S240FSD | $39.99 | $4.9988 | ||||
| 16 GB | BLS16G4S240FSD | $89.99 | $5.6244 | ||||
| 8 GB (2x4 GB) | BLS2K4G4S240FSD | $43.99 | $5.4988 | ||||
| 16 GB (2x8 GB) | BLS2K8G4S240FSD | $79.99 | $4.9994 | ||||
| 32 GB (2x16 GB) | BLS2K16G4S240FSD | $179.99 | $5.6247 | ||||
The prices of the dual module kits are slightly above buying two single modules, but that's for good reason: users who want more than one module and want guaranteed system compatibility between modules should buy a complete kit. This is because tertiary sub-timings on a multi-module kit are adjusted to compensate for having more than one module (or rather, a kit with fewer modules has tighter timings as it doesn't have as many modules to compensate for). When a user buys individual modules (or a couple of two-module kits rather than a four-module kit), there's no guarantee the memory will work together. Many users might not have issues putting modules together because there's enough wiggle room in the memory controller or the ICs to compensate, but plenty of problems can arise from this, especially when moving to faster speed kits. AnandTech has historically always recommended buying a full multi-module kit with the required capacity in one go, over buying separate modules/mini-kits over time.
The Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 SO-DIMMs will be available for purchase globally from retailers shortly and are currently available from the Crucial website. The modules are backed by a limited lifetime warranty (except Germany, where the warranty is valid for 10 years from the date of purchase).
Source: Crucial
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Bulat Ziganshin - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
>The prices of the dual module kits are slightly above buying two single modulestechnically, you are right )))
hansmuff - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
Thanks for the explanation about different timings on multi-module kits. To this day I had no idea that was done.mczak - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
I don't believe that explanation for half a second.ikjadoon - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
Yeah, I'd actually love to see some real-world testing to back this up. Are the tertiary sub-timings so important that if you copy them from one module onto another module, the whole system is buggered?I've heard this "advice" for about 15 years, but I've never seen it backed up with data. But, I've only built a handful of systems and never had the opportunity to mix RAM, :(
kaidenshi - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
This is purely anecdotal but last year I built a system with a dual-channel G.Skill kit, and half the time it wouldn't boot or if it did boot, it would hang right after POST. I swapped both G.Skill modules with a couple of random modules I had laying around, and the board booted and ran fine. I then swapped one of each G.Skill module with one of the random modules, still booted fine. It was *only* when both G.Skill modules were present that it had issues. I ended up sending those back for a Crucial dual channel set that worked fine, though it was less aggressively timed (which was fine since this was a workstation build and not a gaming rig).LordanSS - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
Well, they always say that about memory but I guess it's more of a case if you're running highly OCed memory and stressing the memory controller.I've had (anecdotal experience, I know), for years and years, used on 3 AMD desktops and one Intel two kits of the same maker/model to reach the amount of RAM I wanted, but none of these are overclocked pieces (topped out at DDR2-800 C4 and DDR3-1600 C8) and just use XMP profiles.
If I was going to build a more "critical" system tho, I'd probably look at using a single kit... not hard to get decent 16GB or even 32GB kits now with just 2 modules.
futrtrubl - Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - link
Why the freak out? The price premium of a dual module kit over 2 single modules is 1 cent here.surt - Thursday, May 19, 2016 - link
It's almost 3 ten-thousandths of a dollar per GB!yuhong - Friday, May 20, 2016 - link
As a side note, I notice that Micron's 8Gbit die revision A was quickly replaced by revision B. I think revision A is 25nm and revision B is 20nm, right?amersonwale - Wednesday, July 21, 2021 - link
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