Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA1065

Pros: Worked great for a while (about 8 months).

Cons: This RAM has a short life span.

I'd recommend buying something with a more reliable reputation.

Other Thoughts: I purchased this RAM back in Feb. '08 and it worked great up until now. Recently started getting regular crashes to the desktop while gaming and BSOD upon trying to reboot. Ran memtest86+ and it reported lots of errors. I never over clocked or over volted the memory.

Contacted Crucial and requested an RMA for a replacement (they're sending me the new version 2 Ballistix) but I dont trust this RAM now. I will just keep it as backup memory or sell it.

Pros: None.

Cons: I wrote a 1 star review above stating I had returned one set after it failed, and that the replacement set was also failing.

I own two pairs. I have now had to return a pair four times. Of the four DIMMs I have now, none of them are originals. Further, three of the four now fail memtests. This will be return five and six...

Other Thoughts: Other RAM is now cheaper for more capacity.

Pros: Works as well as it should. I've been using Crucial memory for years and they're always responsive to issues and make a quality product.

Cons: Bought 2 pair. System was having memory errors right away. After running some diagnostics I didn't know which DIMM it was, but Crucial allowed me to RMA them all and they sent replacements very promptly.

Other Thoughts: RAM issues can be hard to diagnose. I believe part of getting good RAM is good product support. I only give it 4 stars since I had to RMA the product.

Pros: Runs alright, speed seems to be decent.

Cons: I ordered four sticks of this ram about 10 months ago and since then three of the four sticks have failed and generated memtest errors. Two of the sticks cause my computer to not even make it to the BIOS screen of my motherboard. I RMA'd the bad ram to Crucial and got new ram for free due to their warranty, except the cost of shipping it to them. My computer is working fine now with the new ram that they sent me, however after reading the reviews here and my 75% failure rate so far with this ram, I don't know what to expect in the future.

Other Thoughts: I felt compelled to add my review to the list here after reading everyone else's reviews. I checked reviews again because having three out of four sticks fail just seemed very odd. However, according to the reviews here, I'm definitely not alone and my ram isn't an isolated case. I had always bought Corsair ram prior to this purchase and bought this ram because of the rebate that came with it at the time. After this experience, I doubt I'll ever buy Crucial again, even if there is a rebate, it's not worth the trouble. I'll stick with Corsair, I've never had a problem with their ram.

Pros: Worked great for 3 months

Cons: I've gone through 8 sticks (2 sets) of this memory. The first set lasted about 3 months before my system became unstable and BSODs. I tested each stick individually and all 4 showed errors with memtest. After several hours of troubleshooting I was convinced it must be my Asus motherboard. After All, what are the odds of having all 4 sticks go bad? Well, as it turns out, pretty high. I called Asus and they told me to call Crucial. The CSR at crucial told me that The problem was that I needed to set the voltage manually (I had it set to auto) and I probably damaged the chips so they sent me 4 more sticks. It's been about 3 months (with the voltage set manually to 2v as per the CSRs instructions) with the new sticks and guess what...BSOD & memtest failures! Then I came back here and started reading reviews and my blood started to boil. I just ordered Corsair despite the Crucial lifetime warranty.

Other Thoughts: I'm not a professional, but I am "the computer guy" that all the friends and relatives call to troubleshoot, fix and build their systems. I almost always buy Crucial. That will never happen again. While Crucial was easy to work with and was quick to replace my bad memory, they have to know this product is defective and knew they were replacing my bad memory with more bad memory. There's no excuse for that!

Pros: The memory itself runs fast and well when it's not overheating.

Cons: I bought 2 sets of these, one set about a year after the first set. The old ones came with much better heat spreaders but for some reason, Crucial decided to screw it up and they now come with junk heat spreaders. The new ones cause my system to overheat and crash and replacing the heat spreaders is a pain because they are glued on.

Other Thoughts: If your interested in replacing the heat spreaders, the memory is good.

Pros: It looks pretty.

Cons: Would not run at 1066 clock speed on my EVGA board. When I called Crucial they said I had to clock it down to 800 to get it stable. WHAT?!?! Replaced this "stuff" with Corsair Dominator 800 and runs like a swiss watch. I will not be buying anymore Cruical "stuff". The compatibility guarantee is a joke. When I asked them about it they tried to tell me it wasn't on their list. When I showed them the web page they told me it was compatible, just not at the speed I wanted to run it at. Nice lip service...

Pros: Looks nice.

Cons: Phenom 9550 + Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3 + 2GB. Ubuntu started locking up randomly within one month. Reboot and ran Memtest86+ to find all kinds of errors. Wasn't pushing it, just running 1066MHz @ 2.2V (the datasheet for the modules actually specs 1.9V but Crucial techs insist on 2.2V). Checked OCZ supply with DVM to verify within specs. Put a fan on the northbridge + RAM but no improvement. Nothing to swap with to narrow down the source of the problem so I returned CPU, MB, and RAM to Newegg for replacement. New parts worked for 3 months and it started again. Replaced MB with Asus M3A78-EM. Same problem even at 333MHz at any voltage.

Other Thoughts: Check reviews for this part at Crucial's site and you'll find the same complaints. The final crash trashed my encrypted file system. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. I'm now waiting for my Kingston KVR800D2E5K2/4G (4GB 800MHz DDR2 ECC CL5) to arrive. Can't afford more data corruption.

Pros: The ram has been reliable and stable with the 5-5-5-15 timing I manually set in the bios for a GA-EP35DS3P. The motherboard read it at 1066 (mobo rev 2.1) and it runs great. I am not an overclocker and it runs well with all my games. The motherboard auto set it at the correct voltage 2.0

Cons: none as the ram ran fine from day.

Other Thoughts: Kit 1065.8FE5
E8400
Cosmos Case
8800 Ultra
Gigabyte GA-EP35DS3P

Pros: none -- if it fails

Cons: Used for last 10 months, but daily in the last 3 months. Daily blue screen of death in the last 2 weeks prompted me to suspect the memory. Had purchased 4GB (4X1) from newegg back in Feb. I ran memtest86 one pair at a time, BOTH have errors. Errors, however, are sporadic and intermittent, making the search elusive and difficult. Since errors occur for each pair, it is what I consider systemic error. If you use this, YOU WILL SEE this error. This batch of memory chips is no good.