Corsair Vengeance vs Crucial Ballistix

mmoroski

I'm looking at the 2x8GB 3600MHz kit for Corsair Vengeance RBG Pro (SKU 958744) which is $124.99, and the 2x8GB 3600MHz kit for Crucial Ballistix RGB (SKU 167619) priced at $109.99 for my first PC rig. Is the Vengeance a better option to the point that is worth the higher price point? Or would I be better off saving a couple dollars and going with the Ballistix kit? I'm not really sure what the main differences are.

Ian

Hello! Looking between the two, I don't see much difference myself, both brands are very respectable for the quality of their products (although some users will have brand loyalty), so you really can't go wrong with either. They both have RGB, same RAM speed and heat spreaders.

PowerSpec_MichaelB

https://community.microcenter.com/discussion/8264/corsair-vengeance-vs-crucial-ballistix

The main difference between the two will be the DRAM chips or IC's that are used within the two. When you buy Crucial memory, you are guaranteed to get Micron IC's as Crucial is owned by Micron. Corsair sources their DRAM IC's primarily from SK Hynix and Samsung, with some of their cheaper offerings using Micron as well.

My only gripe with Corsair is that they often sell the same memory but with different version numbers that are often not advertised on sales pages. Depending on the version number, you might get Hynix CJR/DJR or Samsung E-Die.

That said, the Crucial Ballistix kit is guaranteed to be Micron no matter what, so there isn't a gamble there.

I would personally lean towards the Crucial kit in this instance, especially if you plan to simply load the XMP, because the tighter primary timings would put the crucial kit slightly ahead of the Corsair kit. If the Crucial kit is using Micron-E die, it will also overclock higher if you enjoy manually overclocking.