Conclusion

The Crucial Ballistix active cooling fan is a simple product - two 60 mm fans delivering 15 CFM of air flow to the memory modules. However, its implementation is far more elegant than you and I can conjure up with duct tape and spit. Crucial certainly gave the design quite a bit of thought and it shows. The cooler's retention clips, for example, kills two birds with one stone.

Not only do the retention clips allow for a simple but very secure fit over the memory modules, they are also height-adjustable. That makes it easy to work around obstacles or tall memory modules. Crucial even ensured that the fans were transparent, just in case your memory modules have LED lights. It would be a real shame if the cooler were to prevent your memory modules' bling bling lights from showing through, wouldn't it?

Most importantly, the cooler did what it was expected to do - increase air flow to the memory modules and reduce their temperature. Our test results show that it was able to reduce our memory modules' temperature by no less than 6 °C. This is based on an open testbed with a reasonably good amount of air flow from the fan above, so you should be able to expect even better results in an enclosed system.

For those who are worried about its noise level, especially since it's using sleeve bearings, we are glad to report that this cooler is very quiet. Officially, it has an average noise level of 25 dBA with a peak noise level of 28 dBA, and we can confirm that we can barely hear the fans spinning and this is coming from an open testbed.

Overall, the Crucial Ballistix active cooling fan is a great memory cooler that looks and works great. This is an active memory cooler you should consider, if you are looking to improve the lifespan or overclockability of your memory modules.

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