Crucial's latest offering in the DDR3 memory market comes with the codename "BL2KIT12864BE2009" a 2x1GB memory kit that aims really high, up to 1000MHz with CL9 timings. We found that Crucial's claim is actually true, since we easily reached the 1000MHz by un-linking FSB/DRAM on a Asus Striker II Extreme motherboard. As the specs indicated, the 1.9V was enough for the memory but also we had to rise up NB/SB voltages to keep the system totally stable.

What we didn't like was the fact that at DDR3-1600 (800MHz), we couldn't make the memory work at CL6, like we had experienced with Corsair's Dominator TWIN3X2048-1800C7DFG kit. It's possible that more memory voltage should be used to perform this. That's the only catch we can find.

Crucial lists this product at the retail price of $650, which is rather high. From our point of view, the new Crucial PC3-16000 performs pretty good and meets its specifications, but have in mind that it needs an expensive Nvidia 790i SLI motherboard to fully unveil its strengths. Obviously, overclockers seeking to get the best out of a DDR3 memory kit will not hesitate to buy Crucial's offer.