DKRendeR Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 (edited) I have a case with pretty limited airflow (Shuttle) and I noticed my RAM was pretty **** hot. I have OCZ Performance PC3200 running at the full 400MHz. Are the heatsinks even helping or are they making things worse? Edited January 20, 2006 by DKRendeR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssmokee Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Are you overvolting your memory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLXX Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 RAM shouldn't need heatsinks.PC3200 running at stock speed shouldn't get hot. I have a generic DDR400 that's been running at 533 for a few months, and even with the 33% overclock they're only slightly warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKRendeR Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 My memory isn't overclocked/volted in the slightest. I AM overclocking my Athlon XP Mobile from 1.8ghz, 1.45vcore 133fsb --> 2.0ghz 1.45vcore 200fsb. I don't know if that's making a difference or not.But my RAM is hot. I read that if you can't keep your fingers on the RAM itself for more than 1 or 2 seconds that the temperature is somewhere around 60-70 degrees celsius. It feels like 60.Should I take the ramsinks off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLXX Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 If you think that will solve the problem go ahead... I disclaim all responsibility.Are you sure it's not overvolted? Look at the voltages in the BIOS setup. DDR should normally be at 2.5 volts.I have the feeling that the RAM you have is being run at 3.3v... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teqguy Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Basic thermodynamics tells us that air has a lower gradient for thermal transfer than aluminum, copper, or any other metal for that matter. How removing the only element keeping your memory from dying is going to help your situation is beyond me, but I strongly suggest you look elsewhere for the solution.It's very possible that your motherboard's PLL(otherwise known as the clock generator) could be overclocking your memory in accordance with your FSB.If this is the case, your processor, memory, FSB(and possibly your southbridge, along with any AGP and/or PCI cards) are generating more heat than they would usually. This is potentially fatal for a system in relatively cramped quarters. I would definitely recommend re-assessing your airflow constraints and alleviating them accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssmokee Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 (edited) My memory isn't overclocked/volted in the slightest. I AM overclocking my Athlon XP Mobile from 1.8ghz, 1.45vcore 133fsb --> 2.0ghz 1.45vcore 200fsb. I don't know if that's making a difference or not.But my RAM is hot. I read that if you can't keep your fingers on the RAM itself for more than 1 or 2 seconds that the temperature is somewhere around 60-70 degrees celsius. It feels like 60.Should I take the ramsinks off?Nah, OCing the CPU alone wouldnt do that. I agree with LLXX, DDR400 running at stock speed and voltage should not get anywhere near that hot.Does you BIOS have a hardware monitor section where is shows voltages and temps? If it does check it to verify 2.5v for the RAM. I would recommend comparing the voltages from BIOS to that of a windows program (sisoft sandra, speedfan etc.), just to be safe. A dying PSU can overvolt components and damage them, but Ive only ever seen that happen once.Edit: Air circulation...do you atleast have one case fan in that system exhausting hot air out the back? Edited January 24, 2006 by ssmokee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teqguy Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Air circulation...do you atleast have one case fan in that system exhausting hot air out the back?In a SFF case, exhaust fans aren't nearly as efficient in air circulation as intake fans. This is because an intake fan will be able to generate enough pressure to force the air to exhaust passively.Most SFFs rely on passive intake, which IMO, simply doesn't suffice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maleko Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I have Crucial ballistixs, and they get VERY warm due to their performace, i have two small ram flow fans over the dimm modules, helps a lot, and id never take off the heat pads! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLXX Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 I have Crucial ballistixs, and they get VERY warm due to their performace, i have two small ram flow fans over the dimm modules, helps a lot, and id never take off the heat pads!'High "performace"' RAM shouldn't run any hotter than normal RAM, nor should they need to be fan-cooled. There has been reported many problems with the Ballistix series though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teqguy Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 'High "performace"' RAM shouldn't run any hotter than normal RAM, nor should they need to be fan-cooled.By "high performance" I think he meant they run at a high frequency, which, in addition to high voltages is the cause of heat production. As far as not needing active cooling... every bit of airflow helps, especially when it comes to overclocking. It certainly doesn't hurt to have fewer dead spots where stagnant air can accumulate, one of which being near the ram. As long as you don't go deaf because of all the fans, I wouldn't advise against it.However, the thread starter's DDR400 memory shouldn't be running at temps typically associated with DDR2 or even RDRAM, for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssmokee Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Here is a breif interesting read on memory heat spreaders.http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=29598 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripken204 Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 'High "performace"' RAM shouldn't run any hotter than normal RAM, nor should they need to be fan-cooled. There has been reported many problems with the Ballistix series though...i dont understand. the reason to get high performance ram is for overclocking it like crazy. bh-5 likes 3.2v and that stuff gets HOT. ram cooling is extremely important if you pump up the volts on it. i dont need it since im on stock voltage yet still overclocked to 260mhz for my ram. people even watercool their ram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maleko Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Agreed ripken....when you overclock anything it gets hot! and needs cooling to be stable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripken204 Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 especially for you Maleko. you have some of the hottest running ram out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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