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signmeuptoo94
Bless you Howie
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
NanoParticle

signmeuptoo94

Premium Member

How necessary are heat spreaders and heat sinks on RAM?

I've read some guys saying most RAM doesn't really need a heat sinks, and even don't need spreaders. But I wonder if overvolting RAM and running it hard if it isn't still a good idea...
Thordrune
Premium Member
join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA

Thordrune

Premium Member

Overvolted DDR and DDR2, maybe. DDR3, nope.

Plain heatspreaders aren't very effective anyway. They don't add a ton more surface area, at least not enough to be worthwhile.

A year or so ago, I read a review on some plain, low-voltage Samsung DDR3-1600. They were low-profile sticks with no heatspreaders, and pretty loose timings out of the box. Not only did they tighten up quite a bit at stock speeds, they overclocked to somewhere around 2400 speeds with additional voltage. Heat wasn't a problem.

signmeuptoo94
Bless you Howie
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
NanoParticle

signmeuptoo94

Premium Member

So with DDR3 the feature size is so small within the chips that they use less power and run cooler, I take it?

MacGyver

join:2001-10-14
Vancouver, BC

MacGyver

They look cool - but that is about the extent of the cooling.

koitsu
MVM
join:2002-07-16
Mountain View, CA
Humax BGW320-500

koitsu to signmeuptoo94

MVM

to signmeuptoo94
My (tertiary) opinion mimics those of Thordrune See Profile and MacGuyver See Profile. Heatsinks on RAM are generally not needed when used at their default speeds/stock settings, barring certain environmental conditions (e.g. custom-built hardware/systems). They don't hurt to have, but in most situations/environments they don't serve a purpose. They tend to be a "PC enthusiast" thing, i.e. lol d00z u n33d 2 rice up ur rig wiht ligths n sh**.

That said, I do remember reading a horror story from some user some time ago where they added (after-market) heatsinks to their DIMMs, then while the system was in operation one of the sinks fell off and caused damage to the system/board.

I find them annoying for other reasons, mainly that they decrease airflow around the DIMMs themselves or may actually touch the back of another nearby DIMM (accident waiting to happen).

However if you overclock in any way, especially if you adjust (increase) voltage, I would certainly say they would be useful.
Thordrune
Premium Member
join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA

Thordrune

Premium Member

I've had a heatspreader on a stick of RAM partially come off. Not very good sticky tape apparently. It never fully came off though, thankfully.

Another common issue with them is clearance around the heatsink, depending on the motherboard and the heatsink being used.

Now if they were FB-DIMMs, absolutely .
said by signmeuptoo94:

So with DDR3 the feature size is so small within the chips that they use less power and run cooler, I take it?

Pretty much. Even with original DDR, they're fine at 2.8-2.9 volts with no additional cooling. If you were running Winbond BH-5 at 3.4v+, or any variant of DDR2 at 2.2v+, then it would be something to take into consideration. Having decent airflow will go a long way as well.
HappyFrappy
join:2000-10-04
North

HappyFrappy to signmeuptoo94

Member

to signmeuptoo94
It depends upon how hot the system becomes, my dads' cruddy Sandybridge Core i5 HP notebook cooked non-heatsinked RAM(Stock HP/Samsung sticks, Crucial, GSkill, Kingston Value and Corsair Value) due to being extremely close to the 7200 RPM HDD. When I tried the pricey heatsink style, the heat sensor between the RAM & HDD reported a ~15 degree drop in temp when running for 12 hours straight.

DDR3 runs much cooler than DDR2 as stated, however a heatsink can help under certain conditions. Keep in mind there are two forms of heatsinks, Corsair uses a thermal tile style vs Kingston & others who uses metal spreaders... personally I prefer the Corsair style, you don't want conductive material creating a short if it falls off

Weasel
Premium Member
join:2001-12-03
Minnesota

Weasel to signmeuptoo94

Premium Member

to signmeuptoo94
I agree with most of what has been said, unless overclocking or going for 1337 l00ks, probably not needed.

In my previous rig I had all four slot populated and to me it looked cramped because they all had heat spreaders. I never tested this, but I had theorized that if I had taken the spreaders off, the extra space between the slots would have allowed more air to flow around it and maybe kept the chips at or cooler then with the spreaders on.

signmeuptoo94
Bless you Howie
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
NanoParticle

signmeuptoo94

Premium Member

Guys, I was testing RAM in my girl's recent build and when I pulled the RAM, it felt pretty warm, so I guess RAM can warm up some.

hurfy
Premium Member
join:2002-08-06
Spokane, WA

hurfy to signmeuptoo94

Premium Member

to signmeuptoo94
said by signmeuptoo94:

I've read some guys saying most RAM doesn't really need a heat sinks, and even don't need spreaders. But I wonder if overvolting RAM and running it hard if it isn't still a good idea...

Most RAM is not overvolted and running hard....

Kinda answers itself
Most don't come with any and those that do are usually designed to run at higher than stock voltage in the 1st place. Most RAM has lifetime warranty still, right? If it needed a heat sink it would come with it...or have big warnings telling you to add it or face the wrath of the RMA gods.
Thordrune
Premium Member
join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA

Thordrune to signmeuptoo94

Premium Member

to signmeuptoo94
It definitely can, but just remember - what would seem warm to us isn't very warm to most PC components.

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor to signmeuptoo94

Member

to signmeuptoo94
said by signmeuptoo94:

Guys, I was testing RAM in my girl's recent build and when I pulled the RAM, it felt pretty warm, so I guess RAM can warm up some.

Was it hot enough that you couldn't keep your fingers on it?

signmeuptoo94
Bless you Howie
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
NanoParticle

signmeuptoo94

Premium Member

no

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

then you most likely don't need a heat sink

BTW, I have 32 Gig worth of FB-DIMMs (with factory heat sinks) in a Precision 490, and they can get hot enough that you don't want to touch them.
Thordrune
Premium Member
join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA

Thordrune

Premium Member

Yeah, FB-DIMMs run stupid hot. There's a PowerEdge 2900 at my work and the temperature readings on the four sticks are usually around 41-43 C. That's with a couple of 92mm fans pointing at them and spinning at who knows what speed (guessing at least 3000 RPM), and with it sitting idle.