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Ram Cooler

N

nst6563

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 15, 2003
Messages
4,023
Not sure if this belongs in the Case mods or not...since it's not actually a "case" mod...but here it is.

I saw the Supertalent Ram Cooler review by Gruntville on the front page and got an idea. They use a couple dinky 40mm fans (if that) that only move about 6.7cfm. So I figured, hell, I'm fairly decent at molding plastics so I'll make my own....but with a nice Delta 60mm fan. It's a VERY quiet 60mm fan that does actually move quite a bit of air (I can't hear it from about a foot away...especially over the cpu fan).

Here's a pic of the finished result. I have yet to see if my ram will O/C any higher. I hit a wall around 265fsb...not sure if it's my Ram or CPU...never bothered to narrow it down. But I was just itchin' to put this extra 60mm fan to use and this was just perfect :)

Sorry if the pic is big...I downsized it from 2048.
Ramcooler.jpg
 
yeah, air exhausts out the top. If you look closely, you can barely see the white clips of the DIMM slots. The platic shroud is held in place by a nice snug fit around the DIMM sockets and between the caps around them. I shook the case real good (while pc was off) and it didn't even budge.

Forgot to mention that. a closed box would be kinda pointless wouldn't it :p
 
quoted- I'm fairly decent at molding plastics so I'll make my own

how?, or you have some kind of molding press?
 
haha...no. not that fancy. I suppose I should have said "shaping" instead of molding.
I start with 1/8" plastic sheets and a heat gun or blow torch. Heat it up to the point it bends very easily on it's own and then "mold" it into the shape I want. To get to pieces to hold together, I simply heat to the point of it melting (without catching fire first) and overlap the two pieces, heat again, clamp down, heat again, let cool. I use tools like files, plywood, pliers, needlenose pliers, c-clamps, and if necessary a hammer/malet. It takes some patience, time, and definately an ov-glove (those things kick ass. Made of some kind of kevlar/fiberglass weave and are just like wearing a pair of fairly thin gloves)

Took about 35-40 minutes to make that "ram cooler" box from a single sheet of 6"x10" plastic so that it fit around the dimm slots perfectly. I thought about using fiberglass but that takes way to long to cure so I could find out the results :)
 
nst6563 said:
haha...no. not that fancy. I suppose I should have said "shaping" instead of molding.
I start with 1/8" plastic sheets and a heat gun or blow torch. Heat it up to the point it bends very easily on it's own and then "mold" it into the shape I want. To get to pieces to hold together, I simply heat to the point of it melting (without catching fire first) and overlap the two pieces, heat again, clamp down, heat again, let cool. I use tools like files, plywood, pliers, needlenose pliers, c-clamps, and if necessary a hammer/malet. It takes some patience, time, and definately an ov-glove (those things kick ass. Made of some kind of kevlar/fiberglass weave and are just like wearing a pair of fairly thin gloves)

Took about 35-40 minutes to make that "ram cooler" box from a single sheet of 6"x10" plastic so that it fit around the dimm slots perfectly. I thought about using fiberglass but that takes way to long to cure so I could find out the results :)
Click to expand...
blow torch?, the ones used for welding?... isnt that a lil overkill?
 
thanks,

the inside doesn't have any fins. It wouldn't do much but hinder the airflow I think. Not sure. It wouldn't be too hard to make one w/fins though. It's a nice snug fit with the fan being between 1/4 and 1/2 inch from the top of the ram and the air is forced out the top.

btw, I did some overclocking tests with it (sorry, I don't have a temp probe to to before/after tests like Gruntville though) and it didn't change. Of course, I did narrow down that my ram isn't holding me back. It's either my board or cpu that won't go above 270fsb. Even 272fsb won't go into windows...but 270 is perfectly stable. Tried the ram at 5:4 ratio and got the same results. when I have more time, I may set the n/b strap to 533 to open up the 2:3 ram ratio to run the ram faster than the cpu fsb...just to see how high it will go :)
 
wayne said:
blow torch?, the ones used for welding?... isnt that a lil overkill?
Click to expand...


haha...no...hobby type. normal small propane torch. you have to hold the plastic far enough away so that there is no flame contact but it gets most of the heat. Generally, that's about 1-2 inches from the end of the flame. use a sweeping motion also as holding it in one spot will effectively cause the plastic to boil.

It takes some practice, but it's actually quite easy to shape plastic like that. I've been making stuff like this for years for my computers. Custom fan mounts, drive mounts, air ducts, etc. Hell, I've even made a cover for the control panel on my bigscreen and other tv's to keep the 1-year old from pushing the buttons! Never thought knowing how to shape plastics would come in handy in everyday life :rolleyes:
 
That's pretty cool (forming plastic for ducting and such). Is there a specific kind of plastic you use? Where to you get just bulk plastic?
 
bluey424 said:
That's pretty cool (forming plastic for ducting and such). Is there a specific kind of plastic you use? Where to you get just bulk plastic?
Click to expand...

Not exactly sure what the name of it is. But I've gotten plastic from various places like Lowes, local automotive shops, but the stuff you see in the picture actually came from inside a broken APC UPS 1000. It was the shield between the circiut board and the casing. It works VERY well for doing stuff like this. It's not too thick, very pliable when it's hot, and when it cools it's very rigid.
 
I guess "thermoforming" is basically what I'm doing only without the machine. Just a pair of Ove-gloves, a heat gun, and some patience.....but that machine might make things faster (for some things anyway)

and thanks!
 
yup your thermoforming
typically vacuum is also employed and a buck to form over
that way you get reproducible results,
and higher dimensional control and detail

I just grabbed that kit plan as a 1st return to a search query
building your own wouldnt be all that tough
some freinds on mine built snowboards and simply tossed a tarp over the mold
(which was on sawhorses)
with space heaters underneath but used screws to apply the pressure with both a male and female pattern,
vacuum forming eliminates the need for that, as you just need one pattern

note the "screws" were not wood screws :p
4 big long bolts with big wing nuts, and a transverse bar from one to its mirror
on the other side of the pattern to spread the downward pressure
I cant seem to think of the actual names for things today :p
 
I make all my shrouds out of tupperware or leftover acrylic packaging (those plastic containers that stuff comes in) but yours does really look great!
 
Xeese said:
Nice work - good to see functional mods.
Click to expand...

thanks! Now to just clean up the rest of my case. It's almost embarrasing to show a pic of the inside. It just seems so cluttered.
 
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