RAM sinks - just pretty or do they work?

LordBritish

LordBritish

2[H]4U
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I'm thinking about getting some ram sinks for my Corsair XMS PC2700C2 modules (2 x 512mb).

As you well know, this type of memory from Corsair already has a heat spreader - I don't know how well it works though.

Here are some ram sinks from FrozenCPU:
http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/ram-15.html?id=jMqH2riD

I would have to remove the stock heat spreader and stick on the ram sinks.

I'm currently at 198FSB - I'm sure it can do more.

Will these ram sinks allow me to bump up my FSB ?

I'm not looking for just *pretty* - I demand performance !!!
 
If your RAM is hot, it will help, provided they are installed correctly and there is airflow in that area. Personally, I would try to adjust the airflow first. But heatspreaders are not much more than decoration since their surface area is only marginally larger than the ram chips themselves.
 
That product is whack, all hype. Ramsinks work, remember passive cooling on p2's holmes? But again, they need to be attached properly, some type of thermal adhesive or AS5 with some crazy glue and you'll be kicking it ice style. How you gonna say that the surface area on a ramsink is marginally more than on the chip itself? Notice the fins? Thats surface area g, think b4 you post.
 
Originally posted by VanillaIce
That product is whack, all hype. Ramsinks work, remember passive cooling on p2's holmes? But again, they need to be attached properly, some type of thermal adhesive or AS5 with some crazy glue and you'll be kicking it ice style. How you gonna say that the surface area on a ramsink is marginally more than on the chip itself? Notice the fins? Thats surface area g, think b4 you post.
Click to expand...

you just murdered the english language

word
 
I think ram sinks would work better than heat spreaders - especially if used with a fan.

That heat spreader with the fan on top may not work so well because the surface area is flat. It should have fins on it.

But may be none of this will really make a difference.
 
Heatspreaders do provide more surface area, probably as much as ramsinks that fit just over the chips. Notice how the ramsink covers the whole stick of RAM? Well the chips underneath only cover a fraction of the stick's surface.
I'm not saying that either ramsinks or heatspreaders are better, in fact I think they're both probably pretty worthless. DDR RAM puts out such a small heatload that they probably do pretty much nothing for heat dissipation. I would say just have some decent airflow over your RAM and it should be great.
 
Originally posted by VanillaIce
That product is whack, all hype. Ramsinks work, remember passive cooling on p2's holmes? But again, they need to be attached properly, some type of thermal adhesive or AS5 with some crazy glue and you'll be kicking it ice style. How you gonna say that the surface area on a ramsink is marginally more than on the chip itself? Notice the fins? Thats surface area g, think b4 you post.
Click to expand...

Originally posted by hi tech hate
you just murdered the english language

word
Click to expand...

lmao! :D :D :D

"kickin it ice style" hahah

and i just noticed his name is vanilla ice.. even funnier.. good stuff..
 
Originally posted by VanillaIce
That product is whack, all hype. Ramsinks work, remember passive cooling on p2's holmes? But again, they need to be attached properly, some type of thermal adhesive or AS5 with some crazy glue and you'll be kicking it ice style. How you gonna say that the surface area on a ramsink is marginally more than on the chip itself? Notice the fins? Thats surface area g, think b4 you post.
Click to expand...

Try reading before you reply, I said heatspreaders, not ramsinks, had a marginal increase in surface area. Otherwise, I agree, ramsinks would do the job if attached properly and not just stuck on.
 
this is a long-standing argument.

I added tweakmonster ramsinks to my 9500pro at a cost of $50, for an increase in my ram overclock from about 290 to 300mhz.

So, it is up to you to decide. Do they work? yes. is a 10mhz OC worth $50? most definately not.

They do look really pretty though ;)

peace.
 
Originally posted by LordBritish
I'm thinking about getting some ram sinks for my Corsair XMS PC2700C2 modules (2 x 512mb).

I'm currently at 198FSB - I'm sure it can do more.

Will these ram sinks allow me to bump up my FSB ?

I'm not looking for just *pretty* - I demand performance !!!
Click to expand...

forgive my seeming ignorance, but you already have them overclocked over 30mhz..i dont know what ram sinks would do to get you more performance, it looks like you might be running them for all they are worth..

..i could be wrong, i dont know what kind of OC people get with those modules, but 198mhz on a 166mhz chip seems like pushing the envelope....

for your question though, I dont know how much they would help you, my friend also got ramsinks for his 9500pro (i know you are talking about system ram), and he only got a few more mhz out of it, not worth the $40-something bucks he dropped on them....
 
Originally posted by patrikser
forgive my seeming ignorance, but you already have them overclocked over 30mhz..i dont know what ram sinks would do to get you more performance, it looks like you might be running them for all they are worth..

..i could be wrong, i dont know what kind of OC people get with those modules, but 198mhz on a 166mhz chip seems like pushing the envelope....

for your question though, I dont know how much they would help you, my friend also got ramsinks for his 9500pro (i know you are talking about system ram), and he only got a few more mhz out of it, not worth the $40-something bucks he dropped on them....
Click to expand...

XMS 2700 can usually go to around 215, ive seen. really good stuff, that is.
 
Well, there was a thread a while back talking about getting slightly higher RAM clock speeds by just removing the heatspreaders... Now, I haven't tried this but I just thought I'd throw it out there.

Right now I have my PC-2700 XMS C2 running at 216MHz (11-3-3-3.0 @ 2.9v). Passes memtest for hours on end and stood up to 26 hours of dual Prime95 without failing. Have you tried tinkering with your RAM timings and voltage (I'm assuming you have and that's why you're asking about RAM sinks)?
 
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