Stock "heat spreaders" - WHY?

C

cyclone3d

Fully [H]
2FA
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
18,428
I just received my new Mushkin 4GB DDR2 PC6400 kit today.

And it brings up the question once again.

Why do companies insist on installing crappy "heat spreaders" in the first place? They don't help cool, and in most cases, make the RAM actually run hotter. And to top it off, they have to make the RAM cost more. Why not just leave them off in the first place and save the comsumers a few $?

The ones on this Mushkin set are a joke. The "pad" that is supposed to be the TIM between the RAM chips and the heatspreaders only touch the very bottom edge on most of the chips. I didn't even have to hold it up to a light to see that they weren't covering the chips it is so bad.

So once again, once I test these sticks at stock speed and volts, the heat insulators will be coming off of this set as well.
 
1) They look nicer.
2) Marketing.
3) You're complaining about RAM prices?
4) Mushkin's heatspreaders are supposedly crap. Not that I've ever had a pair... but I've heard things about them slipping off and stuff.
 
Possible reasons:

1. For the "Ooh purdy heatsinks, gotta have those for overclocking goodness" demographic
2. Hide the chips being used
3. Differentiate their product from competitors

Now if you had asked for useful reasons, I'd be at a loss.
 
To keep peoples grubby hands off the PCB and chips? I dunno really. That would be interesting to see if the stock heatspreaders actually did any good.
 
The way these are "mounted", it is impossible for them to lower temps at all. When I said that they were only touching the "very edge" of the RAM chips, that is exactly what I meant.

Kinda like /|

If anything, temps will be higher because airflow will be blocked from reaching the chips.
 
so what if you take these "heatspreaders" off and apply AS5 on em and make sure they stick to the whole chip?
 
I will be taking them off... and it will run cooler :)

To the person who suggested AS5... the reason they don't sit flat is not only because of how they are clamped on, but because the tabs at the tops of the "heat spreaders" don't let them come together enough, making them sit at an angle.
 
you guys missed one very important part of heat spreaders on ram... esd.. it helps the noobs keep their mits off the chips... resulting in a less likely chance that they fried the ram that way.
 
Well, removed the "heatspreaders", installed the 4GB kit. Upped the NB voltage to 1.375 from 1.35, and now have all 6GB of RAM (4GB Mushkin and 2GB Corasir Value Select) running at DDR2-920.

I guess heatspreaders are "good" for newbs cause of esd... but then again it all goes back to the "bling" factor is for newbs as well.
 
Are you then saying all memory heatspreaders are of no value, or just the ones included at stock?
 
Not saying you're wrong, but the heat spreaders that were on my set of Redline XP4000's did a decent job. They sat perfectly flat on each chip. Something I checked when I first got them.

From what I've read elsewhere is that the heatspreaders are not designed to dissipate the heat, but disperse it across the chips maintaining an even temperature across the chips. If you have 1 chip that's running hot it can cause instabilities in the ram, but if you spread that heat out you're much better off. Cooling the memory would be even better.
 
If they're placed on right, then it does the job.. That's why they call it a 'heat spreader' not heat disapator.

In all fairness just pick one of these up and be done with it:

corsair-fan-s.jpg
 
thore said:
you guys missed one very important part of heat spreaders on ram... esd.. it helps the noobs keep their mits off the chips... resulting in a less likely chance that they fried the ram that way.
Click to expand...

Heatspreaders do nothing to prevent ESD from occurring.
 
Head spreaders do make a difference.But as said earlier they don't really act like a fan or anything they just get the heat away from the ram and spread it out (hence the name heat spreader) If they didn't then why do the cheapo ass ram don't have them and why did my ram temps drop on my cheapo ram when i added them? (i knew the temps drop because i was reading them with a infrared temperature gun.
 
applied properly the heat spreaders are good for a maybe a 2-3 degree C improvement.

They don't prevent ESD but offer some small amount of protection in dissipating the charge. Too many variables there say it does any good.
 
HERE is a good review showing the effect the heat spreaders had on overclocking.

It's not about decreasing the temperature, but dissipating it evenly. Looks like they actually do have a positive effect...
 
They do have a positive affect. They increase stability. Like I stated earlier, if you have 1 chip running hotter than the others, it's better to have that heat dissipated across the others than to have it run hot. All chips running at the same temp increase the chance of a stability.
 
I ran some RAM diagnostic tools and when I was done, I pulled the DIMMS out and those bad boys were hot to the touch. Heatspreaders WORK and are NECESSARY if they come on the ram.
 
bigdogchris Limp Gawd, 58 Days
I ran some RAM diagnostic tools and when I was done, I pulled the DIMMS out and those bad boys were hot to the touch. Heatspreaders WORK and are NECESSARY if they come on the ram.
Click to expand...
Ahem....

BWAHAHAHAHA!

In other news: Don't Overclock your CPUs, Intel knows best!!!111one!11
 
HydroBudz said:
They do have a positive affect. They increase stability. Like I stated earlier, if you have 1 chip running hotter than the others, it's better to have that heat dissipated across the others than to have it run hot. All chips running at the same temp increase the chance of a stability.
Click to expand...

Ya I figured I would support you point by showing the results presented in a proven situation.
 
Putting the heat spreaders on ram. Makes it look more "expensive" gives it the quality ram looks. The cheaper ram usually comes with my coolers or anything them.
Thanks
 
Teh Lurv said:
Heatspreaders do nothing to prevent ESD from occurring.
Click to expand...

HydroBudz said:
They are metal. Since when does metal "not" conduct electricity, whether it be static or any other form?
Click to expand...

aethelwulf said:
Guess what else is metal? A ground!
Click to expand...

well, he is right to an extent, they do not prevent esd from occuring, as esd only means elecrostatic discharge... if you pick one up while you are charged, you will zap the heat spreader... the piont of my post was the fact that you will zap the heat spreader instead of the chips, as there is no electrical connection between the spreaders and the chips, and the spreaders provide enought gap that the spark will not jump to the pcb on the inside..

this is however totally irrelivent , becuase electricity needs a path to ground or it wont jump to begin with, a big enought block of metal can serve as a ground, you would have to have one hell of a static charge built up to make it jump to something as small as a heat spreader... this is totally dispite the fact that most heat spreaders are coated... usually some kind of paint or maybe powder coating... which prohibits jump as well..


heatspreaders prohibit ESD...

that is all
 
thore said:
this is however totally irrelivent , becuase electricity needs a path to ground or it wont jump to begin with, a big enought block of metal can serve as a ground, you would have to have one hell of a static charge built up to make it jump to something as small as a heat spreader... this is totally dispite the fact that most heat spreaders are coated... usually some kind of paint or maybe powder coating... which prohibits jump as well..
Click to expand...

PC components will have a discharge flow through them if they come into contact with another object with a different potential (voltage). Current flows from high potential to low. You if have a different potential to the memory stick (including the heat spreader), discharge will flow through the heat spreader and memory stick. That's the point of wearing a wrist strap and using a grounded workspace. If both you and are equipment are equal potential, no discharge can occur.

I read a thread on ESD awhile back and someone provided this link which provides a detailed description of the causes of ESD: http://www.esda.org/basics/part1.cfm
 
Teh Lurv said:
PC components will have a discharge flow through them if they come into contact with another object with a different potential (voltage). Current flows from high potential to low. You if have a different potential to the memory stick (including the heat spreader), discharge will flow through the heat spreader and memory stick. That's the point of wearing a wrist strap and using a grounded workspace. If both you and are equipment are equal potential, no discharge can occur.

I read a thread on ESD awhile back and someone provided this link which provides a detailed description of the causes of ESD: http://www.esda.org/basics/part1.cfm
Click to expand...

Keep in mind the amount of charge on your finger is typically pretty small. The resulting current is not usually what blows a part. The high voltage punctures dielectric layers or transistor junctions which then leak too much. They can completely fail right away or some unknown time later.The problem with any component mounted to a board is there are unintentional ways the charge is redistributed. This result in unknown amounts of exposure. Generally this is helpful but strict practice dictates you should not rely this.

Just a thought on the idea that they help by evening out the heat distribution. They help but be careful about the thermal image some reviewers use. The heat spreader is, as expected, very uniform in temperature. The chips underneath will be less uniform. How much less depends on how well they are thermally connected to the spreader.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top