Heatspreaders, Voltage, and mT -5BC

[johan851]

I just got my Buffalo PC3700 2x512mb modules with mT -5BC chips, and I've having some slight stability issues. I also want to take the voltage a little higher, but I'm not sure if these are as voltage friendly (3.2-3.3v) as BH-5 is. Right now I have the modules burning in with Memtest at 3.0v. How much voltage can these things safely handle? I was running 3.2v for a couple minutes, and they got awfully warm...

Also, I have some aluminum heatspreaders I could put on them. They're from Thermaltake, I've had them for ages, and they attach with a strip of thermal tape. Would I better off with bare modules (I've heard they breathe better) and a fan, or would a heatspreaders + fan produce better results?

[Reefa_Madness]

From what I've been hearing guys like Clevor and flapper reporting is that this ram will get hot with more voltage. I believe that the EB series does the same thing and guys have been getting results from just putting fans on them.

The Buffalo Tech memory guy that I spoke to a couple of days said the did some testing using the heatspreaders and got good results (8-10 degrees). Since you already have the spreaders, put them on and see how much they help.

I personally prefer just to use a fan.

[johan851]

Actually, the heatspreaders are from an active memory kit, and one has a 40mm fan mount built in. I was going to get a 40mm->60mm adapter and just stick a 60mm fan on there.

So any word on the max voltage these can handle? My DFI goes up to 3.3v, and I'm afraid my BH-5 spoiled me...:)

[pelikan]

I would ditch the heatspreaders and put a fan over them.

People are giving the EB sticks a lot of volts so I would guess yours should be fine with 3.2 or 3.3 as long as they stay cool.

How are these sticks performing for you so far?

[johan851]

They're performing...ok. I'm hoping a burn in will help. So far I've noticed that timings seem to do just about nothing for my performance (2.5-2-2-11 w/ CPC on scored the same in Sandra as 3-3-3-11 w/ CPC off), and the only thing that does give me a boost is raw MHz. That's kinda disappointing. I'm also having some stability problems.

[pelikan]

Thanks. What mb do you have them in and what kind of FSB are you getting?

[flapperhead]

the reefa man is correct. this stuff loves voltage but it gets hot.. i have a big fan blowing on my memory. man im really interested on how fast this stuff will run

[RedScare]

uh oh, dont like to hear this right after i order mine :P

i would like to know what kind of stability problems you are having and what kind of fsb you are running. details please :)

i can do 2.5-2-2-11 with my rev G chips at 200, but anything over 210 i need to do at least 3-3-3-11. i dont wanna send these back if the C chips on the buffalo dont do any better.

[Odie812]

I got 225FSB right away from mine (rev C) in my K8N Neo at 1:1 on 1T. So far so good. I have the TT Active Mem Cooler too, I'm going to try it out and see how it goes.

Odie :)

[Reefa_Madness]

I got 225FSB right away from mine (rev C) in my K8N Neo at 1:1 on 1T. So far so good. I have the TT Active Mem Cooler too, I'm going to try it out and see how it goes.

Odie :)

So are yours the PC3200 or the PC3700 flavor? And what is the Mfg. Date on your babies?

I keep getting more and more convinced that this ram does better on Intel, then A64, then XP systems, in that order. My next comment is for those of us that still have XP rigs...since we are all going to, in time, migrated out of the XP rigs, it is not a waste of money to have this ram, it might just take your next rig to fully utilize it.

The really impressive numbers seem to be coming from Intel rigs, or at least with the 512 sticks. If I am not mistaken, Sen and a few others have hit 240 plus on XP rigs, but with the 256 sticks. But then again, I think that is consistent with OCZ's PC3700EB, using the same chips.

[Reefa_Madness]

PC3700 - I just saw your thread in the AMD CPU section. Hey guys, how's about you both posting your Mfg. Date?

All reported PC3700 has been 0326 so far. What's yours? Is this the "Magic Week" for the Revision C chips?

So did Buffalo establish PC3700 performance for the Micron C chips on an Intel rig only?
I'm starting to wonder...

[Reefa_Madness]

Actually, the heatspreaders are from an active memory kit, and one has a 40mm fan mount built in. I was going to get a 40mm->60mm adapter and just stick a 60mm fan on there.

So any word on the max voltage these can handle? My DFI goes up to 3.3v, and I'm afraid my BH-5 spoiled me...:)


http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=304605&page=4&pp=30

I don't know if you read this or not, it is Clevor's "reporting" on the Micron and response to voltage increases. Starts around post #90 or so.

[johan851]

Thanks for the info. It seems I can only get these to run rated timings when I give them 3.0v - anything below that and they're unstable. Even 3.0v fails immediately in Prime, but it's fine in everything else, including several hours of Battlefield: Vietnam. I've found that the Battlefield series is even a little more rigorous than Prime, so I'm going to stick with that.

[Reefa_Madness]

Mfg. Date???

Sorry to be a pain, just trying to track it so see if patterns develop.

[RedScare]

dang thats really dissapointing to hear. i hope mine dont end up that way as i can only give them ~2.9v max :-/ what timings are you running them at now? and what timings have been not so successful?

[Reefa_Madness]

johan851,

I'm sorry if this has already been asked and answered, but what system are you running this ram on? I am presuming AMD, but is it XP or A64 and what mobo/cpu combo?

[johan851]

CAS 3 was actually giving me problems at higher FSBs. Right now I have them at 2.5-3-3-11. Seems like tighter timings don't give me a bandwidth increase, but I'll try tighter timings later today. I'm at work until 4:30 Pacific. When I get home I'll shoot you that manufacturing date while I put my heatspreaders on.

*Edit - my apologies, I missed your question. I need to add my specs back in my sig...

I'm running on an AthlonXP 1700+ and DFI Infinity. GPU, CPU, and NB are all watercooled.

[Odie812]

Hi,

I'm sorry I took so long to get back to you all.

My chips look like this:

0326 1-2
MT 46V32M8
TG 5B -C

They are definitely the speed-binned PC3200. In CPU-Z they show up as "Melco DDR-SDRAM PC3200 512MB". Nevertheless, I've had great success, and I would definitely recommend some extra cooling of some sort. I'm using some copper Thermaltake heatspreaders with the Thermaltake Active memory cooler blowing over it, and not only did hit help with the heat, but it gave me +10FSB in 1:1. I can't get past 240FSB but they definitely run at the rated DDR466 at 2.85 volts (2.5-3-3-8).

Cheers to value memory :)

Odie

[Reefa_Madness]

Thanks for the update guys,

Every PC3700 reported on to date has had the 0326 date. Granted, they have only come from two sources, but never the less, if your holding PC3200 with "C" chips and an 0326 date, the odds of a good O/C appear to be in your favor.

The heat issue is being reported on by almost everyone, either with the 3200 or the 3700. Count on it if you have ram with these Micron chips.

[far far away]

yeah, but the heat problem comes only if you give more than 3,0 vdimm, am i right?
if you stay between 2,6-3,0 vdimm, you shouldn't have heat problems...

[wannaoc]

At 3.0 I would use some type of spreader or heatsink, I would even consider it at 2.9V. At the least put a fan blowing over them.

[Reefa_Madness]

I would agree, based on what "testers" are reporting, that once you reach the 2.9v or so range, you need to start considering mounting a fan to blow over them. This is so simple to do that it should be a non-issue for most people. I think with a fan, you don't need the heatspreaders, but that is jus my opinion. If you have a set of spreaders not being used and you want to slap them on, fine, but I wouldn't go out and buy some. Just be sure to use a good TIM during installation, or you're wasting your time.

[johan851]

Yeah, I already have a fan blowing over these. I think heatspreaders might help a little, since the fan doesn't evenly cover all the modules. The heatspreader would let the modules farther away from the fan receive more even cooling.

[Reefa_Madness]

I would think that a fan mounted in such a fashion as to blow fresh cool air over the length of the ram would provide adequate cooling, but propertly installed heatspreaders would certainly provide additonal cooling "insurance". I think it just comes back to individual preferences here and the point most everyone agrees on is that with increased voltage, you need to provide supplemental cooling, however you see fit to do it.