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Corsair Heat Spreader

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Cowboy X

Cowboy X

Member
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Joined
Oct 12, 2001
Location
Folding in Barbados
Corsair sells excellent ram but most sticks also have a slightly more expensive version with a ' heat spreader ' .
Does it make any difference ....... how does this compare to one without the spreader but with ramsinks ?

Is it like the spreader on pentium 4 processors ?
 
It's just a thin peice of aluminum.
It might help overclocking a little but nothing great.

Personally I think they just put them on so people can't see the memory chips.
 
i too agree with that placid. i think somone should remove the
heat spreaders on a pc3200 and pc2700 and see that they are
the same chip.
 
There's an easier way starfox .............. just get the model number or serial number and go to corsair's site ............. they normally have a PDF spelling out the stats and make of the chips on each module .
 
There are brackets holding the heatsink down I think. I wonder if someone that reviews memory will just remove it.
 
People I know have.
They found different chips, some were micron 7.5b and some were samsung b3.

You can just look at the description of the memory if it is the xms it's overclocked lower speed chips tested to run at the speed corsair sells it as.

Nothing wrong with that but some people just don't bother to read their site.

It say's this on corsairs site.

http://www.corsairmicro.com/main/trg-xms.html

What does XMS mean, and what is the idea behind it?

We have taken to heart a few facts that overclockers have known for years: [1] that many integrated circuits are capable of operating much faster than their specified speed, and [2] standards organizations by their very nature have a difficult time keeping up with market changes.

XMS, or eXtreme Memory Speed, is the process that Corsair uses to take ICs rated at one speed and verify/guarantee their operation at another speed. Since specifications have not been generated to accurately specify operating parameters, Corsair gives these parts an XMS rating. For example, since PC2400 does not exist according to any valid standards institution, Corsair parts are called XMS2400.
 
Last edited:
I saw that memory roundup as well .............. but unfortunately after I posted this thread . However this raises a few more questions :

1/ Is there any proof whatsoever that modern memory gets hot ?

2/ If it gets hotter, does it justify heatsinks ( ramsinks to be precise )

3/ Does this ' heat ' result in any errors or decreased performance ?

4/ Is there any evidence that passive cooling soloutions make any difference in stability or overclocking ?

It appears to me that these ramsinks are just a good way to raise prices , look cool , keep some buisnesses afloat and confuse consumers .
Can someone prove me wrong ?

Ps: I initially posted this 'cause newegg had pc2700 with the spreader cheaper than the version without . This made me consider the heatspreader version . Anyway they are out of stock so I'll get some Corsair pc 3000 which incidentally has a spreader by default . ( yes the same unattached one mentioned in the review )
 
If you raise the memory voltage alot to overclock it then heatspreaders are good to have but like any heatsink unless there is good air circulation around it it's not very effective.

Another forum member did review of the heatspreaders a long time ago and found he got a 4mhz max overclock increase.
 
Wow .......... a whole 4 mhz .

Was this active or passive cooling for his ram ?

Really doesn't sound like much of an increase at all , but i guess every MHz counts . If a simple heatspreader did this then i guess it can't be too bad to have it . But some makers like corsair have spreaders that serve as little more than a platform for the company's label ( eg Corsair ).
 
Well, either way, the key to Corsair memory is the fact that it is tested and warranteed to run at a certain speed in MHz and RAM timings. IMO that is what you are paying for b/c they test each module on an actual motherboard, with the rated speed and settings. All that labor and time for each module is why they cost more too. Not to say that it is always the best, just that it is probably more consistent in its ability to hit certain speeds, and if you ever have a problem at the rated speed, you can always exchange them b/c of the lifetime warranty.

The heatspreaders probably cost them a few dollars each at most, so, yes, they are mostly 'gimmicky' but who cares when you are essentially paying for a pre-tested module? It is like back in the day when a lot of companies sold pre-tested OC combos with mobo and CPU...

Having said that, if I had to buy memory today, I would either get Samsung original PC2700, or Corsair PC3000 if my budget would allow.
 
I have tried to get the CorsairPC3200 512 stick that I just got to run as fast as the no name generic 512 module with the same Samsung chips and it just won't go past 191 or so and remain stable. On the otherhand the generic one, which by the way looks to be a 6 layer pcb while the corsair one looks to be a 4 layer pcb, runs perfect at at least up to 200 at the exact same settings, so, so much for pre qulaifying the ram. heat sinks and a small fan over the ram may help in a very minor way at the highest fsb, but will not make mediocre ram any better really.
 
I have attached a thermaltake heat spreader to my pc2100 although they really dont get hot. I touched them right after turning off my comp, and their only warm to the touch (although this may have been stupid). I dont really even think there are neccesary. I mainly got them because they came with some vg mem HS i wanted to attach to my GF2
 
grdh20
It is possible that u have a bad stick as corsair 3200 is supposedly tested to 200 mhz minimum . All tests I have seen so far show corsair on top and being the surest high grade ram on the market when it comes to meeting the rated speed . They have a lifetime warranty ...... so RMA it ....... that mem is supposed to do 200 MHz+ .

Check your mem timings versus the recommended timings for your stick . Note that aggressive timings at 191MHz will outperform 220 MHz with slow timings !

Email corsair support and also let them know your mb make and model .
 
Cowboy X said:
Note that aggressive timings at 191MHz will outperform 220 MHz with slow timings !
Click to expand...

Actually on my 8K3A+ slowest RAM timings at 200 FSB was faster than fastest timings at 180 FSB,,, according to sandra at least

Corsair PC-3000 really looks nice,, thinking about getting a stick of that stuff.
 
I was tweaking my 3d mark 2001 scores actually and I got my highest score at 204 FSB. Now, I don't know if it was more related to memory bandwidth, or a very high AGP bus speed.

I hit 9557 with a stock OEM non OC'd Radeon 8500 (250/250)

I don't know if there is a diff between 2001 and 2001SE
 
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