Heat Spreaders

Hi, just got my Team Xtreem ddr2 6400 and have installed the heat spreaders.
During testing I've noticed that my PSU fan which normally runs ><910 rpm
jumps to 1100+ while running Orthos. I've opened case and felt the spreaders,
they're hot but can hold finger on without harm. I'm positive the extra heat
is causing the PSU fan increase as this has only occurred after new ram was
installed. I'm going to install a fan to direct airflow right on the modules, should
I remove the spreaders as well? BTW do Micron D9's run hotter than other
chips, as my Transcend ram never caused fan rpm jump even when OC'ed.
PSU fan returns to normal when I stop Orthos. Am running ram @2.1-2.2v
Thanks for the help.

I wouldn't remove the heatspreaders. While it would be fine without them, they can only help if your ram is actually hot, even if the benefit is slim.

Hmm... I can't see the RAM generating enough heat to really affect your PSU. Are you sure that's the only thing that could be causing it?

S3CUR3 said:

Hmm... I can't see the RAM generating enough heat to really affect your PSU. Are you sure that's the only thing that could be causing it?

Click to expand...

I have an Arctic Freezer 64 Pro, the fan is directly above the ram and it blows
straight to the rear fan and PSU. It's mounted correctly. I've also noticed a
slight increase in core temps which I think is caused by the cpu cooler fan
picking up the ram heat before it hits the hs. I can also feel the extra heat
from psu exhaust. When I stop ram stress test, temps and psu fan speed
drop immediately. When running all regular progs. all values remain nominal.
Cleaned interior of case and components before installing new ram. I could
try reinstalling old ram and check values. Rig is 6 mon. old in good shape.
Looked at all voltages on MBM; normal. PSU has lots of overhead as you can
see in SIG. Any further advice welcome.
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/cpu2.php?idx=80&disc=
The ram is located at the bottom left in the picture halfway down page.
Rear is to the right in that photo and one stick actually sits partially
under fan shroud. Thanks.

What ram did you have before? Super cheap value ram?

Quailane said:

What ram did you have before? Super cheap value ram?

Click to expand...

I had Transcend ddr2 667 1.8-2.0v which I managed ddr2 800 @4-4-4-12
2x512 default 5-5-5-15. No heat spreaders. It was cheap ram but had great timings.
Edit; Woah, I just felt my ram without Orthos or any other stress testing running
and can barely feel warm, before with Orthos on ram stress setting was quite hot,
almost enough to burn but could hold finger on it. Now, BARELY above skin temp.

hmm if you want to keep the heat spreaders on your ram you could try the rubber band mod for active cooling

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=339018&highlight=RAM

sephiroth_749 said:

hmm if you want to keep the heat spreaders on your ram you could try the rubber band mod for active cooling

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=339018&highlight=RAM

Click to expand...

All right, lol. I was thinking about an Antec "Spotfan" they mount on a flexible
4-5 inch stand that screws into mb standoffs. They're like a gyro on the fan
end, will point anywhere you need 'em. They also run off mb connectors so
can be monitored. Thanks- love the mods
BTW running T.Xtreem ddr2 [email protected] held back by voltage=temps on cpu(2740 Mhz)
They'll go a heck of a lot faster but need better cooling first. Beginning to consider H2O cooling.
This was with window open, on Transcend ram, cool temps case side off.
http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/stebly/?action=view&current=MWSnap020.jpg

lol yeah i liked it too i had to cool my ram a while back and i had no money so just used that and it got the job done until i didnt need it anymore

I cant say fro the enermax but for my sunbeam 550W the fan is controlled by PSU temp. However the temp sensor is not on the outside of the psu. So an increase in case temp doesnt cause it to spin up. The heat sensor is on the heatsink inside of the psu. Meaning as the Power supply pushes harder to supply more power it generates heat and those increase the fan speed.

Most likely its just htat your new ram requires a lot more juice then your old ram.

Just a guess though

I think it's because your new memory is using 2.1-2.2v and the old stuff was just using 1.8-2.0v. Even though it seems like a small increase it may case a small increase in case temp enough to make the fans spin faster.

inkfx said:

I think it's because your new memory is using 2.1-2.2v and the old stuff was just using 1.8-2.0v. Even though it seems like a small increase it may case a small increase in case temp enough to make the fans spin faster.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I didn't think such a small voltage difference would cause that but
it certainly sounds plausible. The rig runs perfect, only on stress testing
does this show up. The temp. difference on the ram between idle and full
load is large. I thought maybe it was because D9's just ran hotter.
This ram needs active cooling if OC'ing heavily for sure. I'm going to limit
the vdimm to no more then 2.2 until I deal with the heat.

Neur0mancer said:

I cant say fro the enermax but for my sunbeam 550W the fan is controlled by PSU temp. However the temp sensor is not on the outside of the psu. So an increase in case temp doesnt cause it to spin up. The heat sensor is on the heatsink inside of the psu. Meaning as the Power supply pushes harder to supply more power it generates heat and those increase the fan speed.

Most likely its just htat your new ram requires a lot more juice then your old ram.

Just a guess though

Click to expand...

The temp. difference between idle and load is huge on this ram. Certainly
enough to carry the temp into psu. However, I have to agree that this ram
also does draw enough extra current to affect the psu directly. One thing
about the Enermax is that it's been VERY stable so any difference in values
jumps out at you. Thanks for the new direction to consider. When not testing
ram all values normal. Still have to find new cooling anyway.
Edit; upon further reflection I'm inclined to agree with you on extra current
draw, I believe the Enermax has a similar heat sensor and it just makes sense.
Thanks again, I've been after really good ram for so long that I'm probably
a little paranoid about my new babies, lol
I've got to hand it to those Transcend sticks though, I beat the crap out of 'em
and they never puked not even at 2.3v. I got those to ddr2 900+ but not for
daily use, just wanted to see how high....hehehe