«

Drawing a blank here when I search the net.

One of my Ballistix PC4000 memory modules has failed, and going by the
heat of the other one.. I'm not too happy about the long life of that
part either.

I can't measure the exact temperature of it - nor can I find any
temperature specifications on the net. But it's running at a
temperature where I can't put my finger on it for more than a couple
of seconds without it getting burnt.

Any ideas if it's supposed to operate at that heat, or if something is
going wrong and it's likely to get damaged?

Cheers.

DB wrote:
> Drawing a blank here when I search the net.
>
> One of my Ballistix PC4000 memory modules has failed, and going by the
> heat of the other one.. I'm not too happy about the long life of that
> part either.
>
> I can't measure the exact temperature of it - nor can I find any
> temperature specifications on the net. But it's running at a
> temperature where I can't put my finger on it for more than a couple
> of seconds without it getting burnt.
>
> Any ideas if it's supposed to operate at that heat, or if something is
> going wrong and it's likely to get damaged?

First time I've seen this asked, and it's a good question. I'm sorry I
don't have an answer, but...

Do/did those sticks have those little aluminum (or other metal) heat
sinks/radiators? I honestly don't know how much good those do, but I
see them at the store as accessories and I see some apparently
higher-end sticks with them pre-installed. Just tossing out an idea
for the one(s) you have left.

Anybody else got any input on these sinks? Use them? Do they help?


--
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On 5 Sep 2005 20:39:36 GMT, Blinky the Shark <>
wrote:

>DB wrote:
>> Drawing a blank here when I search the net.
>>
>> One of my Ballistix PC4000 memory modules has failed, and going by the
>> heat of the other one.. I'm not too happy about the long life of that
>> part either.
>>
>> I can't measure the exact temperature of it - nor can I find any
>> temperature specifications on the net. But it's running at a
>> temperature where I can't put my finger on it for more than a couple
>> of seconds without it getting burnt.
>>
>> Any ideas if it's supposed to operate at that heat, or if something is
>> going wrong and it's likely to get damaged?
>
>First time I've seen this asked, and it's a good question. I'm sorry I
>don't have an answer, but...
>
>Do/did those sticks have those little aluminum (or other metal) heat
>sinks/radiators? I honestly don't know how much good those do, but I
>see them at the store as accessories and I see some apparently
>higher-end sticks with them pre-installed. Just tossing out an idea
>for the one(s) you have left.
>
>Anybody else got any input on these sinks? Use them? Do they help?

Cheers Mr Shark.

Yes they do come with the nice shiny gold heat spreaders.

The heat spreaders are usually copper when bought separately, and
attached to the individual ram chips by thermal interface pads (not
the grease). I think the ones on Ballistix are aluminium coated in
gold paint.

Any effect they have on the chips is marginal, they will assist in
dissipating heat, if there is active airflow over the sinks as they
will increase the surface area of the hot area.

They're mainly just for show though.

I used to have 'OTES ramflow' which is just a name for a cleverly
mounted pair of fans blowing down on the RAM modules. But as I was
removing them last night to memtest individual modules, I haven't
remounted it. Currently the RAM is running at SPD, and the 2.8v they
are rated for.

On Mon, 05 Sep 2005 21:33:55 +0100, DB <> wrote:

>Drawing a blank here when I search the net.
>
>One of my Ballistix PC4000 memory modules has failed, and going by the
>heat of the other one.. I'm not too happy about the long life of that
>part either.
>
>I can't measure the exact temperature of it - nor can I find any
>temperature specifications on the net. But it's running at a
>temperature where I can't put my finger on it for more than a couple
>of seconds without it getting burnt.
>
>Any ideas if it's supposed to operate at that heat, or if something is
>going wrong and it's likely to get damaged?
>
>Cheers.

Memory Cooling Kits
http://www.directron.com/a1092.html
http://www.logisyscomputer.com/views...SL&DID=COOLDEV
http://www.casecooler.com/3mcosdddrmeh.html
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/...19&cat=0&page=

DB wrote:
> On 5 Sep 2005 20:39:36 GMT, Blinky the Shark <>
> wrote:
>
>>DB wrote:
>>> Drawing a blank here when I search the net.
>>>
>>> One of my Ballistix PC4000 memory modules has failed, and going by
>>> the heat of the other one.. I'm not too happy about the long life of
>>> that part either.
>>>
>>> I can't measure the exact temperature of it - nor can I find any
>>> temperature specifications on the net. But it's running at a
>>> temperature where I can't put my finger on it for more than a couple
>>> of seconds without it getting burnt.
>>>
>>> Any ideas if it's supposed to operate at that heat, or if something
>>> is going wrong and it's likely to get damaged?
>>
>>First time I've seen this asked, and it's a good question. I'm sorry
>>I don't have an answer, but...
>>
>>Do/did those sticks have those little aluminum (or other metal) heat
>>sinks/radiators? I honestly don't know how much good those do, but I
>>see them at the store as accessories and I see some apparently
>>higher-end sticks with them pre-installed. Just tossing out an idea
>>for the one(s) you have left.
>>
>>Anybody else got any input on these sinks? Use them? Do they help?
>
> Cheers Mr Shark.
>
> Yes they do come with the nice shiny gold heat spreaders.

Damn. There goes *that* possible help.

> The heat spreaders are usually copper when bought separately, and
> attached to the individual ram chips by thermal interface pads (not
> the grease). I think the ones on Ballistix are aluminium coated in
> gold paint.

Come to think of it I think I've seen both aftermarket styles on the
pegboard hooks.

> Any effect they have on the chips is marginal, they will assist in
> dissipating heat, if there is active airflow over the sinks as they
> will increase the surface area of the hot area.

That'd apply here, as I have a 120mm case-side fan blowing fresh air
directly down on the CPU/RAM end of the mobo.

> They're mainly just for show though.

Wondered. You rate them of marginal benefit; that's kind of what my
uneducated take was on them (thus my curiosity).

> I used to have 'OTES ramflow' which is just a name for a cleverly
> mounted pair of fans blowing down on the RAM modules. But as I was
> removing them last night to memtest individual modules, I haven't
> remounted it. Currently the RAM is running at SPD, and the 2.8v they
> are rated for.

Interesting; I'd not seen this product.

http://www.abit-usa.com/innovations/otesramflow.php

I've got a Vantec copper chipset cooler[1] here, much like that one, that
I've never used -- I confess buying it because it's shiny and pretty.
Maybe next time I power down...

[1]http://blinkynet.net/stuff/comp/vantec.jpg

--
Blinky Linux Registered User 297263

Killing All Posts from GG: http://blinkynet.net/comp/uip5.html
End Of The Good GG Archive GUI: http://blinkynet.net/comp/gggui.html

On 5 Sep 2005 21:19:05 GMT, Blinky the Shark <>
wrote:

>DB wrote:
>> On 5 Sep 2005 20:39:36 GMT, Blinky the Shark <>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>DB wrote:
>>>> Drawing a blank here when I search the net.
>>>>
>>>> One of my Ballistix PC4000 memory modules has failed, and going by
>>>> the heat of the other one.. I'm not too happy about the long life of
>>>> that part either.
>>>>
>>>> I can't measure the exact temperature of it - nor can I find any
>>>> temperature specifications on the net. But it's running at a
>>>> temperature where I can't put my finger on it for more than a couple
>>>> of seconds without it getting burnt.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas if it's supposed to operate at that heat, or if something
>>>> is going wrong and it's likely to get damaged?
>>>
>>>First time I've seen this asked, and it's a good question. I'm sorry
>>>I don't have an answer, but...
>>>
>>>Do/did those sticks have those little aluminum (or other metal) heat
>>>sinks/radiators? I honestly don't know how much good those do, but I
>>>see them at the store as accessories and I see some apparently
>>>higher-end sticks with them pre-installed. Just tossing out an idea
>>>for the one(s) you have left.
>>>
>>>Anybody else got any input on these sinks? Use them? Do they help?

>> I used to have 'OTES ramflow' which is just a name for a cleverly
>> mounted pair of fans blowing down on the RAM modules. But as I was
>> removing them last night to memtest individual modules, I haven't
>> remounted it. Currently the RAM is running at SPD, and the 2.8v they
>> are rated for.
>
>Interesting; I'd not seen this product.
>
>http://www.abit-usa.com/innovations/otesramflow.php
>
>I've got a Vantec copper chipset cooler[1] here, much like that one, that
>I've never used -- I confess buying it because it's shiny and pretty.
>Maybe next time I power down...
>
>[1]http://blinkynet.net/stuff/comp/vantec.jpg

Clipped a bit.

Well, it turns out the other module has either gone dodgy, or was
dodgy.

The first module gave out over 1000 errors in under 35 seconds of
memtest last night.

The other gave none in 2 minutes.

At that point it seemed obvious what the problem was - especially as
hardware doesn't really 'go' very often.

Was getting errors in windows, so I closed agent on the way to shut
down - at which point I get a blue screen and a reboot.

Test the module for 15 minutes, and it comes up with 2 errors.

So I'm down to a backup stick I had lying around, which runs a lot
cooler (I fitted the copper cooler on it myself) and generates no
errors.

Unfortunatly it borked Agent, and while I've not lost a lot of data,
it did lose everything from this group, so I've replied to this
message rather than the original message, which I'd have preferred to
reply to.

Anyway, it seems the Ballistix coolers are nothing more than bling,
and the Akasa copper ones may be a little better than nothing. In
addition the Ballistix memory, while rated a lot higher, runs hot. I
don't know if it's the heat that's killed it. But this generic memory
is running a lot cooler.

Thankfully I live right close to Crucial (they make Ballistix) in the
UK. So in a couple of days I'll go up there and see what they have to
say about it.

I can't really draw conclusions about the reliability of the memory,
only that the 2 I have, have both gone faulty, and they were bought
second hand unused, from someone who had to send their original sticks
back.

They're a LOT more expensive than generic memory,and the only
advantage running at A64 stock is CAS latency of 2 rather than 2.5 -
all other timings being the same - which is a tiny tiny benefit that
you'd stuggle to even see on benchmarks.

Thanks for the replies folks.