Will 8GB of RAM sticks affect my HSF airflow?

Cooling Processors quietly

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engseng
Posts: 136
Joined: Mon Sep 01, 2003 10:44 pm
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Will 8GB of RAM sticks affect my HSF airflow?

Post by engseng » Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:19 pm

I am considering upgrading to 8Gb of Corsair XMS2DHX RAM. My concern is whether my Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme + fan will have its airflow affected since it is very close to the RAM sticks.

On cooler days in Malaysia, I'm able to get my CPU temperatures between 40-50°C. On those crazy REALLY hot days , it goes up to 51-60°C.

I have some photos on my Flickr Page :arrow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/engseng/ for your reference:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2464/382 ... 28e3_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2489/382 ... 025a_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3492/382 ... 7647_b.jpg

Any comments?

swivelguy2
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Location: Illinois, USA

Post by swivelguy2 » Fri Aug 14, 2009 7:22 pm

I wouldn't worry about it. It's just a small portion of the heatsink area that'll be covered, and it'll only be covered slightly closer than it already is.

It looks like you've selected RAM with tall heatsinks on the chips - if you're concerned about the 2nd pair blocking some airflow, get modules without those heatsinks.

bonestonne
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Post by bonestonne » Sat Aug 15, 2009 3:53 pm

I've got 4x 2GB sticks in my rig, compared to the whole time i've had this rig in this case, more RAM or less RAM, it barely affects heat at all, but as swivelguy2 said, you'll want to worry about the heatsinks rather than the heat itself

NeilBlanchard
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Post by NeilBlanchard » Sat Aug 15, 2009 5:16 pm

Hi,

60C is fine for a CPU. 70-75C is when you need to get concerned.

shutupfan
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Re: Will 8GB of RAM sticks affect my HSF airflow?

Post by shutupfan » Sun Aug 16, 2009 4:44 am

engseng wrote:I am considering upgrading to 8Gb of Corsair XMS2DHX RAM. My concern is whether my Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme + fan will have its airflow affected since it is very close to the RAM sticks.
Well, you already have 2 RAM sticks in there, and putting in another 2 will just fill the gaps between them (or be a bit closer to the fan), but will hardly be a new obstruction.

More RAM makes more heat, of course.

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