heat spreaders for DDR Ram... worth it?

[fjorner]

hey folks

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA18011

are these worth it? how do they work? do they really make that big a difference in lifespan? under what circumstances would they be worth it?

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

They are for cosmetic value only... mostly.

 

[JBT]

Heat spreaders are worthless... Some seem to even trap in heat rather than let it escape.

 

[Mark R]

I doubt they offer much benefit for DDR RAM.

Heat spreaders first appeared with RDRAM where they are critically important. Only one RDRAM chip on a RIMM is active at a time - and while that one chip is active, it produces as much heat as a whole DDR DIMM. The heat spreader transfers heat from the hot active chip onto the cooler inactive chips which act as heatsinks.

When DDR RAM operates, all the chips on the DIMM produce the same amount of heat - essentially all the chips on a DIMM are either active or inactive at the same time, so all operate at roughly the same temperature. A heatspreader won't change this.

 

[CowboyTA]

They do however make active heat spreaders with a fan.