RAM Temperatures...

[jmabe]

Hi folks,

My system is full of problems, I first thought it was the VGA cooler not running properly, but after trying everything and sending it out to a technician, he reported everything was OK except for RAM temperatures, which are over 50 C. I have a pair of Crucial Ballistix 512x2 DDR 3200 installed and although they have golden heatsinks, they dont seem to work that fine.

So, what would be normal RAM temps, and what should I do to cool mine:

BTW, my system specs are below:

Athlon AMD 3500+ Venice on stock cooling
DFI Lanparty UT nF4 Ultra-D
Crucial Ballistix 2x512mb DDR at 400mhz
XFX Geforce 6800GT PCI-E
2 Sata HDs
4 fan case cooling

 

[OdiN]

I have ballistix 1GB sticks and they work great. How did this "technician" test the temperature of the RAM? Unless he used some decent equipment then I wouldn't believe him.

The best test is the "ouch" test. Put your fingers on the heatsink and see how long you can leave them there without it hurting. RAM shouldn't get hot enough to hurt your fingers if it has a heatspreader. And if the heatspreader is really warm...it's doing it's job...but it shouldn't be really hot or anything....You just have to get a feel for things like this. I'm a tech and been doing tech work for years so it's easier for me to touch a component and determine if it is too hot that way. Otherwise I prefer to use one of those laser thermometers.

 

[w00t]

Originally posted by: OdiN
I have ballistix 1GB sticks and they work great. How did this "technician" test the temperature of the RAM? Unless he used some decent equipment then I wouldn't believe him.

The best test is the "ouch" test. Put your fingers on the heatsink and see how long you can leave them there without it hurting. RAM shouldn't get hot enough to hurt your fingers if it has a heatspreader. And if the heatspreader is really warm...it's doing it's job...but it shouldn't be really hot or anything....You just have to get a feel for things like this. I'm a tech and been doing tech work for years so it's easier for me to touch a component and determine if it is too hot that way. Otherwise I prefer to use one of those laser thermometers.

while not not wearing socks on carpet.

edit: I want a laser therm