[RESOLVED] OVERHEATING BY ADDING MEMORY

[DATABOY]

Hi I have originally 64mb ram and added 64mb ram last year...now I bought 128mb ram (which I know my pc can handle)..but people tell me I need another fan due to the excessive heat from three ram slots being used....true of false? And how to install another fan in there? Thanx http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm1.gif

[StevePorter]

Ignore your computer challenged friends... http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm25.gif

You won't have any trouble with overheating by adding another stick of RAM. However, you might have trouble getting your motherboard to recognize the last 128MB stick (some are picky about RAM order). If so, try swapping the 128MB stick into the first position, followed by the two 64MB sticks. Enjoy... http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm35.gif

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http://www.users.qwest.net/~sporter/Publish/C&H/img12.gif Some computer problems require extreme solutions. Spaceman Spiff sets his blaster on deep fat fry...

[DATABOY]

Thanx for the speedy reply...I'll try swapping them....... http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm8.gif

[dlagace]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by DATABOY:
..but people tell me I need another fan due to the excessive heat from three ram slots being used....true of false? And how to install another fan in there? Thanx http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm1.gif </font>


I have never heard anyone say anything like that before. Ram doesn't over heat.
That is the craziest thing yet. let those peole know that they are dead wrong.


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"What works for One person May not work for Another"
God Is My Judge

dLagace=DANIMAL

[pakprotector]

I think Databoy should make a post to our previous thread this summer http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/Forum16/HTML/001104.html .
It would be an excellent addition!
http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/biggrin.gif


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Peritissimos semper praevidere possumus, rudi autem periculosi sunt (Professionals are predictable, it is the amateurs who are dangerous)
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[natb1]

I would tend to agree with the feedback youve gotten so far. RAM produces "some" heat, and only acts to increase the BOX ambient temperature. RAMs not exactly a Heat Sink, or Heat pump, acting to remove heat.
Unless your an "on the edge" PC abuser with max overclocking on everything you ought not have any problems. That is to say..If your not on the "bleeding" edge of temperature, then the advice you got from friends is incorrect.

If you suspect heat....leave your cover off as an experiment.

[DATABOY]

ok guys....then if i take it all off won't the dust get to everything and i'll have to buy a case of dust blaster??? http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm35.gif

[dlagace]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by DATABOY:
ok guys....then if i take it all off won't the dust get to everything and i'll have to buy a case of dust blaster??? http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm35.gif </font>


Some people has towers that have never been open before and are just caked with dust.
buy a can of compressed air would be for really dirty comps, just use a little air from your liungs to blow out some dust.

case on or off you will still get dust.

Are you having any PC problems as we speak?

with the Ram of course.



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http://www.amazing-animations.com/gif2/2bod3.gif
"What works for One person May not work for Another"
God Is My Judge

dLagace=DANIMAL

[DATABOY]

no....thanks...i did a registry clean up and my prior error problems seem to have left....anyway i did not install the extra ram just yet but will tommorow......

[dlagace]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by DATABOY:
no....thanks...i did a registry clean up and my prior error problems seem to have left....anyway i did not install the extra ram just yet but will tommorow......</font>

I am sure everyone here will agree when I say go ahead and install the Ram.

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http://www.amazing-animations.com/gif2/2bod3.gif
"What works for One person May not work for Another"
God Is My Judge

dLagace=DANIMAL

[PSJ]

Hello Everyone, I would also take the advice of (StevePorter) always put the largest RAM stick into the first slot. PSJ

[StevePorter]

I should add that when memory prices dropped significantly awhile back I bought a couple sticks of 128MB RAM for my ASUS P2B-D motherboard to add to the single 256MB stick that I already had installed. No matter what order I tried, the motherboard would only recognize 256MB of RAM. I finally swapped the 256MB RAM stick with a couple 128MB RAM sticks in my wife's computer and the sucker finally saw the 512MB installed. Before anybody comments, they were all the same flavor (configuration and speed). Go figure... http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm13.gif

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http://www.users.qwest.net/~sporter/Publish/C&H/img12.gif Some computer problems require extreme solutions. Spaceman Spiff sets his blaster on deep fat fry...

[kingtbone]

The only thing to really make sure of is that you punch these friends of yours and never listen to them again http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm26.gif

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Posts look pretty stupid without the signature, so here it is. :D

[Darren Wilson]

Although I will go with what the others have actually stated so far, but Memory can generate a hell of a lot of heat in some flavours. Why do you think there are heatsinks on the memory chips on GF3 cards, and also on some flavours of RDRAM & High end DDR SDRAM. If you are maxing out on memory which has these heatsinks on, then yes, you could actually run a risk of overheating, especially if you are running your box already with poor air flow circulation. Also if you are running a system in the current trend of fitting as much gear in the smallest case possible, the airflow is not the best and with the heat generated by todays CPU's & other high wattage components, it can get worse. You would be surprised how much heat a Athlon, CDRW, CDR, & a 7200rpm HDD can give off in a M-ATX case!!! Especially as there isn't normally a lot of room towards the rear of the case to place an exhaust fan, and generally only just enough room to install a front chassis fan.

So in theory your friends assumptions could actually be held true, but in general it isn't needed.

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FINALLY, Rocco HAS COME BACK to Win-Driverssssss......
Let the Boobies hit the floor

[Hulk]

Are you sure you're using the right kind of RAM? Also, is it installed correctly?

I had a 'computer guru' tell tell me to buy 100mhz RAM when my computer was made for 55mhz. The result was over heated motherboard. It wasn't till I was pointed inthe right direction that I figured it out - 6 months later. I found out later it was called 'overclocking' and it was a bad idea.

The other thing that could cause overheating is improperly installed RAM. If you open the case and the ram chip is hot to the touch, then it is probably improperly installed. Make sure both top and bottom latches are secured.

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grrrrr...

[freddy the fisherman]

had a stick of mem go faulty (256), took it back to the shop for a swop , hegave me a different make (mtech),,,,,,,,shows up as 128....tried every combination,,,,no go.

shop says my ABIT board is an "oddball"

went someware else bought 2x256 (samre make).....work perfect

[DATABOY]

Ok I now installed the new ram and have 256mb....it all worked fine until yesterday now I can't start windows98...i tried many times and can't get past the compaq screen..i have a new post for this problem. Do you think the additional ram is causing boot up problems??? http://forums.windrivers.com/cgi-bin/forum1/noncgi/cwmsmilies/cwm34.gif

[Darren Wilson]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by freddy the fisherman:

shop says my ABIT board is an "oddball"

went someware else bought 2x256 (samre make).....work perfect</font>

Funny you should say that as I have had a problem in the last week. Bought 3 x 512Mb PC133 DIMM's, all identical, place 2 in and get 1Gb, place all 3 in get major stop errors. Place any 2 of the 512Mb sticks in with one of the existing 128Mb DIMM's that they were replacing and it works fine again (with or without the 128Mb DIMM). Took the memory back and exchanged it, same problem. Also had 2 x LiteOn 16x CDRW's play up on installing them. One would keep ejectig teh trya constantly, took it back to the supplier, drawer behaved itself. Exchanged it, the replacement wouldn't detect in the system, took that one back, worked fine on the Soltek board in the suppliers. Paid the extra for a Plextor and no problems. Just goes to show that a lot of the cheaper equipment may not work on more expensive MoBO's & vice versa. Those drives both worked fine on the Soltek board but not on the Abit. Going to try replacing the RAM again next week....


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System Specs
Abit KT7A-RAID (Rock F'n Solid!!!) - AMD Athlon 1Ghz (10x100) - 1024Mb PC133 SDRAM - ATI Radeon (AGP4X) - Maxtor ATA100 30Gb - 2 x Seagate ATA66 (RAID 0 totalling 26Gb) - Toshiba SD-1202M DVD - Plextor PlexWriter 2410A (Buy One!!!!) - Creative Labs SB Live! Value (No Pops , Hiss or Crackles here) - 20" Eizo Flexscan Monitor - Microsoft Windows XP Professional OEM Final Release

[prince_steval]

Yes, I agree RAM can never cause your PC or itself to overheat when you install more.

What does happen with RAM is the order in which they want to be installed.

If they don't work after trying all configurations then swop them out - could be faulty.



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"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son", that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

[Darren Wilson]

I will disagree slightly with the aspect of RAM not being able to overheat the machine. In most tower cases, the RAM will be sitting parallel to the FDD & the HDD (possibly HDD's), when the IDE cables are connected to the boards, any that are still sitting proud behind the drives will restrict airflow, unless you are using rounded cables. The cables can then in turn restrict the amount of airflow passing over teh Memory, which can then cause it to heat up more than usual. The heat off of the memory can cause the System temperature to rise by upto 5-6C! You can now buy 'RAM-Sinks' and even RAM-Sinks with active cooling specifically designed for DIMM modules. If the airflow to the RAM is obstructed by the ribbon cables, the RAM will invariably run hotter than usual, which can cause random lock-ups, BSOD's, etc. If a continual unencumbered airflow is kept over the RAM, the system temperature will lower as will the RAM temperature. If you are overclocking your memory, then the heat generated by the memory will be more than normal (upto 7-8C difference in System Temperature). With standard RAM-Sinks on the Memory, the ambient system temperature will drop from the usual temp (if airflow is obstructed) by around 8%.

Here is a product brief for the standard 'RAM-Sinks' (http://www.thermaltake.com/hsp001.htm) and a review on the Active Memory Cooler (http://www.explosivehardware.net/reviews/tt.htm).

The temperatures that I quoted above are from my own system with both standard & rounded IDE cables which is in a Full tower case with a very good system chassis cooling setup (equal intake & out-take of air across the system).

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I am my own Judge , Jury & Executioner. Although I am availabel for Weddings, Birthdays, Bahmitzvahs, etc,etc......