temps?

[boardsportsrule]

whats the max temp a ddr ram module run at without dying???

[greenmachine]

ya know thats a good question. and i dont think ive ever come across an answer. i would guess its not much of an issue since most memory heat spreaders are primarily for looks. ive ran pc2100 @ pc2700 with no excess heat from what i could tell. and i would assume you would encounter errors from timings or insufficient voltage before you had problems with heat. i wonder how long it will be before someone makes watercooled ramsinks

[boardsportsrule]

yeah i was thinking the same thing...ok thanks

[memoryman]

The specs on RAM chips usually say Max heat of 70 degrees C ambient temp (yes, I know that's really hot). If the ambient temp is 70C, you know the chips are going to be higher in temp.
Our modules are rated for 0-70C operating temperature.

Buffalo Technology

[Woz2000]

The 0-70C rating is an absolute maximum rating, which means the device should not suffer irrepairable damage at these temperatures. However, it does not guarantee the device will function properly at the extremes of this range.

Unless you have excellent cooling (good airflow across modules), there may be retention fails with ambient temps at or above 55C. This is still quite hot and the internal temps shouldn't get this high with reasonable cooling.

[memoryman]

Totally agree with the RAM getting flaky at that temperature and that the RAM won't damage itself at those temps.
We test our RAM at CMTL, at 50 C for the high temp test when we're qualifying the RAM on different motherboards, so I'm sure the RAM can run without errors at that temp, without other factors added.

Buffalo Technology

[boardsportsrule]

ok to be 100% safe what is the BEST thing to have a fan kick in at...( i just got a digidoc 5 and i am gonna have a fan righ on top of the ram but i am into silent computing...so what temp should i have the fan kick in at....maybe 35..what do u guys think of that???

[Woz2000]

Don't know what a digidoc 5 is. But here goes (assuming you are talking about an auxillary fan for cooling modules)...

Unless you are running stacked modules, it's probably safe to have your fan kick in as high as 50C (as long as your thermocoupler is near the modules).

Two things:

1. By stacked module, I mean a module that has two ram chips stacked on top of each other. You can tell this by looking at the module along the top and seeing two separate packages on each side. The module is also thicker than usual.

2. You might not want that fan right on top of the ram...not sure how much EMI the fan emits.