Do vga RAM heatsinks really help?

[the Chase]

Hoping to get some user feedback on the use of the small heatsinks on video card memory. I've got a Zalman VF700Cu cooler that I'm going to put on my 1800XT but I've already used the ram sinks on a previous card.

Is it worth me going out and getting some copper ram sinks for the memory or just leave them naked? I've read somewhere that they hardly help at all. Some even suggest that they actually insulate the memory and make it hotter!

With the Zalman blowing down on them I would think it would help but is it worth it? Any water cooling folks have any first hand feedback? Anyone?

 

[Matthias99]

They might make the RAM a little cooler, which could (potentially) allow you to hit a higher memory overclock. From what I've read, it often makes little difference, unless you are trying to overvolt the RAM (in which case heat can be come a big problem).

Generally speaking, this is less of an issue with GDDR3 than it was with regular DDR or DDR2 RAM; GDDR3 runs at a lower frequency internally, so it doesn't get as hot to begin with.

 

[the Chase]

Thanks for the feedback. HHmmm. Maybe if I find a deal on some good copper ones..

 

[samusaraniv]

:

I just spent 20 bucks on the OCZ copper ones from Newegg.

 

[moonboy403]

the ramsinks do help in cooling down your memory

but they do little in respect to overclocking

 

[moonboy403]

opps...accidentally posted twice

 

[Jase03]

Can these coolers be place on the backside of video card?

I have an 6800 EVGA card w/ the Artic Cooler Cooler so the front of the rams are covered and I was thinking of putting some of these Heatsinks on the back of the card, I did not use the back plate that came w/the Artic Cooler.

Would placing the hentsinks of the back on the Video card damage it, or make it not work?

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: moonboy403
the ramsinks do help in cooling down your memory

but they do little in respect to overclocking

But AFAIK they are sometimes necessary to safely up the voltage of a card's memory (7900GT), so wouldn't they indirectly have a big impact on OC'ing?

 

[compgeek89]

I dunno, some came with the Maze4 SLI kit I bought and theyre are all but useless IMHO.

I'll sell you all 16 for $30

 

[vaylon]

By placing the heatsinks on the back of the card you are more likely to create a short in the card. Because of all the exposed circuits and bare metal on the back. Just a small fan would work better.

 

[Captante]

I'd say based on experience that the RAM sinks do in fact help cool the RAM itself a bit & may help with overclocking, but what I'm 100% sure they do (especially larger ones) is help cool the card overall by adding heatsink surface.. even if the RAM itself doesn't generate much heat, it will get hot when the temps of the entire PCB go up.

 

[the Chase]

Originally posted by: compgeek89
I dunno, some came with the Maze4 SLI kit I bought and theyre are all but useless IMHO.

I'll sell you all 16 for $30

Hehe- I ended up with extra Zalman sinks laying around that I used. Thanks though.

 

[the Chase]

Originally posted by: Captante
I'd say based on experience that the RAM sinks do in fact help cool the RAM itself a bit & may help with overclocking, but what I'm 100% sure they do (especially larger ones) is help cool the card overall by adding heatsink surface.. even if the RAM itself doesn't generate much heat, it will get hot when the temps of the entire PCB go up.

A good angle I hadn't thought of. Thanks!

 

[CFP]

I dunno. I run my X1900XTX naked (Maze 4 block) and I can still hit about 870 on the ram...

 

[TheRyuu]

When you have a 7900GT and vmodded the ram to 2.2v to make it run at near 2000mhz, I'd say it's worth it so you don't potentially burn a $300 video card.

And I'm sure it helped it stopping it from artifacting.

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

They probably do help but my main gripe is concerning the copper BGA ram sinks which often are quite heavy and hence tend to fall off, which is why I generally stick to aluminum ram sinks.

 

[Spacecomber]

I would think that whether those ram heatsinks are helpful will depend a lot on how you go about attaching them. I'm not sure those that are attached with sticky-tape are all that helpful, but if you attach them (permanently) with something like arctic silver epoxy they might do much better.

Of course, I've never done a comparision (though I have used arctic silver epoxy) or have I seen a write-up of someone else trying to compare these kind of results.

 

[vtohthree]

I believe they do help, even in some serious overclocks without volt modding. I have an EVGA 6800GS, and with the stock cooler it gets really hot. I can feel the heatsinks that go over the ram get blistering hot!

Even after applying some AS5 over the gpu I was able to achieve a better gpu clock speed because it brought down my temp(solid 3-5*), this was after hours of testing as well(to let the AS5 burn in and harden) and allowed me to unleash the gpu to higherclocks with stability.

Anyways, my ram will not go above 1.17ghz without having problems, and when I touch the heatsinks over them they are really hot. IF I had better ram heatsinks, I believe it would certainly make a difference.

That's just my input, NVS5 with good copper ram heatsinks would give me a better overclock, and I'm pretty confident about that, or at least let me sustain the speeds I do without getting glitches and bugs(due to overheating).