Watercooling for RAM/PSUs

[Gig-O-Ram]

Has anyone seen the RAM from OCZ that comes with a waterblock? And dare I mention it? - the Koolance 1.2Kw PSU that has a heat exchanger and all its guts are submerged in that non-electrically conductive fluid?

What's next? Watercooling for HDDs, USB ports and Mosfets?

[Tyreal]

Originally Posted by Gig-O-Ram

Has anyone seen the RAM from OCZ that comes with a waterblock? And dare I mention it? - the Koolance 1.2Kw PSU that has a heat exchanger and all its guts are submerged in that non-electrically conductive fluid?

Yea I've seen it. I wouldn't bother wasting the money buying any of those blocks unless you really want to go all out on a flashy rig. W/C Ram does look cool, especially when its on it's own loop.

Originally Posted by Gig-O-Ram

What's next? Watercooling for HDDs, USB ports and Mosfets?

There already are blocks for hard drives and mosfets. Mosfets are more commonly cooled than hard drives though.

[Gig-O-Ram]

Originally Posted by Tyreal

Yea I've seen it. I wouldn't bother wasting the money buying any of those blocks unless you really want to go all out on a flashy rig. W/C Ram does look cool, especially when its on it's own loop.

There already are blocks for hard drives and mosfets. Mosfets are more commonly cooled than hard drives though.

I'm just trying to understand why anyone thinks RAM needs watercooling. Unless the clocks and voltages for DDR2 get hotter than DDR. Most RAM already come with heatspreaders anyway, so the cooling issue has already been addressed, but maybe those with w/c systems would like to add a loop for the RAM sticks just for giggles.

Already blocks for hdds? I stand corrected.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Gig-O-Ram

I'm just trying to understand why anyone thinks RAM needs watercooling. Unless the clocks and voltages for DDR2 get hotter than DDR. Most RAM already come with heatspreaders anyway, so the cooling issue has already been addressed, but maybe those with w/c systems would like to add a loop for the RAM sticks just for giggles.

Already blocks for hdds? I stand corrected.

With DDR2 breaking the 1Ghz and being pushed with insane voltages, i'm not sure cooling has been addressed. You have to think that those heatspreaders are passive, so the heat stays around the RAM as long as you don't blow it away.

[Gig-O-Ram]

Originally Posted by polobunny

With DDR2 breaking the 1Ghz and being pushed with insane voltages, i'm not sure cooling has been addressed. You have to think that those heatspreaders are passive, so the heat stays around the RAM as long as you don't blow it away.

What I meant by "addressed" is the fact that they started using heatspreaders, where in the past, memory sticks had nothing to even help. In my case, my RAM sits directly above my CPU, and near enough to the HSF that I think they should get good enough airflow.

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by polobunny

With DDR2 breaking the 1Ghz and being pushed with insane voltages, i'm not sure cooling has been addressed. You have to think that those heatspreaders are passive, so the heat stays around the RAM as long as you don't blow it away.

Exactly right. Some enthusiast kits are pushing 2.4V at their rated frequencies, and overclockers will go even higher when upping the ante. I've touched my finger to RAM (technically, the heatspreaders on the RAM) running at 2.4V, and they get VERY hot. And of course, there's the whole 680i/RAM issue, which may or may not be related.

It's not that RAM in general suddenly needs watercooling, but for the extreme crowd, there are a few high frequency, high voltage kits out there where it wouldn't be a terrible idea to incorporate them into the WCing loop.

[Capper]

a couple issues....

1. DDR3 is right around the corner....DDR2 is where DDR memory was at the end, with companies pushing the envelope right at the end, trying to scratch the last bit out of it.

2. There is no reason in the world to use extreme cooling on anything more than the CPU, maybe the chipset and GPU. Its marketing, plain and simple....companies need to set their products apart from other offerings. If your case has even decent cooling, and you overclock within reason, there is no need for any of this stuff.

[Tyreal]

I agree, watercooling ram is just a dumb idea. If you've ever watercooled anything before, you can imagine just how much of a pain in the ass removing your ram would be.

[Capper]

its a simple fact of the "Wow" factor, people see it, think its cool, and have to own it so they can brag.

Same with SLI, Crossfire, etc.........not really necessary, is kinda cool, and 90% penis envy

[One4yu2c]

My view's a bit different. I'd be more critical if these kits were being targeted towards the mainstream, such as throwing a waterblock on low voltage sticks of DDR2-667. But I don't have a problem with OCZ releasing a DDR2-1200 kit @ 2.35V (2.4V EVP warranty) with the watercooling overclocker in mind. Sort of reminds me of the voltage hungry OCZ VX and Mushkin Redline in DDR's hayday, which required active cooling to stay healthy. You could mount fans over them, and today's higher voltage kits don't need more than a good air cooled setup either, but for the small crowd out there that wants to push the volts and frequencies and already own a watercooling setup, I don't have a problem at all with these kits. Not something I'd recommend 99% of the time, but I'd run one myself if I was a WC enthusiast and still cared about extreme overclocks.