I have a 2GB laptop with 1GB RAM. I bought a colling pad for it that draws the heat away. The laptop has a metal panel underneath that, with the colling pad running does keep the memory nice and cool. It used to be real hot to the touch before buying the pad. It doean't really keep the CPU cool as the CPU is located midway up from the bottom of the laptop so the fans will have no effect. I have fan control software that handles the CPU anyway.

All of this lead me to wonder if keeping the memory cool makes a difference on performance? Besides gaining a nice USB hub I don't want to think that I've wasted my money for a cooling solution. I figure that if there's some help it can provide with performance on cooler RAM then it was worth it.

Thanks!

So long as your system is stable, cooler memory isn't going to run any faster unless your trying to overclock. Your CPU, however, might run faster, if some sort of thermal throttling is switching on.

That being said, I don't know why a manufacturer would produce a notebook that needs one of those pads. I always saw them as a gimmick.

Quote: Originally Posted by TiZakit So long as your system is stable, cooler memory isn't going to run any faster unless your trying to overclock. Your CPU, however, might run faster, if some sort of thermal throttling is switching on. That being said, I don't know why a manufacturer would produce a notebook that needs one of those pads. I always saw them as a gimmick.

Good point. It hadn't really had any problems after I installed the fan control software (I8Kfangui). It's good stuff. My machine has only 1 USB port so the hub part of it is a benefit. It cost me only $15 so i guess that's not too bad. a 4-port USB hub runs about $10 for what I've seen anyway. At least it's not slowing down and wearing out the RAM by overheating it. I have seen the other end of the performance spectrum with overheated parts. Otherwise I agree with you depending on the model of laptop. My CPU is right under the keyboard. A pad that goes on the bottom of the laptop isn't going to do much for that.

My older laptop couldn't play DVD's, for example, properly when it got heated up. Maybe I should test the pad on that machine.

Thanks for getting back.

Who makes these things? So I can avoid them like the plague?

*sigh* What ever happened to corpotate ethics *chuckle*

Quote: Originally Posted by TiZakit Who makes these things? So I can avoid them like the plague? *sigh* What ever happened to corpotate ethics *chuckle*

There are several makers of these. There are even a few that are reviewed here at PCApex. Some don't do much, but there was one that was reviewed here that actually made a difference that was measurable.

I meant the notebooks, not the cooler thingy. Sorry for the confusion.

Check this thread out for more info on laptop cooling...

http://forums.pcapex.com/case_coolin...tml#post586882

Quote: Originally Posted by TiZakit I meant the notebooks, not the cooler thingy. Sorry for the confusion.

It's a Dell C640. The C600 series were plagued with bad fan/temp controls. This guy wrote an app for the Inspiron 8000 series that works on a ton of Dell laptop models that controls the fans with a thermostat that you customize the settings. It worked on so many machines I've worked on here for my users.

Be it that this was a throw away because of a bad board. It was worth it for me to fix up cheaply to get a 2GHz laptop for my classes. i love it but underneath the panel for the RAM and MiniPCI gets quite warm...OK downright hot!

Since using this cooler pad it doesn't! It's not too bad.

But I still have the question: Is there any benefit to cooling the RAM? I realize that it may not make it run faster but will it hang in there longer since it won't be getting as heated up? Soem machines have a breakdown in performance as it heats up. Will this help? Thanks again!

Quote: Originally Posted by reflux Check this thread out for more info on laptop cooling... http://forums.pcapex.com/case_coolin...tml#post586882

Hey thanx for the post. Good info in there. At least my purchase wasn't in vain.

I had a dell 5150, horrible crap, overheated, had mobo problems, had nic problems, just a plain old crappy dell. Oh yeah for the record... I hate dell. I too had to get a laptop cooler, not that it saved that pos.