RAM heat spreaders

The heatspreaders are generally for overclockers. For the everyday user they don't really matter unless it's on the video card and even then the heatspreader is optional unless it's a high end card.
RAM does get hot, especally that BH-5 stuff at really high voltages. All ram gets warm, but a really high frequencies it gets to get a little too hot.

EDIT:...I think

Pretty much what DragonX said... Personally, I'm not sure they are worth much for OCing either, but I'm not an extreem OCer so I've never pushed my ram really hard.

Mike.

I have heard stories, (acctually only two on other forums), of heat spreaders raising the temp of the DIMM module. This could have just been bad Mobo reporting. I was considering throwing some on my DDR2 PC4200 in my Dell XPS. I do not overclock but I game for hours on end. Would this benifit me or is it fine to leave them naked? This machine has poor cooling that I have had to modify already. My case temp after the mod is usually about 32C idle and 38C load.


Smell
Dim XPS Gen 4
P4 650 3.4G
3072mb PC2 4200 (533mhz)
eVGA 7800GT 256mb
160G SATA (Windows XP SP2)
SB Audigy2 ZS
CDRWDVD Combo Drive
19" ACER Flat pannel

If you don't OC then don't worry about RAM sinks. If the RAM comes with it fine, but if it dosn't then its not worth it since it's not going to run hot.

Basically, the ones that come with them are for high end systems that will most likely be OCed. If you don't OC then your fine. You got a dell, which means you don't need them. End of Story.
(you also have an intel processor, but thats also anther story. If your so concerend about your ram getting hot, maby heat is radiating off of your HOT P4 :wink: )

Oh I know it is. Dell uses a pasive cooling system for the whole machine. I have modified this a bit by putting in a 120mm intake fan and adding a fan to the passive heatsink on my P4. 8) My mods have probably voided the warranty but I want a machine that can game, not a floor heater. This is definitely my last Dell and probably my last Intel machine. It'll be custom self built AMD from here on out. I'm not totaly knocking it. It does kick @zz on current games but POOR upgadeability aside from the $1,000 Extreeme ed. P4. 8O

Smell
Dim XPS Gen 4
P4 650 3.4G
3072mb PC2 4200 (533mhz)
eVGA 7800GT 256mb
160G SATA (Windows XP SP2)
SB Audigy2 ZS
CDRWDVD Combo Drive
19" ACER Flat pannel

I'm pretty sure your dell dosn't use passive cooling for the whole system. Your video card is probably activly cooled, so is your processor.

How can adding a fan void the warrenty?

You are right there is a fan on the video card. The CPU heatsink is one of those silent tower types and utilizes the case exhaust fan to cool the P4. See this link http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dimxpsg4/sm/miller_o.htm#wp1054613 It is HUGE. Not as effective as I would like though. What I did was strap on a fan from the Arctic Cooling Freezer7. It wasn't designed for this system and by screwing it on the heatsink I think I voided the warranty. Maybe not but Dell has gotten quite picky these days. Anyway It seems to keep things a bit cooler during long term gaming.

It seems that Dell has done it again, putting ALMOST in adaquite cooling on a P4. Who would of thought that a P4 could be passively cooled. Is the case BTX or something? If it's ATX, then I would just trash that POS HS right now, and go for something like a Scyth Ninja or SI-120. Then maby you could OC your processer to something a bit faster.

RAM heat spreaders in my opinion are only so good if you have adequate airflow through your case... if not they are more likely to be heat collectors rather than spreaders...

btw.. about passive cooling and o/cing, check this out
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-63978164749849...

The CPU is NOT passively cooled. You'd be very narrrow minded to think that a CPU ported directly to a case fan is passively cooled. It's fan cooled through a duct.