Nehalem i7 Build Log (56K Warning)

[Stringent]

You need a bigger heat sink ...

[Pob255]

Heat spreaders have multiple uses, they do help dissipate heat (although ddr3 generates far less heat to start with)
Helps make the sticks easier to handle (try pushing in bare ddr2 the pcb is thin and sharp)
Reinforces the sticks, heat spreaders make them feel more robust and less flexable.
And not forgetting, Looking more pritty

You can always buy separate heat spreaders to put on, they are under £10.
EDIT:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...eader-(CRC-U02)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AKASA...R-SDRAM-memory
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xclio...ng-Very-Hi-End
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Akasa...rmal-Interface
PS the coolermaster ones lie, they are copper alloy not just copper, I'm using them, they seem to work well having good heat transfur and look pritty good too

[kalniel]

Originally Posted by j.o.s.h.1408

I am seeing a price reduction of the ddr3 ram! crucial are selling 6GB 1600MHZ Ram for less then £100!! teh thing is that they dont have any heat spreaders on it and are kind of bare bone ones.

are they any good?

Yep. Heatspreaders are just bling - in some cases they actually worsen cooling.

[Nobull]

Haha I still would think twice before buying ram without them. Looks so much more cheap and budget. Aren't aesthetics silly?! I'm very jealous of your build, looks very nice. What size dell monitor you got there?

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Originally Posted by Nobull

Haha I still would think twice before buying ram without them. Looks so much more cheap and budget. Aren't aesthetics silly?! I'm very jealous of your build, looks very nice. What size dell monitor you got there?

22inch 1680x1050

might get those bare bone sticks. crucial a good memory company?

[Nobull]

They're generally quite well reputed. Not as much so as Corsair but probably not too much of a step down either, they do have some great prices on DDR3 atm.

[kalniel]

Originally Posted by j.o.s.h.1408

22inch 1680x1050

might get those bare bone sticks. crucial a good memory company?

Yes. They are basically the direct store front of Micron, who make a lot of the memory for other people too. One of the top few makes IMHO.

Corsair don't make their own, but instead buy their chips from other manufacturers.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

quality. crucial mem look like it was made by a 10 year old lol but looks can be deceiving and i dont have a side panel window to even see whats inside my case thats bigger then my 32inch HDTV

[funke_munke]

You benched it at all? The only reason I ask is that I was thinking about doing a very similar upgrade (though with 6 gigs and an ATI card). Not sure if it'd be worth it with my current set-up though. Looks very nice though mate - bit more modern than the Chieftec. Ironically that was my last case too! Noisey bugger .

[unreal]

Originally Posted by shaithis

Heat spreaders do sod-all for RAM, except make them look cool.

Looking on the crucial site, the only ram I can see in that price-range are DDR1333. Although stilla good price at ~£75

Yeah that's a famous fact that head spreaders really don't do anything lol! Only need some sort of cooling utility on RAM when you're overclocking it really though, they wouldn't build it without some sort of cooling utility if it required it I guess.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Prices of ddr3 are insanely cheap now!

[Gazmondo]

Certainly are, even the triple channel I7's are sub £50

[PeterStoba]

3GB DDR3 for prices between 2GB and 4GB DDR2 now!

[j.o.s.h.1408]

yea its awsome. im gunna pick up 6gb of ram soon. prices are spot on now. i need a new 1TB hdd too.

[McPhee]

Originally Posted by PeterStoba

3GB DDR3 for prices between 2GB and 4GB DDR2 now!

Where abouts? After some DDR3 at the moment and i'm struggling to find 3GB for sub-£45. 6GB for £60 is easy enough though.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/3GB-(...d-CAS-9-9-9-24

£50. i would just get 6gb if i was you