RAM / What fresh hell is this?

[FdB]

I've never seen RAM encased in metal shrouds before (one chrome steel and the other appears to be mag-alloy). Per initial blow down and inspection of G5. Thought these machines had lotsa heat, surely this does not help with that concern.

And yes, they're stuck on there tight. Previous owner said it was running slow.... I haven't smelled the chips yet.
(The chrome ones are quite visually impressive.)

And just how often should one "sniff their chips"? Left that wide open for y'all there.

[DieHard]

Very Common to help dissipate heat.  For real heat sinks on RAM, look at Mac Pro 1,1 or 3,1 original Apple RAM
 
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7S62RU1494&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-_-Mac+-+Memory-_-9SIA7S62RU1494&gclid=CjwKEAjwsLTJBRCvibaW9bGLtUESJAC4wKw1nVx1QRfS-Utmn9_dafUmQzM8PtO8x3MmHFiBMdsAqhoCizbw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[IIO]

btw, "geil" would translate "horny" ... (but it is also a common family name, esp. in austria)

[FdB]

I was thinking "sexy" perhaps. Horny, no. I'd think those chromed shrouds would retain/transfer heat into the chips. And again... the urge to climb into the attic... now to check the RAM in that (probably melted) Lisa.

G5's running fine (so I'm gonna wipe it and clean-install), and I discovered an Airport Extreme inside. [Understand there was a little (expensive) antenna necessary for that.]
Time better spent getting the old network up and running downstairs.

[NamelessPFG]

Heatspreaders on RAM are actually very, VERY commonplace since DDR1, particularly for the faster varieties picked in gaming PC builds.

It's widely agreed on that they're more for overall aesthetic nowadays than any practical advantage in cooling, at least for standard unbuffered DIMMs. People love cases with transparent side panels to show off their hardware, after all.

Those heatsinks on the aforementioned Mac Pro FB-DIMMs, on the other hand? Nuts! Those might actually justify getting waterblocked instead, and yes, RAM waterblocks do exist. Some people just gotta liquid-cool all the things.

[Philgood]

"Holy **ap!!!"

LinusTechTips has it all!

 

[FdB]

Yes NamelessPFG, I'm considering the addition of some of those neon colored "ground effects" underneath the bottom of this machine. (Chicks dig that.) And of course, a Bumpin' Base external speaker array... cause that's how I roll. (Ridin' dirty.) 

And Philgood, I've checked Linus Tech Tips and shall return there when time presents itself. More reading.

When I first opened that case and saw those chrome-steel covers however, I did laugh. Always a good thing.

["Chicks dig that" comment herein, shall in no manner nor way be considered or misconstrued as sexist and/or demeaning, towards the fairer and/or opposite sex. Intended and included herein only as a quite lame joke.]

[velvetcave]

Hello,
This thread interests me. I`ve been running protools 5 on a powerpc G4 for years, and had a recurring problem too. After about an hour I get error type 1, 2 or 3 messages, requiring a re-start, or it just stops. I think the problem`s slightly worse on warm weather days.
I replaced all the peripherals and protools soundcards, still bad. I`ve just replaced the ram cards and the problem seems to have disappeared. Since the RAM sits just over the big heat sink, is there any possibility my original RAM was heat damaged (It passes the startup checks when I boot to osX)? Is this a known issue with G4s?
Also I`d be interested to find a way to make sure my replacement cards don`t go the same way.
Cheers.

[GaryN]

Possible? Anything's possible but very unlikely.
A known issue? No - never heard of it.
Most likely cause for your problem is just defective RAM.
That IS a known issue.
RAM cards can and do work when cold and then fail later as they get warm. The heat causes metals to expand and solder connections go bad - then you power off, everything cools down and they work again for a while.
This happens to graphics cards too - same reason.

[velvetcave]

Thanks GaryN, appreciated.