Max Upgrades Mac Pro Memory Heat sinks

[Transeau]

I must say, I'm pretty unimpressed with these heat sinks.

To start with, no instructions. Not that I needed them, but it would have been nice to have an idea of what they feel is correct installation.

Next - the manufacturing QC is pretty bad. The screws that hold them together on each side where my main issue. The holes drilled through the sinks are not consistent. Some were threaded on the front, some on the back. I bought 6 sets of them. Luckily I noticed the problem before I started. I had to mix and match until I had six sets that would screw together correctly.

The thermal compound for the memory was crappy. The plastic protection attached to it was attached so well, that the compound was pulled off of the sink each time the plastic was removed. Another note on the instructions - if someone had never worked with this stuff before, they would not have seen the plastic cover.

Cooling - NOT what I expected. My OEM Apple memory runs at 140~145. The Corsair without heat sinks was 155~160. The Corsair with the Max Upgrades heat sinks is 150~155. I was expecting at least as good of cooling as the Apple Heat Sinks.

The good - The did include good quality thermal compound for the AMB. The also included ArticCleaner cleaner and surface purifier.

Has anyone tried these yet? What is your experience with them?

 

[jaguarx]

Was going to be. Won't now. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[pastrychef]

I'm just curious... What size are the OEM RAM modules and what size are the Corsair ones? Thanks for the info.

 

[Transeau]

I'm just curious... What size are the OEM RAM modules and what size are the Corsair ones? Thanks for the info.

Both 512MB. I have 4x 512MB and 4x 1GB. Currently the 1GB modules are not reporting temps. I'm working with Marcel (Hardware Monitor) to figure that out.

 

[Transeau]

I was really hoping that someone would have posted to tell me that I did it wrong... I've been an IT Manager for 6 years, and a tech for 10 years before that... I would hope that I wouldn't screw something so simple.. but you never know.

 

[floam]

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[DeadSirius]

Both 512MB. I have 4x 512MB and 4x 1GB. Currently the 1GB modules are not reporting temps. I'm working with Marcel (Hardware Monitor) to figure that out.

I thought I was going crazy. My 2GB modules don't report temps in Hardware Monitor either.

 

[knome]

mine report temps but they are registering 20c. higher than all my other ram chips. Which is between 81c-85c. That seems a little higher than normal.

 

[Transeau]

There is no way I'm going to shell out seventy bucks for a couple pieces of metal and clips. Does anyone else make these? I just might need to fabricate my own.

The only reason that I did was because my Apple OEM chips were funning 20~30 cooler than the aftermarket. If I had known that the sinks wouldn't make a big change, I would not have done it.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Did you have to remove the stock heatsink from the third party RAM in order to install the MU sink?

 

[Transeau]

Did you have to remove the stock heatsink from the third party RAM in order to install the MU sink?

heh - wow.
I was supposed to do that??

Um, yeah - 16 years in the IT field. Not only did I remove the stock heat spreader, but I also removed all of the origonal thermal compound, Cleaned the top of each BGA with ArticClean (both steps), cleaned the AMB, applied the correct amount of ArticSilver to the AMB... etc..

 

[CanadaRAM]

heh - wow.
I was supposed to do that??

Um, yeah - 16 years in the IT field. Not only did I remove the stock heat spreader, but I also removed all of the origonal thermal compound, Cleaned the top of each BGA with ArticClean (both steps), cleaned the AMB, applied the correct amount of ArticSilver to the AMB... etc..

Was curious - some heatsinks are marketed to be adhered to the outside of stock heatsinks.

There's one obvious issue to this approach, it will void the warranty from the original RAM manufacturer.

 

[Transeau]

There's one obvious issue to this approach, it will void the warranty from the original RAM manufacturer.

Very true. Here's hoping that they don't fail.

 

[drm]

Max Upgrades

Hi All,

See my previous posts for my saga with getting working memory from MU.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind with these modules:

1. The 1GB will run hotter than the 512MB and the 2GB will run hotter than any others.
2. The position where you place the memory matters. My top memory slot (tray) runs hotter than my bottom memory slot.
3. I am also unable to see the temperature in Hardware monitor on my 2GB modules.
4. I also noticed VERY poor quality control. My first set of heatsinks were warped such that they didn't touch the memory in places. As a result the memory modules threw TONS of ECC errors.

However, I have tested the new modules with my infrared gun. The 2GB modules with the MU heatsinks run only a few degrees hotter than the Apple 512 modules. If you test with an infrared thermometer, make sure that you check the top left corner of the module. That corner gets EXTREMELY hot whereas the middle might be 40 degrees cooler.

I had MANY errors with the first set of 2GB modules that I ordered. However, with my second set, I haven't had any ECC errors during the last month of heavy usage.

I believe that the MU heatsinks are actually too heavy. A thinner heatsink with more fins would dissipate the heat better.

As to another vendor, I called TransInternational and they wouldn't sell their sinks separately.

Best of luck all!

Mark

 

[floam]

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