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Your MP 3,1 RAM temp?

T

toke lahti

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2007
3,299
516
Helsinki, Finland
I recently upgraded my RAM with some 4GB Komputerbay sticks and fans are screaming loudly.
Temperature monitor tells when my "ambient air" is 29°C/84°C the new sticks are 73/163, 78/172, 64/147, 74/165 °C/°F. Old 1GB sticks are around 43-46°C/109-115°F.
Komputerbay says that sticks with more RAM runs hotter, but I'd like to know what temps brand name sticks have.
I think I'm going to order some OWC sticks. Any expectations how hot they will run?
 
Bad FBDIMMs (read of others same behavior and those DIMMs). Mine 667's from NEMIX Amazon (2x2GB $23) are 59*C - all the time. Older FBDIMMs did not like 74*C which I came to think was the real threshold and best if they stayed under 70*C.
 
Here's my temps. If it helps.
 

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toke lahti said:
You don't have actual stick temps there?
Or is it those 2 first readouts?
What software are you using? Looks pretty nice...
Click to expand...

The first two readouts are from Advanced Memory buffer ICs, I think each memory module has one of them so these are average values from the sticks.

The software is istat menus, using it for many years and very satisfied with it.
 
For me it would be interesting what is your voltage per riser module (also called memory vrm supply)

for me it's around 11.5 for each riser, when I have 1 stick per riser

with two sticks per riser it can drop below 11V, I think that causes macpro to shutdown sometimes under heavy ram load (4k movie for example)

On screnshots I see pretty decent voltage for risers, unlike mine, wonder what may cause that.
 
netkas said:
For me it would be interesting what is your voltage per riser module (also called memory vrm supply)

for me it's around 11.5 for each riser, when I have 1 stick per riser

with two sticks per riser it can drop below 11V, I think that causes macpro to shutdown sometimes under heavy ram load (4k movie for example)

On screnshots I see pretty decent voltage for risers, unlike mine, wonder what may cause that.
Click to expand...

I there any possibility that your sticks have different power specs?

Maybe a good cleaning on riser card's contacts and ram slots will help.

Anyway -Imho- please check the following, if you have installed a very powerful GPU perhaps it draws too much power and the voltage drops.
My first try would be to unload the pcie bus, by swapping the GPU for a less powerful one, or even remove any additional pcie cards or any giant rotating Hard Disks.
I hope that it's not the PSU failing, but to find out, I would start unloading and checking the voltages.:)

For your information this Mac Pro has an old and humble 5770 GPU and a FASTA 6GU3 Pro card installed, also all ram slots are occupied.
 
Already have done these things, happens with just gtx750ti installed and 1 hdd. Still think what it could be, a riser, a mobo or psu. Voltage seems to depend only on amount of memory sticks installed.
 
netkas said:
Already have done these things, happens with just gtx750ti installed and 1 hdd. Still think what it could be, a riser, a mobo or psu. Voltage seems to depend only on amount of memory sticks installed.
Click to expand...
If so, I don't think that the risers are responsible because it's difficult to have both damaged simultaneously..
The issue is probably coming from elsewhere.
Something is driving up amperage and shuts down the PSU , any chance for any loose contact in cabling or mobo's power contacts?
 
filmak said:
If so, I don't think that they are the risers responsible because it's difficult to have both malfunctioning.
The issue is coming from elsewhere.
Click to expand...

good point, didn't think of that
Something is driving up amperage and shuts down the PSU , any chance for any loose contact in cabling or mobo's power contacts?
Click to expand...

Will try to check my power contacts on mobo, thanks for idea.
 
toke lahti said:
What brand are your sticks?
Seems to be that you have one cool 4GB and all the rest are pretty hot...?
Click to expand...

Sorry I only saw this now. Been a busy day today.

I know two of my ram sticks are DMS (1GB).

the 2 4GB are OWC

and the other 4 1gb are Apple stock. I believe Hynix?

That is an odd observation that one is cooler. Weird.

If theres a way I can check on my system without having to open it I can post back brands of each.

-CanadaMaple
 
Komputerbay have a terrible reputation for supplying non-working & out of spec RAM. Send it back & get a refund although if your experience is like mine it will take many weeks before the money is returned.

Forget about expensive new 800MHz parts & buy used 667MHz FB-DIMMs pulled from Xeon servers as they are dirt cheap (about $100 or less for 8x4GB i.e. 32GB). Even in benchmarks it's only 4% slower than the 800MHz RAM & in real life you won't be able to detect any difference. As an added bonus the 667MHz parts run cooler too.
 
At worst moment durring gb2 test I have these,

any idea what to blame, psu or logic board?

JUjpaWg.png

No load situation:

gJcpRr0.png

Heavy 3d load:
6XgGALC.png

Could somebody with macpro 3,1 check same values for heavy 3d load ? (like unigine valley running in window)
 
netkas said:
At worst moment durring gb2 test I have these,

any idea what to blame, psu or logic board?

JUjpaWg.png

No load situation:

gJcpRr0.png

Heavy 3d load:
6XgGALC.png

Could somebody with macpro 3,1 check same values for heavy 3d load ? (like unigine valley running in window)
Click to expand...

I hope this will help you...
GB3
2015-07-02, 3.43.59 μ.μ..png

no load
2015-07-02, 3.47.01 μ.μ..png


Unigine valley

2015-07-02, 4.09.49 μ.μ..png

Unigine Valley Benchmark 1.0
FPS:
23.3
Score:
973
Min FPS:
13.3
Max FPS:
38.6
System
Platform:
Darwin 14.4.0 x86_64
CPU model:
Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5462 @ 2.80GHz (2792MHz) x8
GPU model:
ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1024MB) x1
Settings
Render:
OpenGL
Mode:
1920x1200 windowed
Preset
Custom
Quality
Medium
Powered by UNIGINE Engine
Unigine Corp. © 2005-2013
 
Thanks a lot, So my psu gives me half a volt lower than urs under load. Could be the exaclt half a volt I'm missing for memory riser.

Will need to change psu then, better then changing logic board.
 
netkas said:
Thanks a lot, So my psu gives me half a volt lower than urs under load. Could be the exaclt half a volt I'm missing for memory riser.

Will need to change psu then, better then changing logic board.
Click to expand...

I also think that it is PSU's problem. Only our MCH core 1 an 0, volts match probably because the variation is too small at ~1.25 volts.

Now, Sorry for the off topic:
I have just upgraded this mac pro to 10.10.4 and much of the slowness of 10.9 is gone. everything is snappier.
Perhaps the OS oriented issue with the 3,1 bus (regarding GPU speeds) being slower is solved?
Can you please recommend me any reliable GPU to upgrade the 5770? (no external PSU please) Lightroom (openGl GPU), Adobe cs apps, not gaming, 2 nec displays 1900*1200.
Thank you in advance,
 
Last edited:
toke lahti said:
I recently upgraded my RAM with some 4GB Komputerbay sticks and fans are screaming loudly.
Temperature monitor tells when my "ambient air" is 29°C/84°C the new sticks are 73/163, 78/172, 64/147, 74/165 °C/°F. Old 1GB sticks are around 43-46°C/109-115°F.
Komputerbay says that sticks with more RAM runs hotter, but I'd like to know what temps brand name sticks have.
I think I'm going to order some OWC sticks. Any expectations how hot they will run?
Click to expand...


In addition to the comments about Komputerbay ram please also read the following:
from M. Bresnik FAQ (http://www.bresink.com/osx/216202/Docs-en/faq.html)

Q: I get readings of more than 90°C (194°F) for the FB-DIM modules in my Mac Pro. Isn't this a bit high?

A: No, temperatures in that range are normal for FB-DIMMs and are no cause for concern. Each FB-DIMM contains its own controller, called "Advanced Memory Buffer (AMB)". An AMB also contains an internal sensor which measures temperature directly inside the chip. The specified maximum temperature
range of an FB-DIMM, measured by the AMB, usually lies in the interval between 95°C and 125°C (203°F .. 257°F). It will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, a typical value is 110°C (230°F). If you like to know the exact specifications for your FB-DIM modules, note the part number and manufacturer of the respective modules (printed on the label of each module), and download the data sheets for those parts from the manufacturer. Nearly all chip manufacturers and RAM vendors publish the specifications at their web sites.
 
filmak said:
In addition to the comments about Komputerbay ram please also read the following:
from M. Bresnik FAQ (http://www.bresink.com/osx/216202/Docs-en/faq.html)

Q: I get readings of more than 90°C (194°F) for the FB-DIM modules in my Mac Pro. Isn't this a bit high?

A: No, temperatures in that range are normal for FB-DIMMs and are no cause for concern. Each FB-DIMM contains its own controller, called "Advanced Memory Buffer (AMB)". An AMB also contains an internal sensor which measures temperature directly inside the chip. The specified maximum temperature
range of an FB-DIMM, measured by the AMB, usually lies in the interval between 95°C and 125°C (203°F .. 257°F). It will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, a typical value is 110°C (230°F). If you like to know the exact specifications for your FB-DIM modules, note the part number and manufacturer of the respective modules (printed on the label of each module), and download the data sheets for those parts from the manufacturer. Nearly all chip manufacturers and RAM vendors publish the specifications at their web sites.
Click to expand...

I believed those specs when first saw them in fall 2006, until I started having trouble and first hand observations - with Hardware Monitor too.

based on my own 1,1 system over the years FBDIMMs from Ramjet, OWC and Crucial got up to 75*C were 'trouble' and had reported errors in Memory under System Profile, and when temps were just slightly cooler 68-72*C

NEMIX FBDIMMs report temps as low as 59*C. Also small increase in 3 of the fan rpms by just 300 rpm to get better air flow - the cage with the Risers is blocked and reduces good air flow over DIMMs.

when the 1,1 came out a really nice Apple Dev Doc on FBDIMMs and specs as well as schematics. That either got pulled or hidden in another area I could not access.

The motherboard is after all basic Skulltrail logicboard (EVGA had a dual-Xeon SR2) also. I tried to find my old links to Intel and TechReport but came up empty.
 
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IowaLynn said:
I believed those specs when first saw them in fall 2006, until I started having trouble and first hand observations - with Hardware Monitor too.

based on my own 1,1 system over the years FBDIMMs from Ramjet, OWC and Crucial got up to 75*C were 'trouble' and had reported errors in Memory under System Profile, and when temps were just slightly cooler 68-72*C

NEMIX FBDIMMs report temps as low as 59*C. Also small increase in 3 of the fan rpms by just 300 rpm to get better air flow - the cage with the Risers is blocked and reduces good air flow over DIMMs.

when the 1,1 came out a really nice Apple Dev Doc on FBDIMMs and specs as well as schematics. That either got pulled or hidden in another area I could not access.

The motherboard is after all basic Skulltrail logicboard (EVGA had a dual-Xeon SR2) also. I tried to find my old links to Intel and TechReport but came up empty.
Click to expand...

Your experience is very enlightening, thank you for sharing.
These FBDIMMs in general have, unfortunately by design, higher temperatures, a minus point for their longevity.
The air flow problems are making things even worse. That's why Apple sold them with giant, for their size, heatsinks.
Anyway the modules from not so well known brands, are certainly cheaper, but usually have a lot of problems like incompatibilities, more heat, less reliability, etc.
Now, the problem with the well known and established brands is that they are really expensive but with a lot less technical problems.


This discussion is driving us about a decade back... nice...:)
 
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