Does this mean that the RAM will be sensitive to the orientation of the motherboard? I.e. it will cool better (thus be more capable) when the motherboard is laid down horizontally? I can't imagine this working all that well when installed in a regular up-right ATX case. It would still cool something, but it wouldn't be nearly as efficient as just some metal.
It looks like a pathway to driving up profit per unit sold by offering a largely unneeded benefit in order to differentiate one commodity DRAM module from another. The industry in general has been doing a good job of that lately, making up for falling sales numbers in overall computer components by adding bling in order to create a premium gaming/fashion/luxury tier as the market pivots to mobile, endangering desktop computing profits. The trouble is that raising the price of entry only further discourages sales and makes desktop gaming systems an even narrower niche.
That's correct! The reason why the module in the video isn't completely full, is because it needs space for the liquid to turn into its gaseous state and then condense once cooled. If it was filled enough to cover all the IC's when mounted vertically, it would probably severely hamper its cooling performance.
It's at least an interesting idea. Companies innovating and trying new ways like this can move the market forward, so I hope something can come of it, or at least that ADATA keeps trying new things.
Also remember: "Fluorinert absorbs UV wavelengths readily and has a long atmospheric lifetime. As such it has a very high global warming potential ("GWP") of 9,000.[6] As such, it should be carefully managed and used in closed systems only so as to minimize emissions." (from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorinert)
I don't want heatsinks, LEDs or Fluorinert, I just want DRAM at not-stupid prices. The relevant antitrust body ought to be out there cracking skulls right now.
I paid +-USD75 for my 16GB 2133MHz HyperX Fury stick of RAM in November 2016. In November 2017 it was USD150. I just checked today and it is now USD165.
Have to love this. Given that RAM doesn't actually need heatsinks outside of extreme OC scenarios (in which direct airflow without a heatsink is still usually sufficient, and a heatsink without direct airflow usually isn't), this is beyond silly. Given that it's plastic, it won't dissipate heat at any real rate (and probably won't cool much at all once you reach heat soak, which won't be far out given the plastic casing and small amount of liquid), and given thermal fluctuations the plastic and/or seals will inevitably crack and the goop will leak all over your motherboard. This probably won't matter much, given that it's non-conductive, but I really, really, REALLY struggle to see the point.
way back when with higher voltage dram I could maybe understand cause they for sure pushed out heat, but modern ram even running high clock speed barely get warm to the touch given the low voltages and lower nm die design.
Bling is the new rage, from cases that do not have effective airflow to prioritize BOM for fancy lighting, to ram being filled with liquid cooling of various sorts to make sure it is kept cool, than you get the polar opposite with nvme style on motherboard ssd that use "heat shields" that for sure need to be kept cool to run at full speed instead are allowed to contain heat not wick it away thereby causing throttling and/or possibly reducing component lifetime.
As the saying goes, there is a a sucker born every minute
As an engineer, I think this is great, although I think ADATA should market this better. To quote Steve Jobs: "It is not the consumer's responsibility to know what they want".
The package keeps ESD away from the internal IC's, decreasing the out of box failures (although the PCB edge pins are still exposed), and the package is fine for most memory power dissipation needs. I hope they made the plastic out of ESD dissipated materials, or the pins will get zapped nearly 100% of the time during installation if you aren't using an ESD strap!
If overclocking, there are several easy improvements for thermal conductivity. The airspace inside the package can be easily mitigated (think thermal tabs or expansion bladders for the liquid), and the plastic package can be made fluted (inside and out) to increase surface area to get better heat transfer to the outside.
IThis only has the effect of making me even more nervous trying to spec a system. If I'm ready to go away from air, I'm already accepting a huge portion of risk (yeah, yeah); to get to a point where an out-of-circuit "exotic-fill" self-contained (how heavy?) DIMM or four would make sense (absent inflated/doctored/cleverly-tinkered benches that might've followed if they sold this gimmick to someone with a bigger name than freakin' ADATA) as a risk, I'd need an awful lot of industry BS to justify even the consideration.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
18 Comments
Back to Article
nevertell - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
Does this mean that the RAM will be sensitive to the orientation of the motherboard? I.e. it will cool better (thus be more capable) when the motherboard is laid down horizontally? I can't imagine this working all that well when installed in a regular up-right ATX case. It would still cool something, but it wouldn't be nearly as efficient as just some metal.PeachNCream - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
It looks like a pathway to driving up profit per unit sold by offering a largely unneeded benefit in order to differentiate one commodity DRAM module from another. The industry in general has been doing a good job of that lately, making up for falling sales numbers in overall computer components by adding bling in order to create a premium gaming/fashion/luxury tier as the market pivots to mobile, endangering desktop computing profits. The trouble is that raising the price of entry only further discourages sales and makes desktop gaming systems an even narrower niche.Freakie - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
That's correct! The reason why the module in the video isn't completely full, is because it needs space for the liquid to turn into its gaseous state and then condense once cooled. If it was filled enough to cover all the IC's when mounted vertically, it would probably severely hamper its cooling performance.MajGenRelativity - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
It's at least an interesting idea. Companies innovating and trying new ways like this can move the market forward, so I hope something can come of it, or at least that ADATA keeps trying new things.nerd1 - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
It's a stupid idea... without a proper radiator or heatsink, the heat will just increase the temperature of the oil and that's it.essemzed - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
This! And what PeachNCream said above.Also remember: "Fluorinert absorbs UV wavelengths readily and has a long atmospheric lifetime. As such it has a very high global warming potential ("GWP") of 9,000.[6] As such, it should be carefully managed and used in closed systems only so as to minimize emissions." (from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorinert)
masouth - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link
only 9000? I was really hoping for over 9000!!!edzieba - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
Ramsinks: for when you want to burn money on bits of metal that serve absolutely no function whatsoever, but do cause compatibility issues.r3loaded - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
I don't want heatsinks, LEDs or Fluorinert, I just want DRAM at not-stupid prices. The relevant antitrust body ought to be out there cracking skulls right now.AndrewJacksonZA - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
This! This! So much this!I paid +-USD75 for my 16GB 2133MHz HyperX Fury stick of RAM in November 2016. In November 2017 it was USD150. I just checked today and it is now USD165.
What the?!?!
prtskg - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link
+1Valantar - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
Have to love this. Given that RAM doesn't actually need heatsinks outside of extreme OC scenarios (in which direct airflow without a heatsink is still usually sufficient, and a heatsink without direct airflow usually isn't), this is beyond silly. Given that it's plastic, it won't dissipate heat at any real rate (and probably won't cool much at all once you reach heat soak, which won't be far out given the plastic casing and small amount of liquid), and given thermal fluctuations the plastic and/or seals will inevitably crack and the goop will leak all over your motherboard. This probably won't matter much, given that it's non-conductive, but I really, really, REALLY struggle to see the point.abrowne1993 - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
"The modules also have a dozen LEDs for good measure."Oh well thank goodness they didn't forget that.
Dragonstongue - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
way back when with higher voltage dram I could maybe understand cause they for sure pushed out heat, but modern ram even running high clock speed barely get warm to the touch given the low voltages and lower nm die design.Bling is the new rage, from cases that do not have effective airflow to prioritize BOM for fancy lighting, to ram being filled with liquid cooling of various sorts to make sure it is kept cool, than you get the polar opposite with nvme style on motherboard ssd that use "heat shields" that for sure need to be kept cool to run at full speed instead are allowed to contain heat not wick it away thereby causing throttling and/or possibly reducing component lifetime.
As the saying goes, there is a a sucker born every minute
MrSpadge - Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - link
Voltage went down, but density & frequency went up. Overall power consumption of DRAM has not changed from "1 to few W" since a long time.Manch - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link
Wow so if US gallon it went from 79$ to 100 per liter so therefore a 26.5% increase.If imperial 66$ to 100 and that would be a 51% increase.
100$ now was equivalent to about 84$ 10 years ago adjusting for inflation its only 6% if US and 27% if imperial.
OK back to my WDS server hell mixed with a case of jet lag...
Chuck_NC - Wednesday, January 17, 2018 - link
As an engineer, I think this is great, although I think ADATA should market this better. To quote Steve Jobs: "It is not the consumer's responsibility to know what they want".The package keeps ESD away from the internal IC's, decreasing the out of box failures (although the PCB edge pins are still exposed), and the package is fine for most memory power dissipation needs. I hope they made the plastic out of ESD dissipated materials, or the pins will get zapped nearly 100% of the time during installation if you aren't using an ESD strap!
If overclocking, there are several easy improvements for thermal conductivity. The airspace inside the package can be easily mitigated (think thermal tabs or expansion bladders for the liquid), and the plastic package can be made fluted (inside and out) to increase surface area to get better heat transfer to the outside.
Overall, awesome concept.
DSGT_Crockett - Thursday, January 18, 2018 - link
IThis only has the effect of making me even more nervous trying to spec a system. If I'm ready to go away from air, I'm already accepting a huge portion of risk (yeah, yeah); to get to a point where an out-of-circuit "exotic-fill" self-contained (how heavy?) DIMM or four would make sense (absent inflated/doctored/cleverly-tinkered benches that might've followed if they sold this gimmick to someone with a bigger name than freakin' ADATA) as a risk, I'd need an awful lot of industry BS to justify even the consideration.