Thermal Take Active Memory Cooling Kit Review

Introduction

ThermalTake is always coming up with more and more ways of keeping your system cool. Today, I will be reviewing a brand new product that they will be selling, the Active Memory Cooling Kit. This isn't your everyday memory cooling device. This cooling kit, uses ThermalTakes's old Memory Cooling Kit, plus a 40x40x20mm fan ontop. I can't wait to see how much more I can overclock my 512MB PC-2100 Kingston Memory on my KG7-RAID board.

The fan is 40x40x20mm and runs at 5000rpm, give or take a little. The 23dBa is pretty loud, and it only blows out 5.1CFM. Maybe I can find a 7000rpm black label deleta fan to replace it with :) I have always been a big "fan" of fan grils and I'm happy to see that ThermalTake included one on this memory cooling kit. It gives it a more complete look.



Specifications

Fan Dimension:	40x40x20 mm
Rated Voltage:	12v
Started Voltage:	7v
Rated Current:	0.11A
Power Input:	1.32W
Fan Speed:	5000+/- 10% RPM
Air Pressure:	1.59mm - H20
Max Air Flow:	5.1CFM
Noise:	23dBA
Bearing Type:	Sleeve bearing
Life Time:	30,000 Hours
Connector	3 Pin

Installation

The installation is straight forward. If you have used ThermalTakes old Memory cooling kit, you should know how to install this memory kit. You first apply the thermal tape on the insides of the metal plates. Then, place one plate on one side of your memory chip, and the other plate on the other side. Lastly, clip the two metal clips on top of the memory and plates to hold them in place. This part might take a few tries as they are made to fit tightly. See picture below:



Testing

Test Rig:

KG7-RAID

1.4Ghz T-bird

512MB PC-2100 Kingston Memory

Sound Blaster Live! X-Gamer 5.1

Windows 2000 Pro SP2

When I was reviewing the 512MB PC-2100 Kingston Memory I tested the memory up to 150 FSB and it worked great! A few days after that memory review I decided to try 155 FSB. I set it, in bios and proceeded to load windows. Windows got past the startup screen, so I was like, yes! It's going to work. Then windows asked for username and password, I typed it in, and it continued to load all my startup programs. I figured it was pretty stable, I would try and run a few benchmarks, so I loaded up Sandra and as soon as I double clicked the memory benchmark, BAM! Blue screen of death (BSOD) :( I suppose the memory just got to hot, I felt it, and it was very hot indeed :) Here are the benchmarks after installing the ThermalTake Active memory cooling system.


This is with no FSB adjustments, 1400Mhz. Stable


This is 9.5x150, 1.42Ghz Stable


This is 9x155, 1.4Ghz Stable!

Conclusion

I tried running it at 160fsb but Windows froze during the startup logo.. :( I think I will try and increase the voltage to the DDR memory, and see what happens. I'll be sure to keep you update as time goes on. So far I have been very impressed in the ThermalTake Active memory cooling system. If your an extreme overclocker, or if you just want to keep your memory much cooler to expand the life of it, I recommend you buy this inexpensive cooling system. This cooling system isn't out yet, but it should be out very soon. Surf on over to ThermalTake.com for more information.

Pros:

• Cool's your memory fairly well
• Looks cool :)
• Comes with a fan grill
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• None, as of yet

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