Memory: quantity and speed to heat

[pljones]

Is there an easy way to tell how much cooling I'll need for a certain amount of RAM running at a certain speed? I'm thinking of upgrading one of my boxes and don't want to push the cooling too hard. Is a change from 8GB to 64GB running at the same speed going to be noticeable?

[BertKoor]

RAM sticks don't need to be cooled actively like a CPU. Just some mild airflow in the case suffices for all shapes & sizes of cards & extensions you put in it.

Is it noticeable? That depends. Look at used memory in the control panel while you are busy. If you don't even use 8 GB, it's a total waste to upgrade it.

[pljones]

I'll be using most of the 64Gb (well, around 48Gb), which is why I'm upgrading from the 32Gb rig that I'm running now -- but to the motherboard with the 8Gb on it (as it's got a faster CPU).

[robotmonkey]

The size of the RAM won't make any difference. It's the amount of sticks that counts - more sticks = more heat. That said there's not much to worry about when it comes cooling RAM as the case fans are sufficient and you can also get sticks with better heat sinks on them for better passive cooling.

[pljones]

I nearly said "OK, cool"... . Thanks!

[Pictus]

Is there an easy way to tell how much cooling I'll need for a certain amount of RAM running at a certain speed? I'm thinking of upgrading one of my boxes and don't want to push the cooling too hard. Is a change from 8GB to 64GB running at the same speed going to be noticeable?

For very fast RAM like 3600Mhz or +, I would set the one of the top case
fans to throw air over the memory sticks...

[pljones]

The board's a Gigabyte X570 I Aorus Pro Wifi in a Fractal Design Node 202 case. There's a CPU fan outlet for the mainboard, two inlet fans for the case over the "expansion slot" space and a PSU fan outlet. The ITX motherboard mounts the RAM right up against the PSU.

... and how do I get smaller images ...