THERMALTAKE

Company launches liquid cooler for DDR5 memory

Anyone who has already purchased a computer with DDR5 memory must have noticed that the new types of modules generate more heat, as they now house the power management chip. Therefore, with the release of DDR5, liquid-cooling memory modules became practical.

Bitspower has already announced the industry's first waterblocks designed specifically for DDR5 modules. They are not yet available for ordering, but they are already available on the manufacturer's website, so their entry into the market will hardly be delayed. A few years ago, Thermaltake launched the Pacific A2 Ultra water block with a huge 3.9-inch LCD screen that displays images and animations (picture opposite), as well as useful data such as frequency and temperature. Formally, the model is designed for DDR4, but taking into account the fact that DDR4 and DDR5 have the same dimensions, it should be suitable for a new type of memory.

Liquid cooling proved to be more efficient than air cooling for almost every component of the PC, but in the case of memory modules, it still wasn't very useful. With the advent of DDR5, modules now include not only memory chips, but also their own Integrated Power Management Circuits (PMICs) and Voltage Regulator Modules (VRMs), so liquid cooling can really be useful for RAM. Traditionally, motherboards have taken on these functions and manufacturers have highlighted their products with better quality PMICs and VRMs to provide greater overclocking potential. However, it has now become the prerogative of memory module manufacturers, and the motherboard's share is limited to just a 5 V power supply – everything else is done by the on-board components. But these components generate extra heat, as recently confirmed by Corsair.

MSI recently demonstrated that the Renesas P9811-Y0 PMIC circuit heats up to 56°C when operating in dual-channel mode with no other modules in the vicinity. Also, at 1.35V (which is higher than the 1.1V standard), the DDR5 can reach 50-51°C. Air cooling can be sufficient when using two modules, even if the memory is overclocked, but when four modules are already installed next to each other, more efficient liquid cooling may be required. DDR5 has a number of architectural features that will scale performance and capacity for years to come. And during overclocking, cooling may be needed.

AVnews