[tbd]

I bought 512 more RAM for my powerbook and after installing it got HOT after running for maybe 1.5 hours. With only the 512 in the "lower" slot I can use my pb for hours and it isn't hot to the touch, even on the bottom (it is warm, yes but you can hold your hand on it with no problem). I realized more RAM might get a bit hotter but this was crazy. I'm wondering, was this RAM possibly just "bad" and ran hotter than normal? It seems to me the PB design is a bit flawed in this category. If you have 2 sticks of RAM in there, the bottom stick is getting way less circulation and it has the other sticks heat right on top of it to deal with...would have made more sense to put them side by side... Anyway...has anybody else seen this drastic heat difference between 512 and 1024 ram?

[Abit667]

If it's running fine and not crashing, then it is fine.

[StonedRose]

Originally Posted by tbd

I bought 512 more RAM for my powerbook and after installing it got HOT after running for maybe 1.5 hours. With only the 512 in the "lower" slot I can use my pb for hours and it isn't hot to the touch, even on the bottom (it is warm, yes but you can hold your hand on it with no problem). I realized more RAM might get a bit hotter but this was crazy. I'm wondering, was this RAM possibly just "bad" and ran hotter than normal? It seems to me the PB design is a bit flawed in this category. If you have 2 sticks of RAM in there, the bottom stick is getting way less circulation and it has the other sticks heat right on top of it to deal with...would have made more sense to put them side by side... Anyway...has anybody else seen this drastic heat difference between 512 and 1024 ram?

I'sd run the Hardware Test just to make sure the RAm is ok. Quite an unusual situation though. Aloha.

[tbd]

Even if its running fine, I imagine extra heat can't be good for any part of the laptop's longevity. I'm debating just not using the RAM...512 seems to be enough that I haven't had to complain yet about the PB's speed (I get a pinwheel sometimes) so I'd rather have it cooler I suppose.

[Big Mac]

RAM should not contribute very much heat at all.

[tbd]

Originally Posted by Big Mac

RAM should not contribute very much heat at all.

If you put your hand on the ram cover (on the bottom of the powerbook) it is usually the hottest spot. Maybe that is due to something else in the same region though, I really do not know.

[fisherKing]

i dunno...
i definitely saw a heat increase in my powerbook when i went from 768meg to 1.25g ram...
for the first time, i was hearing my fan a lot as well...

(almost made me go back to 768megs...almost)

[osxisfun]

Originally Posted by fisherKing

i dunno...
i definitely saw a heat increase in my powerbook when i went from 768meg to 1.25g ram...
for the first time, i was hearing my fan a lot as well...

(almost made me go back to 768megs...almost)

which PB do you own?

[betasp]

I noticed te same thing on my 1GHZ 12"er. When I added an extra 512MB, the fan came on more and it seemed to be generating more heat. I don't know how motherboards are wired, but it could have to do with some parts of the bus becoming active now that the ram in in place

[polendo]

It would be a good idea to test the hypothesis. Check with "Temperature Monitor" the temps with your hardware.. with and without the new stick.

http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html

regards

[amazing]

Originally Posted by polendo

It would be a good idea to test the hypothesis. Check with "Temperature Monitor" the temps with your hardware.. with and without the new stick.

http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html

regards

Kudos to polendo's post! Why even bother to hypothesize unless you're willing to run temperature monitor under the same conditions (software running, location, etc.)