Nexus HXR-5500 Memory Coolers - When Common Heatspreaders Are Not Enough

The rush for computing performance is constantly transforming the hardware parts inside our computers. Once upon a time, cooling solutions were exclusively pitched at computer processors, but as more and more powerful hardware came along, heatpipe coolers and even water-based solutions made their way to other components, such as motherboard chipsets and even memory modules.

Cooling specialist Nexus has just released a new heatpipe-enabled cooling device to dissipate the excessive heat from the memory chips. Memory overclocking is a common practice among computer enthusiasts, but increasing the voltage would turn memory modules hotter and less stable.

The heatpipe design is not revolutionary, but it is extremely efficient, and has been successfully used beforehand in OCZ's Reaper series of memory products (if you don't trust Nexus, then OCZ should be the guarantee you need). The majority of computer cases have enough free space to ensure a constant airflow to cool the components, but increased contact surface will also reflect in better heat dissipation.

Using these Nexus Heat Pipe Coolers will ensure better ventilation for the RAM modules. The heat is being carried away from the memory chips to the heatspreader via the heatpipe. The Nexus HXR-5500 heatspreaders can be fitted on single and double sided memory modules, be it DDR, DDR2 or even DDR3.

The memory heatspreaders come with their own thermal compound already applied on the contact points. You just have to remove the protective plastic sheet that covers the silver-based compound, then place the memory module onto the bottom half of the heatspreader, then sandwich it with the other half. The whole unit can be fastened altogether with two small screws and that's it.

The Nexus HXR-5500 Memory Coolers come in multiple colors: black, blue or silver. The cooling performance is not influenced by the heatspreaders' color, yet this is a welcome addition that will surely work for case modders or system builders.