I recently upgraded from half GB to 1GB of RAM. I am finding that now my computer runs quite hot. I am not sure if it is the extra 512MB ram or the games (cod2, nfs-mw). When I touch the side of my cabinet it is quite warm and I dont remember it getting so hot before. Do you think adding extra 512MB ram can create lots more heat, or do you think it is interfering with the ventilation of the cpu and the other ram chip in anyway, because the two ram chips are very close besides the cpu. Or are COD2 and NFS-MW just very stressfull games? Sarosh

well, what is the maximum ram capacity of your mobo? some mobo can hold up to 4gb. i dont think just 1 extra stick of 512mb ram would cause the PC so hot. i dont think its the RAm. well, you might wanna add an extra fan then. More Fans-more noise. 3.2GHZ Intel Pentium EE 840 1GB Dual-channel DDR2-533 RAM Asus P5ND2-SLI Deluxe mobo 2 EVGA E-Geforce 7800GTX Creative Soundblaster X-Fi 550W PSU

The maximum capicity of my motherboard is 2GB of ram. I too dont think it is the extra ram that can create so much heat. May be it is the latest games that are really stressing the hardware and producing the heat. Anyway, what do you think is the effect of room temperartue? Is there a significant difference in hardware heating when the computer ir run during winter season and summer season. I am trying to determine the effect of the room air temperature on the overall temperature of the computer. Sarosh

Different CPUs have different thermal characteristics so there is no perfect formula for figuring these things, but a very general rule of thumb is the system (motheboard) temp should be roughly within Avg Room temp +10C. CPU temp (at idle) should be roughly within Avg Room temp +25C. However, if the system temp is higher than it should be, the CPU temp will be higher. So just as an example, with an Avg Room temp of 70F (21C), system temp should be 31C or less, CPU @ idle should be 46C or less. This space for rent

Hi jam, My cpu temp is exactly 46C when idle, you are very accurate there. It was good to know that my system is not just overheating unnecessairly. I got a pretty big cabinet made of some heavey metal. Do you think the metal side plates of the cabinet are made from some special heat conducting material? When I touch the side of my cabinet after my system has been off for some time it is very cool to the feel and definitely cooler than other objects in the room. Sarosh

>Do you think the metal side plates of the cabinet are made from some special heat conducting material? - NO RAM doesn't generate that much heat. The practicality of "heat-spreaders" is questionable. >Or are COD2 and NFS-MW just very stressfull games? - NOT everyone knows what your acronyms stand for. WILL POST FOR FOOD.

Call of duty 2 Need for speed most wanted Age of empires 3. These are the 3 games I got installed, and each one of them heats up the cabinet quite a lot. Do you think cutting small holes in the side of the cabinet might help. Sarosh