A Sequel to Adequate Cooling Methods - Memory Sticks and More
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Your fourth priority is the rest of the system. In this section I will cover memory sticks and motherboard components; in the next section I will cover power supply units and hard drives. Of course, as I mentioned before, the first and foremost factor that you need to take care of is ventilation. Superior ventilation basically guarantees that you do not need extreme measures to cool down these components.
Memory sticks tend to become warm or even a bit hot after continued usage but on stock clocks (not overclocked) you do not need to worry. If you are overclocking (or worried) then you can buy certain memory stick coolers, hook up additional fans (near the sticks) or, if you are an avid warranty-voiding freak, you can take off the stock heat sinks and attach separate individual RAM sinks.
RAM sinks can be used for video card memory chips, too. Basically you can hook up these sinks to any IC that generates heat. They are used most frequently on video card memory chips, however. RAM sinks are usually made of copper or aluminum, and they have a few fins; they do a great job of dissipating heat and cooling down the component. Check out the following picture of a few RAM sinks. For more about RAM sinks, please read Justifier's article published here on DevHardware.
Stock chipset cooling is enough for most people. You shouldn't worry about it if you do not experience issues. Without overclocking and with a case that has adequate airflow the passive heat sink or heat-pipe technology cooling is satisfactory for 24/7 on load usage. The amount of heat dissipated by the north-bridge isn't that much. When overclocking, yes, it increases exponentially. Therefore, aftermarket cooling is required. In mild up to high overclocking endeavors, some additional 60x60mm fans are enough. You can easily hook them up on the passive heat sink. You might even go with aftermarket passive solutions. Those can offer amazing performance compared to the stock passive system, and you still remain noiseless.
Next: Hard Drive and PSU >>
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