The Heatspreader

Although the titanium coat may have given it a unique burnish, the OCZ PC2-8000 Titanium Alpha VX2 uses the same XTC (Xtreme Thermal Convection) heatspreader as many OCZ high-end memory modules.

Like Mushkin's new heatspreaders, these XTC heatspreaders aim to improve the thermal dissipation of the module by increasing the air flow beneath the heatspreaders and around the memory chips.

This is particularly important for OCZ VX (Voltage eXtreme) modules as these modules are designed to operate at high voltages, which inevitably means higher temperatures. So, these XTC heatspreaders had better do their job, so the overvolted RAM chips will burn up real quick!

The XTC heatspreader's honeycomb design supposedly increases air flow by means of micro-convection through the holes. This reduces the amount of dead space and heat build-up under the heatspreader. The holes also increase the surface area for thermal dissipation.

If you are using a fan to blow across these modules, the holes will also allow air to flow through, thereby increasing the heatspreader's thermal dissipation. However, if you take a close look under the heatspreader, you will see a continuous layer of thermal tape.

With the thermal tape effectively blocking the holes, we wonder just how effective this honeycomb design is. There doesn't seem to be any place for air to circulate under the heatspreader.

Incidentally, if you intend to actively cool these modules, the sticky nature of the thermal tape will likely lead to the dust sticking to them and clogging up the holes in the heatspreader. If you are a stickler for cleanliness, you should let these modules be cooled passively.

After all, the honeycomb design is supposed to help circulate air by micro-convection. This alone should improve the heatspreader's thermal dissipation without the need for active cooling.