We just got in the Corsair Cooling Ice T30 TEC Memory Cooler and I sent it down to Chris to do a full review on them with the DOMINATOR GT memory kit that he reviewed for LR a couple months back. It looks sweet and I can't want to see what Chris does with the kit in an extreme overclocking situation.
CWCDHXTEC - Corsair Cooling Ice T30 sub-ambient cooling subsystem for Dominator GT
Product Description - Ice T30 cooling for Dominator GT. Sub-Ambient thermo-electric cooling subsystem for Dominator GT, with built-in condensation comtrol.
Key Features -
* World's first sub-ambient cooling system for memory
* Humidity monitor circuit eliminates condensation
* Can cool memory up to 20 degrees C below ambient temperature
* Water-cooled TEC for ultimate memory cooling
Package Contents - TEC cooling subsystem, water cooling block, and humidity sensors and control circuitry. Includes installation instructions
System Requirements - Water cooling (3/8" inner-diameter tubing) REQUIRED for operation.
Warranty - One Year
Price - $199
Here are some pictures of the review kit:
corsair_tec_cooler.jpg (20.34 KiB) Viewed 4104 times
corsair_tec_bundle.jpg (50.33 KiB) Viewed 4104 times
corsair_tec_parts.jpg (29.09 KiB) Viewed 4104 times
corsair_tec_barbs.jpg (36.99 KiB) Viewed 4103 times
corsair_tec_base.jpg (30.02 KiB) Viewed 4102 times
corsair_tec_power.jpg (44.8 KiB) Viewed 4101 times
corsair_tec_switch.jpg (60.78 KiB) Viewed 4101 times
Looks like Chris found a defect with the kit while testing it:
IMG_2360.jpg (59.37 KiB) Viewed 3852 times
It seems the barb is a two piece design that was glued together when it was made... Not right and we notified Corsair about the design problem. They are investigating the problem and are sending out new barbs.
I came across a test/review a long time ago. Basically the author overclocked some RAM with ambient air, forced air, and dry ice. The conclusion was that unlike CPUs cooler RAM does not mean higher clocks. Then again I think the article was on DDR RAM so it might have changed since then.
So does this kit mean higher memory clocks? The only way I see it working is if you supply more voltage to the RAM to get better clocks, then the water/pelter can keep the temperatures in check. But then again does the Core i7's memory controller still have issues with running high RAM voltages?
I for one don't really see a need for this. As most of the time a simple fan will yield great results. And with todays big heatsinks that come on them getting super hot isn't a issue now. Same as corsairs dominator fans, the ram never gets really hot enough for the memory cooler to even be used. But they do look cool. And i would have to say the same for this. Looks cool but really doesn't have a need or help.
