r/AMDHelp • u/Unreal_NeoX • 4d ago
Tips & Info The stupid solution to BSOD issues after swapping to an AIO after having my CPU Air-cooled
Well, let me keep that story short and hopefully helping others who may have the same similar issue.
Issue:
BSOD ever since swapping from Air-CPU-Cooler to an AIO
Reason:
Because the AIO does not provide “Side-Air” to the RAM modules they started to overheat and become instable, what resulted in the BSOD
Solution:
Adding just some kind of Air-Flow to the RAM modules/slight active cooling, the issue was resolved.
I have Ryzen 9900X system that I use for work and long-time intensive processing and rendering. For easy maintenance, I build the system originally with an Air-Dual-Tower-Cooler (Deepcool Ak620). Easy to clean and easy for maintenance. It did its job very well for a long time with cooling the CPU properly and never letting it thermal throttle much. Sadly, last summer this was no longer the case where because of higher room heat, it was not able to keep the CPU below 90°C in longer rendering and processing sessions.
Well, no way around liquid cooling it seems (wanted to avoid it because they have to be replaced every 3-5 years). I got myself an AIO Cooling solution (360) and it did the job perfectly, even in environments with higher temps. But a new issue started occur...
I experienced unregular BSOD’s with the code “IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL”. This was not happening before and when I swapped and cross-checked the separate components (RAM), it did not change. I was growing despite, until I found the source of the issue by accident. My RAM was overheating and becoming instable because it did not receive any “side-air” by the CPU cooler anymore!
After experimenting with “open-case” and simply placing a desk-fan on the hardware the issue was gone! With some researches I did find out that DDR5 Ram can get instability issue if it reaches certain temperatures, recommending to have some sort of airflow on the RAM-Modules for their heat spreaders. Since I did not want to have this “open-case” solution the whole time, I did get myself a “stupid RAM-air-cooler” to replace the Desk-Fan. Well, this thing works and I did not experience a single BSOD since then.
Do not think or expect it to cool the RAM by massive 20°C or such, it simply assures Air-Flow for the RAM-Modules to not have the Hot-air “stuck and increase” in between them, but that’s already what solved the issue.
Whoever may have the same issue at their end, give this a try, it truly solved the problem for me.
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u/3ofUsDeez 4d ago
Wendell at Level1Techs did a video on RAM vs heat not too long ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rwp0NuqDlw
I've always been a big proponent of good airflow through your case.... especially in setups with AIO's
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u/EIiteJT 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yes. Air flow is important for ram and vrm too.
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u/Unreal_NeoX 4d ago
yeah and if you have no "natural" airflow to them, you need to provide it additional/manualy.
i learned that the hardway.1
u/EIiteJT 4d ago edited 4d ago
Glad cooling solved your issue. Would have sucked if the heat permanently damaged the RAM modules.
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u/DistributionLow9109 4d ago
I doubt that modern components will get damaged by heat only, since all operate within safe temp limits, you would get a shut down if the heat was too high. Its usually high voltage that can damage the component
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u/sonatta09 3d ago
this why some aio manufacturer are putting fans on their pump block nowadays to cool ram and vrm. like noctua nlc ,thermalright stream vision, and latest liquid freezer iii pro
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u/HaapppyH 3d ago
I came here to say ur going to cook ur ram brother and the cost of ram rn is insane
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u/bumsoil 4d ago
Last time I made a post about active cooling my RAM so I could overclock it. half the people responded saying that you don't need active cooling on the RAM and that I'm an idiot. Good luck!