“I didn’t know something like this could happen.”

A man on Reddit reported frequent crashes of his girlfriend’s computer. The reason for this is that a small radiator broke off and caused a chain reaction in the computer.

For many hardware components, the mantra is “bigger, heavier, louder.” This also applies to some RAM models – whether it’s additional RGB lighting on the modules or a sprawling heatsink that protrudes away from the mainboard.

There are also differences between manufacturers in the production and quality of processed parts. This can sometimes lead to problems you didn’t think were possible.

A Reddit user is now reporting such a problem in his girlfriend’s computer and showing the community that the built-in RAM is the cause. But not every supposed RAM problem is actually one.

With our additional tips, you’ll save yourself time and stress from computer problems.

PC heatsinks aren’t always helpful

What can you see in the picture? On the picture in Reddit post The boyfriend holds his girlfriend’s RAM stick in his hand.

You can quickly see that something is wrong with a hardware component. The heat sink has slid above and thus covered part of the contact surface, which usually completely disappears into the slot on the motherboard.

How did this problem arise? The man suspected that the RAM cooler, or so-called heat spreader, had come loose. Due to this misalignment, one side of the heat spreader has moved up toward the processor cooler.

In a sort of domino effect, the CPU heatsink or its fan in turn pushes the RAM out of its slot in the motherboard.

Since the RAM module is no longer connected properly, this results in blue screens and system crashes during booting. The friend was very surprised by this and wrote in a comment below the post: “I did not know that something like this could happen to a heat distributor.”

How was the problem solved? A Reddit user friend decided to completely remove the heatsink from the RAM. However, this is not without risks. If done incorrectly, the memory chips may be torn from the RAM, damaging the unit and making it unusable.

Is this the end of the story? No, not really. His girlfriend was able to remove one side of the heat spreader without damaging the RAM. However, I decided not to continue using the RAM module.

Instead, she bought new units and upgraded her computer to 32GB of DDR4 memory.

Some players also have great luck when purchasing RAM and getting more than they asked for.

Useful tips to avoid hassle when purchasing/upgrading RAM

What should you pay attention to when buying RAM modules? In addition to storage capacity and speed, you should also check the installation height of the desired storage unit. Otherwise, it may happen that it collides with the already installed processor cooler or fan. This makes installation more difficult or even impossible.

Low format RAM has a low overall height and avoids such problems from the beginning.

Are there other possibilities? If you already have RAM in front of you, you can instead look for a CPU heatsink that doesn’t protrude beyond the RAM slots once it’s installed.

On some models, you can also mount the fan on the surface opposite the processor cooler instead of on the side where the RAM is located.

Does RAM necessarily need a heat spreader? No, it depends on the temperatures the unit reaches during operation and how warm your computer is inside.

Very high temperatures can lead to throttling or system instability. If you have adequate cooling with multiple case fans, this generally shouldn’t be a problem.

This gamer makes a critical mistake while assembling his computer:

User almost destroys his gaming PC because he uses the wrong screws: “Expect people to be stupid, not smart.”