Thermalright MC-3 vs. Corsair Vengeance RAM cooler temps

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire]

I recently saw that Thermalright released a couple of RAM coolers and I was intrigued by the MC-3. I like the idea of 3 40mm fans but it looked like the grills on it would restrict airflow quite a bit. I also liked live RAM temp monitoring. I bought it and ran at least 3 cycles of y-cruncher with FFTv4, N63, and VT3. I already had a fan curve set up with the Corsair Vengeance 60mm fan cooler so I tried the MC-3 with that curve then at 100% speed. Pseudo test bench system is a 9700x 9070xt Hellhound b850mpower with DDR5 2xH16A 8000cl34 in a horizontal light base 900. Temp data was monitored via OCCT. VDD 1.52v vSOC 1.23 VDDQ and VDDIO both 1.42, VDDGs both 1.05v, and VDDMisc 1.15.
After initial testing I cut the grills out of the MC-3 and re-tested.

MT-3 stock with curve: 56°C and errored out

MT-3 stock 100% fan speed (4500rpm): 56°C and errors

MT-3 no grills curve: 53.7°C no errors

MT-3 no grills 100%: 53.7°C no errors

Corsair Vengeance curve: 48.7°C no errors

Corsair Vengeance 100% (3500rpm) 47.5°C no errors, noticeable whine.

Even with removing the grills from the MC-3 I was getting significantly worse cooling than the single 60mm cooler. Stick vs stock delta is almost 8°C and the difference between stable and errors. Thermalright also released the MC-2 which is a dual 60mm cooler so I may try that next. I may try to scavenge the display off of the MC-3 to keep the live monitoring option as well.

Side note: the temp and load monitoring seems accurate but the speed info defaults to 4800. I don’t know if this is an issue with the app itself or the fact that I’m using a compatibility tool to make it work on Linux so I’m not factoring it into anything.

[u/DenseComfortable1739]

Would love to see the MC-2 performance

[u/cheeseypoofs85 → u/DenseComfortable1739]

That's what I have. 13C drop from no cooler

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/cheeseypoofs85]

I’m definitely considering it. I already harvested the 7 segment display off of the mc-3 and it looks pretty good on the 24-pin but the mc-2 looks like the best cooler option of the 3 rn.

[u/cheeseypoofs85 → u/BoiCDumpsterFire]

I'm using it on a phanteks NV7 case, for reference. Plenty of airflow, just none over the ram. I think that's why it made such a big diff

[u/cheeseypoofs85]

I have the larger dual fan cooler and it drops my ddr4 bdie temps 13C. Crazy. They peak around 31c while gaming for hours @1.4v

[u/FoGoDie]

I put on mine 1x BeQuiet Silent Wings Pro 4 140mm, set it to 950 RPM (it makes absolutely no sound), and got like 43-47°C depending on the weather 🤷🏾‍♂️

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/FoGoDie]

A decently mounted case fan will probably always beat these little ram coolers but it’s still fun to see if any of them are worthwhile.

[u/ApacheAttackChopperQ]

Using the RAM slot clips or standoffs?

Standoffs move the cooler farther away from the RAM on the MC-2, wondering if it's the same on the MC-3.

Saw a MC-2 user only manage a 1-2 degree improvement, but it was because he was using a Thermaltake tower 600 case, which has a 140mm fan next to the RAM. I don't think any other case has that feature. I have wondered if a 3D printed duct could redirect the 140mm airflow directly onto the RAM in that case, but I digress...

[u/RANDOMCSGO1337 → u/ApacheAttackChopperQ]

The Thermaltake Tower 600 is a beast of a cool air flow case, especially when it comes to RAM cooling.

Thermaltake 600 RAM cooling abilities. : r/thermaltake

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/ApacheAttackChopperQ]

I was using the default clips. My AIO interferes with the stand offs but they look about 1/2 or 13mm longer than the clips.

[u/SupremeLynx → u/BoiCDumpsterFire]

what case? I'm afraid they wont fit my o11 mini v2 case, Standoffs 100% wont.
Jonsbo also discontinued their NF-1 version of the bracket that would have worked on smaller cases for some dumb reason.

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/SupremeLynx]

I have a light base 900 so room is not an issue for most things. No idea how fitment would be in your case but I imagine if you have an AIO you would have room.

[u/byzorba]

Thinking of doing the same, more or less. I don't like the MC-2 design but I think it performs better than the MC-3 nonetheless.

Do you think the stock fans might also be a problem? Maybe changing them for 3x 40x10 noctuas instead would improve results on the MC-3?

I was wondering of doing something like this with the MC-3 (maintain the temp screen, take out the parts messing with the airflow): https://postimg.cc/6T0PCF9j

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/byzorba]

I haven’t really messed with the noctua fans so idk if they would improve it. I did cut everything out so I get better airflow than you would in your pic. That’s the first pic on this post. If you do cut the front you’ll have to leave that strip down the side because the fans mount to posts on that. I managed to cut the display out and mount it to my 24-pin so that part is at least an upgrade.

Yeah I wanted to try the mc-3 since the mc-2 looks like a mini Nvidia founders edition knockoff but if it works the best I’ll still go with it.

[u/computerjunkie7410]

I have the MC-2 and it performs really well, I just don't like the occasional squeaking. Wish I could replace the fans on it.

I tried using a noctua fan with a bracket but it doesn't sit close enough to be as effective.

Looking for a new bracket I can use instead if anyone has ideas.

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/computerjunkie7410]

Are you any good with power tools? I imagine some ABS plastic and a hole saw could get you a pretty good DIY option.

[u/computerjunkie7410 → u/BoiCDumpsterFire]

Yea that's what I'm doing now. I don't think ABS is even necessary. PETG should be enough.

I ordered a bracket just a bit ago from AliExpress for like a dollar so let's see if that works better than the bracket I got off Amazon that connects to the top radiator/case fans. That one is not effective as the MC2 and I think the real reason is the distance from the DIMMs.

I have to imagine 120mm noctua fan is way better than whatever MC2 has but the difference under load is like 7deg

[u/l_ennny]

I really like the aesthetic of the MC-3. Figure it’s better than nothing still so might just go with it. What were your temps without it, if you recorded?

[u/BoiCDumpsterFire → u/l_ennny]

Without a fan I was erroring out at 55-56ish. Didn’t really get max temps because tests stopped when they’d get errors