There has been an interesting debate raging in overclocking circles over the past couple of years, and it revolves around the question: "Is cooling necessary for memory?"  While I am hardly considered an authority on the subject, and thus, my conclusions are hardly binding, I am going to give you my two cents anyway.  On one side, you have a contingency that believes that any effort cooling memory is a wasted one; these people have seen no increase in overclocks when cooling is applied.  On the other hand, you have a group of people who would consider inserting RAM into their water cooling loop just to get that extra bit of performance. 

So which one is right?  Is there a gain to be seen with cooling on the memory?  My answer: depends.  Having gone through several sets of RAM the last couple of years, I have found that some sets absolutely require at least air cooling to reach their rated speeds, while others barely exceed room temperature.  The most extreme example was the old OCZ VX DDR-500 kits, using the UTT components at an insane 3.3V.  The OCZ Platinum DDR-500 kit that I had after that barely got warm at the same speeds, albeit much less voltage.  DDR2 is no stranger to high heat components either; I just went through a set of Crucial Ballistix double sided 1066 sticks that were too hot to touch.  They were so hot at 2.2V, I had to implement the below ghetto mod in order to keep them stable:

Not even the fan was enough to keep them from dying; fortunately the newer single-sided Ballistix don't get anywhere near as hot. 

So what are our options, then? The first option is what I have shown above: simply modding a fan onto the memory.  While this works to "get us by", it is hardly a permanent solution.  Fortunately, companies like CoolIT, Corsair and OCZ have stepped up to the plate with products that cool our RAM without making our case look like a bachelor pad for Borg drones.  Today, we will be testing the offering from OCZ:  the XTC Memory Cooler. 

The OCZ XTC Memory Cooler is packaged much like all of OCZ's other products, with a simple blister pack in the classic OCZ orange color.  We can also see the top of the cooling unit itself. 

The back of the blister pack not only shows off the specifications, but also acts as the instruction manual. 

Features:

• Cools DDR1 or DDR2 memory modules

• Improves overclocking performance on all memory modules

• Optimized for the OCZ XTC* heatspreader design

• 2 60mm ultra-low noise fans deliver superior cooling

• Blue fan LEDs

• Aluminum-based

• Full Dimension with brackets: 23mm with brackets (H) 68mm (D) 153mm (W)

• OCZ 1 Year Warranty

Specifications: