Computerworld - Kingston Technology Co. today announced the release of its first water-cooled DDR3 memory kit for PCs, which it said provides longer-term reliability.
Kingston's new HyperX H2O water-cooled DDR3 line features three products: two 4GB dual-channel kits with 2000MHz and 2133MHz frequencies, respectively; and a 6GB triple-channel kit running at 2000MHz.
Kingston's HyperX H2O kits have a starting price of $157 for 4GB modules and move up to $235 for a 6GB kit.
Mark Tekunoff, senior technology manager for Kingston, said the water-cooling feature is desirable for its quiet operation and reliability. Thermo photography tests performed by Kingston showed that the water-cooled DRAM ran consistently 10 degrees to 14 degrees cooler than air-cooled modules, he said.
Kingston is targeting its water-cooled RAM at high-end "extreme" PC enthusiasts who enjoy building their own systems. Tekunoff said those high-end users tend to like water-cooled CPUs and graphics cards, so the RAM was a logical follow-on.
"There's also the cool factor," Tekunoff said. "Some people just like the look of water cooled memory."
Takunoff admitted that no matter how much a user overclocks a CPU, it won't overheat the memory card. "Realistically, the memory doesn't reach its limit of 85 degrees Centigrade. It really wouldn't get beyond 65 degrees," he said.
Kingston also announced it has changed the name of its original HyperX DDR3 module to "Genesis." The company now sells its Genesis air-cooled module, its entry-level Blu DDR3 line and the LoVo, low-voltage memory board.
Kingston HyperX memory is backed by a lifetime warranty and free 24/7 technical support.
Lucas Mearian covers storage, disaster recovery and business continuity, financial services infrastructure and health care IT for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at 
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