If you are performing your first ever RAM upgrade, then watching a small piece suddenly “chip off” of a RAM module can be a very worrisome event. But is it as bad as it looks or is the RAM module still usable? Today’s SuperUser Q&A post has the answer to a worried reader’s question.
Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites.
The Question
SuperUser reader m-oliv wants to know what the little gray-capped things on RAM modules are:
What are the little gray-capped things on RAM modules?
The Answer
SuperUser contributors Ruscal and Mokubai have the answer for us. First up, Ruscal:
Followed by the answer from Mokubai:
While that will not fry your computer, it could cause “strangeness” in your programs or operating system, such as hiccups in operation, bad data saves, or even full system crashes. If the computer is not in an electrically noisy environment, you may not even notice a difference. That said, I would still replace it as soon as I could.
As a general rule, when bits are removed from (or fall off of) an electrical circuit, it fundamentally changes the properties of the circuit. That makes it so it will not operate as intended (if at all), which is a polite way of saying “broken”.
Have something to add to the explanation? Sound off in the comments. Want to read more answers from other tech-savvy Stack Exchange users? Check out the full discussion thread here.
Its having been knocked off will not damage your computer unless it tore a bit of track so that the pads are now shorted together. Make sure that the pads are clear. Other than that, the worst that would happen is the RAM module might “misbehave” at times, though it would be difficult to say how problems might manifest.
The capacitor is essentially an open circuit to DC voltages, but effectively connects high frequency noise to a ground. There are generally a few placed close together near any lines that need protection, and losing one probably will not actually affect the RAM module much, if at all, but it might.
In case you care, the little black 8 pin packages at the bottom are 4-way resistor packs, almost certainly terminating the data lines going to the chips.
Image Credit: Jaroslaw W (Flickr)
