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Trari › Linus Tech Tips
A video worth knowing

Linus Tech Tips pulls RAM from a running vintage server

An old IBM machine demonstrates a trick most home PCs cannot manage: replacing memory without stopping the work.

Channel: Linus Tech Tips Story of Trari Newsroom

No. 44 on the daily chartNo. 4 on the Tech chart

Why this story? 890,274 views so far, and here is what is inside it.

I’ve never seen this before (and it’s 20 years old.)I’ve never seen this before (and it’s 20 years old.)

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

  1. 0:00Linus removes a live memory card during a benchmark, and the server keeps running.
  2. 2:31Memory mirroring keeps duplicate information available, enabling the opening hot-swap demonstration.
  3. 4:48Removing a cooling fan makes the remaining fans speed up; a later memory-carrier test triggers a shutdown.
  4. 8:24The Light Path Diagnostics panel identifies faults such as missing fans and disconnected power lines.
  5. 17:46Huge copper heatsinks come off the processor tray, exposing a Xeon CPU and modular power-regulation cards.
  6. 23:36Windows Server fails to recognize the Radeon graphics card fitted for the gaming attempt.

Linus Sebastian removes a memory card mid-benchmark, and the computer carries on. The surprise in this Linus Tech Tips teardown isn't something newly invented. It's a feature inside an IBM server roughly 20 years old.

The machine is a System x3800, built for an environment where shutting down to replace a component could mean interrupting important work. Linus and co-host Jordan explore how far that philosophy extends, from removable cooling fans to redundant power supplies.

The opening trick relies on memory mirroring. As Jordan puts it, it's "Basically, RAID 1 for your RAM." Keeping duplicate information in memory lets the server continue operating while a memory card is removed. It isn't permission to pull parts out indiscriminately: a later test with another memory carrier triggers a shutdown rather than another uninterrupted demonstration.

Some of the most revealing details are less spectacular. Remove a fan and the others speed up to compensate. A front-panel diagnostic system lights up to identify missing components or disconnected power lines. This is hardware designed not just to survive a fault, but to help someone locate it.

The video includes paid Odoo comedy segments between the hardware demonstrations. Elsewhere, the handling is less orderly than the engineering: Linus accidentally drops a tray of loose memory sticks before the hosts reach the enormous copper processor heatsinks.

Naturally, he also tries to turn it into a gaming machine. That means cutting a graphics-card riser to fit, adding an externally powered Radeon, and having Jordan hold the card steady. Windows Server doesn't recognize it. The old IBM proves better at keeping its original job running than accepting Linus's proposed new one.

Published on Trari

Where next?

More from Linus Tech TipsOn today's chart 549K views since yesterdayLinus Sebastian compresses his RAM-heavy AI build into a ShortThe quick workstation tour has drawn roughly 550,000 views, while viewers nominate rather less demanding uses for all that memory.Channel: Linus Tech Tips · Story of November 6, 2026 Also in Technology reviews and gadgetsVideo taking off 12x its usual first dayTechLinked puts Microsoft Paint's security flaw under the spotlightRiley Murdock's roundup draws an unusually large audience, with viewers asking why the familiar drawing app needs network-related code.Channel: TechLinked · Story of November 8, 2026 A different discovery todayA video worth knowing"What's the score?": Jon Stewart's midterm week, from pool talk to a sweepThe Daily Show's 48-minute compilation runs from Stewart's warning against counting on a blue wave to Michael Kosta covering the Democratic sweep.Channel: The Daily Show · Story of November 8, 2026

What viewers say

  • Server Hot-Swapibilty has always been a hidden gem.
    @kingbbarrySee it on YouTube
  • In 2003, my PC had two 128mb sticks. 2GB sticks is huge!
    @kaldogorathSee it on YouTube
  • I remember my computer architecture classes where netburst was taught as a don't do this, then I look up some cpu specs and found out crazy power draw back then was like... 90W
    @watercannonscollaboration2281See it on YouTube

Public comments from the video's page on YouTube

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The facts
Subscribers
16,900,000
Channel views, last 7 days
25,015,024
Channel views, pace per day
3,370,030 (on a normal day: 3,176,983)
Video published
November 7, 2026
Video views so far
890,274 (less than a day online)
Video views, pace per day
1,354,534

The numbers

The teardown has drawn about 890,000 views. Its viewing pace is ordinary for Linus Tech Tips; the unusual part is the hardware.

subscribers
16,900,000
no significant change in the last 7 days
total views
9,979,321,234
views per day
3,370,030
typical day: 3,176,983
the video
views
890,274
likes
13,553
comments
702
days online
1
subscribers: this channel and similar channels
Unbox Therapy
25,600,000
Mrwhosetheboss
23,100,000
Marques Brownlee
21,400,000
Linus Tech Tips
16,900,000
The Q
13,100,000
CrazyRussianHacker
12,100,000
As of November 8, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube
Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.
Developed with YouTube

💡 Test your knowledge

Which feature allows the IBM server's opening live-memory removal trick?