Question A question on a 3rd party heat sink + additional thermal pad.

[Daynhg]

Hi.

I am looking at adding an additional heatsink into a MSI MAG B560M MORTAR WIFI Gaming Motherboard.

The existing slot has a MB built-in heat sink.
The second doesnt.

As the board is PCi3, I went with this M.2 Samsung 980 1 TB PCIe 3.0 1 TB.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08TJ2649W/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

For this second one I was going to go with the Crucial P3 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen3
But today they went up the the same price as the above Samsung. So Ill go the same one again.

The problem is, I need a very low profile heatsink, to fit under the GPU.
And from all I have read the ones with the "rubber bands" to keep them on the SSD's arent very good.

I found this one.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B077TR9LP7/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_8?smid=AHX2VT4JA3HIX&th=1

Which looks good. Except the thermal pad attached to it, is supposed to be more like very sticky gum, rather than a actual pad.

Question.
Would it be both safe, and would it work, if I bought that heatsink, (link above) ⤴
but instead of sticking it directly to the M.2.
I bought this as well. ⤵
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08GQ56RBW/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_7?smid=A3GZQPUL3VBXFU&psc=1

And stuck the heat sink to the none sticky side of one of the 0.5mm, or even the 1mm pads.
And then the sticky side of teh pad to the M.2

Would that work?
And be cooling.

Thanks for any help.
It is very much appreciated.

 

[Lutfij]

Your board has 2 M.2 slots, of which one is rated for PCIe 3.0x4 speeds and the other is PCIe 4.0x4 speeds. the latter is the slot that has the heatsink, logical since PCIe4.0x4 drives will run hotter. I think you're overthinking this, since the GPU's fan will help dissipate some heat from the SSD underneath as well as the air coming in from the front of your case(assuming your case actually has good airflow).

 

[Daynhg]

Hi Lutfij
And thank you so much for the reply.

Hmm. Well seeing as both m.2s are gen 3, then does that mean they will both be cooler that gen 4?

I know some people dont put heatsinks on m.2s
But its not for me, Iv putting a few things on this PC for a relatoive, and would rather be safe than sorry.

Oe last point, and another reason I was looking at extra thermal pad. was that even though that heatsink gets 4.5 score, so its not bad.

But the glue part of the thermal pad is suppoed to be, (so I have read) really strong, and one on it can wreck the NVMe, if trying to remove it for whatever reason.
So the other thermal pad would have mitigated this.

I know its a small thing. Sorry to go on.
What would you reccomend please.

Thank you for the help.

 

[geofelt]

Overthinking indeed.
m.2 devices will monitor their own heat and will slow down a bit if things get too hoot. Think a long virus scan.
Such heating happens during protracted sequential operations.
Most of what we do is random.
In any system you want to have good airflow over the motherboard.
Not just for the m.2 devices, but also for the VRM heat sinks.

I might add that very high performing m.2 devices are not worth pursuing if you have any sort of a budget.
Check this amusing video where three experts think they can detect which pc has the pcie m,2, a 2.5" sata drive or a medium speed m.2:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

 

[Daynhg]

Hi geofelt

I watched the video, thank you, that was very interesting. The SATA everyone thought was gen4.

I have been using a Samsung 860 EVO SATA for games.
2 x 120mm Noctua input fans, 1 x 120mm Noctua exaust.
Be quite CPS fan. It as kept the case cool, and CrystalDisk says the drives are cool.

As to the M.2.
And After watching that vid, and seeing as its a 2nd drive, SATA is looking better, and better.
As there is a Kingston A400 with over 200k 4.7 ratings, on Amazon UK for 55 quid.

I just wondered if I went gen3 M.2 Samsung, or ever WD green, would you recommended putting that heat sink on it. Or leaving it without one?

And was genuinly interested on the one point of, if adding extra thermal padding to a heatsink, would be safe, and work?

Thank you for the help.

 

[geofelt]

For the most part, 2.5" and m.2 devices cost about the same per gb.
m.2 is nice and easy to install initially, but 2.5" may be easier to upgrade later. I would not bother with aftermarket m.2 cooling pads or similar.
Slow down triggering conditions are rarely there, and if it so happens, no long term harm is done.

Your pick.

I think it matters who made it.
Samsung and Intel make both the controllers and nand chips so they can control quality easier.
Intel 670P is usually a good modest sized m.2 ssd.

On looking at reviews, do not look at the average ratings.
Look at the very bottom ratings and see why they were given.
I think the Amazon ratings are suspect.
Look at the product on newegg.
See what percentage of ratings are zero eggs.
Compare the 1tb kingston A400:
https://www.newegg.com/kingston-a400-960gb/p/0D9-001B-00164
The alarming negative reviews suggest that this drive is often counterfeit.
Compare the 1tb samsung 870 evo:
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-1tb-870-evo-series/p/N82E16820147793
Half the negative reviews.
Buy ssd devices only from respected sellers, not from remarketers that you might find on amazon or newegg.

 

[Daynhg]

Thank you so much. That was all seriously helpful.

I will stay away from Kingson now, and go with, in this case Samsung, as the M.2 is cheaper than the Intel.
Both get 4.8
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08TJ2649W/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_4?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

But, will probably goes with the SATA, or 2.5 as you more accurately put it.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08PC5DKZQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

Thank you for the video, links, and the guidance.

For future reference, if I may ask one last question.
As I didn't quite understand.
When you said. "I would not bother with aftermarket m.2 cooling pads or similar."
Did that include the heatsinks, or just the thermal pads?
And if so, did you mean by this.
"Slow down triggering conditions are rarely there, and if it so happens, no long term harm is done."

That if it were you, putting that Samsung gen 3, M.2 into this MB, with the fan setup I have.
You would put it in, with no heatsink, and just have the case fans cooling it?

Thank you again.
And apologies for such a long thread, on such a small matter, it really is incredibly helpful.

 

[geofelt]

i would install as is.
A m.2 device gets warm and slows down only under sustained sequential operations.

That is not a common occurrence.
And, if it does slow down a bit not much bad is happening.
Does it really matter if a virus scan takes30 seconds or 25?

Aftermarket heat sinks or cooling pads are mostly marketing and not really necessary.
You will help cooling most if you can get some airflow over the motherboard. Without any airflow over a cooler, the cooler is much less effective

 

[Daynhg]

Thank you so much.

All of your advice, and feedback has been extremely helpful.
And really appreciated. 👍