M.2 SSD Cooling?

[Bedwards923]

Hey everyone. Finally got around to upgrading my old 7200 RPM HDD. Just purchased a new Samsung Evo 850 M.2 SSD (2280). However, after I ordering it, I've been reading lots of things about how they run extremely hot and throttle a lot. I am mainly using the PC for gaming and internet browsing, YouTube etc. I have the Asus Z270-A Prime motherboard which has support for a 3D printed M.2 fan mounting bracket. I also see some companies are making M.2 heatsinks. Which is better? Are they worth it? Even if my SSD is throttling, it will still be a lot faster than my HDD, right? Any help would be much appreciated, as I am unfamiliar with the world of SSD's. Thank you!

 

[Rogue Leader]

Couple things

First if you haven't opened that drive's package up I wouldn't, return it. You really aren't getting the benefit of M.2 witht hat drive, its no faster than a standard Sata SSD. You want the Samsung 960 EVO to get the full performance benefit.

Now as for heat issues, if you have poor case airflow, and you do a lot of file I/O intensive operations I could see it overheating, but I wouldn't worry about the issue until you actually run into it and notice it. And yes a throttled SSD is still WAY faster than a hard drive.

 

[Bedwards923]

Oh really? That's disappointing to hear. I wasn't aware of that. However, I don't do crazy amounts of file transfers or anything like that. Mainly just use it for leisure and gaming so I'm not sure if the upgrade to the 960 Evo is worth the price.

I have the Fractal Design Define S case with three 140mm intake fans in the front and one 140mm exhaust in the rear. I may add another fan, but I think air flow is fine.

 

[madmatt30]

Honestly the sata based 850 evo m2 is fine.
The sata based drives aren't really the ones with overheating problems .
Its the super fast nvme drives (like the 960) that run much much hotter.

 

[rhysiam]

OK, so I take a more moderate view to @Rogue Leader.

First up, the 850 EVO is a great drive. Yes, it is absolutely a SATA SSD and isn't as "fast" in intensive I/O benchmarks as a proper NVMe drive. But it's a super-solid SSD and a great choice for a general purpose and gaming system. The m.2 version works just as well as the 2.5" one, and avoids cable clutter. Obviously it takes up an M.2 slot, but you have 2 M.2 slots on that board, so you still have capacity to add a high speed NVMe drive in future if you want to.

Unless you have specific intensive IO requirements, or you have a massive budget, I generally wouldn't recommend buying anything more expensive than a mid-range SSD. On most budget builds, even with a high budget, there are better ways to spend your money than an NVMe drive.

So yes, you could get "better performance" by returning your 850 EVO and spending up on a 960 EVO or other NVMe option. Is it worth it though? I'd suggest probably not, but that depends on your priorities and budget.

In terms of overheating, you actually have to work most SSD really, really hard to hit thermal throttling. SSD reviews manage it pretty often because they're running synthetic or massively IO intensive workloads. But those workloads are just not seen in "normal" gaming or workstation uses. Almost all gaming/workstation IO tasks are bursty in nature, we rarely run into situations where the SSD becomes the system bottleneck for the significant period of time it requires to hit thermal limits. On top of that, I don't actually think it's a problem at all with SATA M.2 drives. They're not fast enough anyway.

TL DR, no issues with heat whatsoever on your SATA m.2 drive.
I personally don't see the need for anything better either, though for sure more expensive drives are faster
Even with a proper NVMe drive I'd be very surprised if you ever hit thermal limits unless you have unusual IO intensive workloads.

 

[Rogue Leader]

I never said the 850 is a bad drive its not. Its just not worth the price of admission. For $23 more you can get the 960 EVO which is super fast:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147398&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Solid+State+Disk-_-N82E16820147398&gclid=CjwKCAjw8IXMBRB8EiwAg9fgMISdExx6p574fy1r88VIuFAuQLnoE8Trzp5m8SNaDwvaRk0zy4ECSBoCbPEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147593&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Solid+State+Disk-_-N82E16820147593&gclid=CjwKCAjw8IXMBRB8EiwAg9fgMEPXf2WMPv7w_ILAN4pSXFZ1t9Lhcut3EAzvZHNSIp-F9_87Hf68HxoCvzsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Proper NVMe drive, $23 dollar difference.

 

[rhysiam]

I never said the 850 is a bad drive its not. Its just not worth the price of admission. For $23 more you can get the 960 EVO which is super fast:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147398&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Solid+State+Disk-_-N82E16820147398&gclid=CjwKCAjw8IXMBRB8EiwAg9fgMISdExx6p574fy1r88VIuFAuQLnoE8Trzp5m8SNaDwvaRk0zy4ECSBoCbPEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147593&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Solid+State+Disk-_-N82E16820147593&gclid=CjwKCAjw8IXMBRB8EiwAg9fgMEPXf2WMPv7w_ILAN4pSXFZ1t9Lhcut3EAzvZHNSIp-F9_87Hf68HxoCvzsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Proper NVMe drive, $23 dollar difference.

Amazon has the 850 EVO for $100, but you're right, that's a pretty small price difference. I should have checked that.

I still seriously question whether it's worth the hassle of a return and re-order, plus $27 more for the NVMe drive. It's certainly not a bad idea, but it's not like keeping the 850 EVO is a bad idea either. You can make a case either way.