Question M.2 SSD heatsinks ?

[smalltech]

Hi,

I intend to use 1TB Samsung 980 Pro and I saw it has heatsink.

1. What is the difference between the 1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 heatsink vs the motherboard M.2 heatsink?

2. What is the difference [1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 with heatsink in a motherboard with M.2 heatsink] vs [1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 with heatsink in a motherboard without M.2 heatsink]

3. Is it important to have heatsink on motherboard M.2?

4. Can I add M.2 heatsink to a motherboard that does not have M.2 heatsink?

5. Can I add heatsink to a M.2 Internal SSD that does not have heatsink?

My understanding is no heatsink for the m.2 slot for this motherboard https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/prime-b550m-a-wifi-ii/

Thanks

2x NVMe drives.

1TB Intel 660p, no heatsink
Idles at 38C.
Writing large data, it goes to 56C

1TB Samsung 980 Pro (OS drive), heatsink
Idles at 51C
Writing large data, it goes to 65C

Same 129GB data set, copying from a SATA III SSD.

 

[zinkles]

1. What is the difference between the 1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 heatsink vs the motherboard M.2 heatsink?

Both are heatsinks. Both do their job. The one that comes with the drive might offer better cooling.

2. What is the difference [1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 with heatsink in a motherboard with M.2 heatsink] vs [1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 with heatsink in a motherboard without M.2 heatsink]

Temps could vary. It depends on the material the heatsink on the motherboard uses, and how it fits, etc. You could have clearance issues if you go for mobo and SSD with heatsink, so I'd leave the mobo heatsink and just put the SSD with heatsink in.

3. Is it important to have heatsink on motherboard M.2?

If the drives comes with one -- no
If the drive doesn't come with one -- still no, unless airflow is very restrictive and the drive is right near the GPU or any heat emitting components..

5. Can I add heatsink to a M.2 Internal SSD that does not have heatsink?

Yes. there are stuff on amazon you can buy

4. Can I add M.2 heatsink to a motherboard that does not have M.2 heatsink?

yes. a bit of research before posting and you will have already gotten the answer to this by now.

My understanding is no heatsink for the m.2 slot for this motherboard https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/prime-b550m-a-wifi-ii/

seems like it doesnt. even in the cooling section it didnt specify nothing about a m.2 heatsink.

 

[smalltech]

Both are heatsinks. Both do their job. The one that comes with the drive might offer better cooling.


Temps could vary. It depends on the material the heatsink on the motherboard uses, and how it fits, etc. You could have clearance issues if you go for mobo and SSD with heatsink, so I'd leave the mobo heatsink and just put the SSD with heatsink in.


If the drives comes with one -- no
If the drive doesn't come with one -- still no, unless airflow is very restrictive and the drive is right near the GPU or any heat emitting components..


Yes. there are stuff on amazon you can buy


yes. a bit of research before posting and you will have already gotten the answer to this by now.


seems like it doesnt. even in the cooling section it didnt specify nothing about a m.2 heatsink.

If the SSD drive does not come with m.2 heatsink, the motherboard comes with m.2 heatsink, is it better to put the motherboard m.2 heatsink on the SSD drive or is it better to use the SSD without motherboard m.2 heatsink?

Can you use motherboard m.2 heatsink and ssd m.2 heatsink together? Stack 2 together?

Just to make sure I understand correct, motherboard m.2 heatsink and ssd m.2 heatsink are actually doing the same function and for the same purpose and attaching at the same position correct? motherboard m.2 heatsink comes with the motherboard, ssd m.2 heatsink comes with ssd m.2?

Is the m.2 heatsink one time use? If I remove it, I need to buy a new thermal pad sticker?

Thanks

 

[Satan-IR]

is it better to put the motherboard m.2 heatsink on the SSD drive or is it better to use the SSD without motherboard m.2 heatsink?

Doesn't make much of a difference. Unless the one that comes with the m.2 drive is really flimsy and low quality.

Can you use motherboard m.2 heatsink and ssd m.2 heatsink together? Stack 2 together?

No you can't stack them.

m.2 heatsink and ssd m.2 heatsink are actually doing the same function and for the same purpose and attaching at the same position correct? motherboard m.2 heatsink comes with the motherboard, ssd m.2 heatsink comes with ssd m.2?

Yes same functions, yes same position (might need to attach heatpad that comes with M.2 or might be pre-applied) and yes each come with their own.

Is the m.2 heatsink one time use? If I remove it, I need to buy a new thermal pad sticker?

A heatsink is a metal piece made of some alloy unless it's very badly bent out of shape (highyl unlikely to happen in a computer case) why would you need to change it? Yes, if you remove a heatsink which stuck on some themal pad which in turn is stuck to some m.2 drive you might need a new thermal pad.

Also if you even want to that after a while do it gently and do not yank the sink with thermal pad with too much force. You might break the m.2 PSB or an SMD component might come off if the glue/sticky material is a bit strong and cooked with heat over time.

 

[RUSerious]

You basically need to look up reviews, especially if you have poor airflow in the M.2 slot (you get heat off the GFX card and lots are air cooler move the air pretty much from front the back and don't add much. Some NVMe drives (faster Gen4s) run a bit hot. If you are buying and M.2 SSD with mid-range performance - don't worry abou it.

 

[smalltech]

QA. Is a heatsink necessary for M.2 SSD?

QB. Samsung 980 Pro has 2 versions, 1 with heatsink and 1 without heatsink, I will be buying either [Samsung 980 Pro 7000MB/s Gen4 Nvme M.2] or [Samsung 980 Pro HEATSINK 7000MB/s Gen4 Nvme M.2], which one should I buy?

QC. Does those M.2 SSD that has a heatsink version means that M.2 SSD model is hotter and should use a heatsink?

Thanks

 

[USAFRet]

QA. Is a heatsink necessary for M.2 SSD?

QB. Samsung 980 Pro has 2 versions, 1 with heatsink and 1 without heatsink, I will be buying either [Samsung 980 Pro 7000MB/s Gen4 Nvme M.2] or [Samsung 980 Pro HEATSINK 7000MB/s Gen4 Nvme M.2], which one should I buy?

QC. Does those M.2 SSD that has a heatsink version means that M.2 SSD model is hotter and should use a heatsink?

Thanks

A. No...it depends

B. Some motherboards have a heat sink already. If that is the case, you can get the 980 Pro withou the heat sink.

C. Not necessarily.

 

[smalltech]

B. Some motherboards have a heat sink already. If that is the case, you can get the 980 Pro withou the heat sink.

My motherboard does not have M.2 heatsink, should I buy 980 Pro with or without heatsink? [Samsung 980 Pro 7000MB/s Gen4 Nvme M.2] or [Samsung 980 Pro HEATSINK 7000MB/s Gen4 Nvme M.2]

 

[USAFRet]

My motherboard does not have M.2 heatsink, should I buy 980 Pro with or without heatsink? [Samsung 980 Pro 7000MB/s Gen4 Nvme M.2] or [Samsung 980 Pro HEATSINK 7000MB/s Gen4 Nvme M.2]

Yes, get the one with the heat sink.

 

[smalltech]

A. No...it depends

Can you elaborate more on "it depends"?

 

[USAFRet]

Can you elaborate more on "it depends"?

"QA. Is a heatsink necessary for M.2 SSD?"

Not all M.2 drives require a heatsink.

 

[smalltech]

Not all M.2 drives require a heatsink.

How to know which M.2 drives require a heatsink and which M.2 drives does not require a heatsink?

 

[USAFRet]

How to know which M.2 drives require a heatsink and which M.2 drives does not require a heatsink?

Reviews and reports from other people.

 

[Lafong]

How to know which M.2 drives require a heatsink and which M.2 drives does not require a heatsink?

None of them "require" a heatsink. That's a very strong word.

The choice is entirely up to the buyer. If your fear of heat would be alleviated by a heatsink, buy one.

Maybe you aren't particularly concerned with heat. You would know better than we would.

The SSD is likely designed to throttle at a certain temperature. My Intel SSD will throttle at 80, per Intel specs. Samsung specs may have that level of detail available. I don't know.

The Intel toolbox has told me that it has never reached a temp above the low 70s, and that very rarely...only when deliberately stressed. Never in normal operation.

Samsung offers the heatsink choice because it knows that certain people will be attracted for that reason alone. Marketing. Suit yourself.

 

[smalltech]

None of them "require" a heatsink. That's a very strong word.

The choice is entirely up to the buyer. If your fear of heat would be alleviated by a heatsink, buy one.

Maybe you aren't particularly concerned with heat. You would know better than we would.

The SSD is likely designed to throttle at a certain temperature. My Intel SSD will throttle at 80, per Intel specs. Samsung specs may have that level of detail available. I don't know.

The Intel toolbox has told me that it has never reached a temp above the low 70s, and that very rarely...only when deliberately stressed. Never in normal operation.

Samsung offers the heatsink choice because it knows that certain people will be attracted for that reason alone. Marketing. Suit yourself.

What happens during throttle, can your pc still work like normal?

I guess throttle is to prevent the SSD from overheating?

"deliberately stressed" is what type of situations?

 

[USAFRet]

"deliberately stressed" is what type of situations?

Running some artificial benchmark.
Not normal use.

 

[Lafong]

What happens during throttle, can your pc still work like normal?

I guess throttle is to prevent the SSD from overheating?

"deliberately stressed" is what type of situations?

My SSDs have NEVER throttled. I have no idea how noticeable it might be.

The Intel Toolbox includes a "Full Diagnostic Scan" to read, write, and verify every address on the drive.

I ran the test the day I bought the drive.

That one test wrote 3 Terabytes to the drive in 6 hours. That's more than I write in a year in normal operation.

Max temp reached was 73.

I've never noticed temps above the low 60s in normal operation.

"Warning" temp for this Intel drive is 75. "Critical" temp (at which throttling would occur) is 80. Neither has ever been reached in 5 years of use.

 

[Bob.B]

Hi,

I intend to use 1TB Samsung 980 Pro and I saw it has heatsink.

1. What is the difference between the 1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 heatsink vs the motherboard M.2 heatsink?

2. What is the difference [1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 with heatsink in a motherboard with M.2 heatsink] vs [1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2 with heatsink in a motherboard without M.2 heatsink]

3. Is it important to have heatsink on motherboard M.2?

4. Can I add M.2 heatsink to a motherboard that does not have M.2 heatsink?

5. Can I add heatsink to a M.2 Internal SSD that does not have heatsink?

My understanding is no heatsink for the m.2 slot for this motherboard https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/prime-b550m-a-wifi-ii/

Thanks

If you often move large chunks of data in and out of the m.2 or have a case with poor air flow you might need a heat sink.

Get the m.2 without a heat sink and monitor the temps if it's getting too hot you can then add a heat sink.

 

[RUSerious]

I wouldn't think that a 1TB SS 980 Pro would get very hot. That said, at this point, just get the one with the heatsink and take all this worry off your shoulders. What's another20 bucks.

 

[USAFRet]

I wouldn't think that a 1TB SS 980 Pro would get very hot. That said, at this point, just get the one with the heatsink and take all this worry off your shoulders. What's another20 bucks.

My drive:
"1TB Samsung 980 Pro (OS drive), heatsink
Idles at 51C
Writing large data, it goes to 65C"

 

[smalltech]

After reading a review (copied and pasted below), I have decided to buy Samsung Pro 990 without Samsung heat sink, later then decide if I want to add a heat sink.

Reasons to avoid the Samsung Pro that comes with heat sink are unable to use nvme docking station, very difficult to remove the Samsung heat sink and removing it will void the warranty.

-----
D. F. Watt
1.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Electronics paired with dismal attention to details - in this case heatsink construction!
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2022
Capacity: 2TBStyle: 980 PRO with HeatsinkVerified Purchase
This product should come with a clear warning sticker:

1) heat sink makes it impossible for this drive to fit in almost any NVMe drive caddy on the market that you might want to use to clone your System Drive, and it will not mount on most motherboards, at least the ones that I've tried with the heatsink on.
2) Samsung in their typical impenetrable logic decided to attach the heatsink with Uber special proprietary P5 screws which you will need to get special tools to remove. I guess smaller Phillips head screws were just not difficult enough to work with for Samsung!
3) in an application of similar design logic, Samsung decided to glue the heat sink to the SSD surface mount board with the strongest possible double sided contact tape in existence. This means that it's very difficult - but not totally impossible - even after the screws are removed to get the heat sink off the board without damaging it. Oh BTW, of course if you damage it that's on you.
4) in a continued application of the same bizarre design logic, Samsung neglected to include instructions about any of this acknowledging the impossibility of cloning the drive through conventional means without removing the heatsink first. You have to discover that for yourself.

Bottom line - unless this is going straight into a PlayStation 5, avoid this technological design disaster like the plague. It's really amazing to me that Samsung can continue to express in their products their corporate DNA of brilliant electronics and dismal attention to every other kind of detail. Truly amazing. Genius and total incompetence paired in a frustrating combination. I would not have thought that were possible if it were not for Samsung products.
20 people found this helpful
source https://www.amazon.com/product-revi...ll_reviews&pageNumber=1&filterByKeyword=caddy

 

[USAFRet]

Reasons to avoid the Samsung Pro that comes with heat sink are unable to use nvme docking station, very difficult to remove the Samsung heat sink and removing it will void the warranty.

Why would you need to put it in a docking station?

Cloning?

There are multiple ways around that, if you need to do that.

 

[smalltech]

Why would you need to put it in a docking station?

Cloning?

There are multiple ways around that, if you need to do that.

If the PC is faulty, I can remove the nvme M.2 SSD and put it into a docking station and connect the docking station via usb cable to another working PC to access the data in the nvme M.2 SSD

Never tried cloning, when do you need to clone?

 

[USAFRet]

If the PC is faulty, I can remove the nvme M.2 SSD and put into a docking station and use another working PC to access the data in the nvme M.2 SSD

Having to remove the drive and attach it do a different system to access your data is a total fail of your backup routine. Or lack thereof.

 

[smalltech]

There are multiple ways around that, if you need to do that.

Can you share what multiple ways?

Having to remove the drive and attach it do a different system to access your data is a total fail of your backup routine. Or lack thereof.

Macrium Backup is done once a day at night, during the day there might newest data that are not in the backup and only exist in the nvme M.2 SSD only, so maybe 24 hours of newest data might not be inside the backup image.

Accessing the nvme M.2 SSD using the docking station is the most direct way to access the file if I really need a few files to continue work temporary in another working pc. Accessing backup data need to install/boot from backup software.

How do you do backup to have the latest data inside your backup? How often do you backup?