Question Need heatsink on Nvme Drive ?

[Rui Neves]

Next month, I plan to purchase a 2TB Silicon Power UD90 NVMe drive. My motherboard has an M.2 slot located directly below the GPU. It's worth noting that neither the NVMe drive nor the motherboard come with a built-in heatsink for thermal management. The motherboard in question is the Gigabyte B450 Gaming X.

Do I need an heatsink on the Nvme Drive ?

The Nvme will be used as main storage drive ( games , storage and OS) , so it will have the usage of everyday normal operations and gaming .

 

[helpstar]

you won´t need it necessarily, but it can help getting its temperature below 70°C. Performance and life span should be better with a heat sink over time.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Do I need an heatsink on the Nvme Drive ?

PCIE 4.0 NVME drives run rather hot.
Heatsink is very much required. Or expect lowered drive performance because of thermal throttling.

Why don't you get PCIE 3.0 nvme drive instead. Your motherboard doesn't support PCIE 4.0 mode anyway.
PCIE 3.0 nvme drive will be fine even without heatsink.

 

[Rui Neves]

PCIE 4.0 NVME drives run rather hot.
Heatsink is very much required. Or expect lowered drive performance because of thermal throttling.

Why don't you get PCIE 3.0 nvme drive instead. Your motherboard doesn't support PCIE 4.0 mode anyway.
PCIE 3.0 nvme drive will be fine even without heatsink.

Because the drives that I have seen that are pcie 3.0 seems to be the same price or at Higher price , at least on local stores or amazon.es, I live in Portugal and the cheapest pcie 3 drives will be like 85€ the same as that silicon power drive .
I will try to find again something that is pcie 3 with a good speed and good brand as an alternative , found this one: https://amzn.eu/d/fN8aIVU
But I am not sure about the drive quality anyway .

 

[Rui Neves]

you won´t need it necessarily, but it can help getting its temperature below 70°C. Performance and life span should be better with a heat sink over time.

The issue I'm facing is selecting an appropriate heatsink. This is because the NVMe drive will be positioned beneath the GPU, and I'm uncertain about the maximum allowable height for the heatsink in this configuration.

 

[CountMike]

The issue I'm facing is selecting an appropriate heatsink. This is because the NVMe drive will be positioned beneath the GPU, and I'm uncertain about the maximum allowable height for the heatsink in this configuration.

Don't you have some kind of ruler to measure ?

 

[Rui Neves]

Don't you have some kind of ruler to measure ?

Yes ....
But there aren't any universal rule or guideline for this situation? Also, it seems that I'd need to measure the space available with both the NVMe drive and GPU already installed, correct?

 

[CountMike]

Yes ....
But there aren't any universal rule or guideline for this situation? Also, it seems that I'd need to measure the space available with both the NVMe drive and GPU already installed, correct?

Unfortunately there are no standards because there are too many different coolers. GPU cooler just has to clear PCIe slot and M.2 drives could be anywhere on the MB. In some places cooler can be practically any height and in some there's no space for it.
Direct measuring from top of M.2 drive to lowest point of GPU cooler is one way or you can find dimensions of GPU cooler and of M.2 cooler and find what fits.
In your case, an M.2 cooler may even be counter productive as GPUs can also be hot and actually heat M.2 drive or hamper it's cooling.
There's one thing to consider with NVMe drives. The part that heats most is it's controller chip while storage chips can stand much higher temps and some even work better when hot.

 

[Rui Neves]

Unfortunately there are no standards because there are too many different coolers. GPU cooler just has to clear PCIe slot and M.2 drives could be anywhere on the MB. In some places cooler can be practically any height and in some there's no space for it.
Direct measuring from top of M.2 drive to lowest point of GPU cooler is one way or you can find dimensions of GPU cooler and of M.2 cooler and find what fits.
In your case, an M.2 cooler may even be counter productive as GPUs can also be hot and actually heat M.2 drive or hamper it's cooling.
There's one thing to consider with NVMe drives. The part that heats most is it's controller chip while storage chips can stand much higher temps and some even work better when hot.

They could make things much easier by adding the M.2 slot somewhere else, just like the SATA ports that get blocked by the GPU, which forces users to choose a SATA cable that fits. Some aspects of technology have evolved significantly, but these small issues still persist in some motherboards. It's not like it would incur additional production costs!
I will never understand .

Regarding the heatsink, based on what you've mentioned, it seems there's no need for one in this specific case. By the way, my GPU always has the fans running at a minimum of 30% and increases the speed according to the temperature , in this case the GPU fans can help the drive heat dissipation in some way ?

 

[CountMike]

They could make things much easier by adding the M.2 slot somewhere else, just like the SATA ports that get blocked by the GPU, which forces users to choose a SATA cable that fits. Some aspects of technology have evolved significantly, but these small issues still persist in some motherboards. It's not like it would incur additional production costs!
I will never understand .

Regarding the heatsink, based on what you've mentioned, it seems there's no need for one in this specific case. By the way, my GPU always has the fans running at a minimum of 30% and increases the speed according to the temperature , in this case the GPU fans can help the drive heat dissipation in some way ?

Those coolers are a bit of misnomer, They are just heat transfer devices and that works both ways, They can never achieve temps lower than ambient. Relatively hot GPU can push 50-70c + air right down on NVMe if it's under it leaving little to no temp margin to cool it. it's unfortunate placement in that case, most MBs have them above top PCIe slot or well clear from other heat sources. and/or have own covers to act as "coolers".

 

[Rui Neves]

Those coolers are a bit of misnomer, They are just heat transfer devices and that works both ways, They can never achieve temps lower than ambient. Relatively hot GPU can push 50-70c + air right down on NVMe if it's under it leaving little to no temp margin to cool it. it's unfortunate placement in that case, most MBs have them above top PCIe slot or well clear from other heat sources. and/or have own covers to act as "coolers".

Is it better to prioritize optimal airflow over using a heatsink in this scenario? In my current GPU fan configuration, the GPU never exceeds 60°C, and the hot spot temperature remains below 80°C.

 

[CountMike]

So it's better to have the best airflow possible instead of an heatsink in this case? . In the way I have my gpu fans configuration, the gpu never pass the 60°c and the 80°c on the hot spot .

Yes, airflow is essential to take heat away and out of the case.

 

[Bob.B]

Next month, I plan to purchase a 2TB Silicon Power UD90 NVMe drive. My motherboard has an M.2 slot located directly below the GPU. It's worth noting that neither the NVMe drive nor the motherboard come with a built-in heatsink for thermal management. The motherboard in question is the Gigabyte B450 Gaming X.

Do I need an heatsink on the Nvme Drive ?

The Nvme will be used as main storage drive ( games , storage and OS) , so it will have the usage of everyday normal operations and gaming .

Install the m.2 without a heatsink.
Run your stuff and watch the temps.
If the m.2 is getting to hot then you take action.

 

[Rui Neves]

Yes, airflow is essential to take heat away and out of the case.

Okay thanks, I think then I wil be okay

 

[Rui Neves]

Install the m.2 without a heatsink.
Run your stuff and watch the temps.
If the m.2 is getting to hot then you take action.

Hum ok thanks , is probably what I will do