[SOLVED] Need help installing an M.2 NVME SSD (Gigabyte Z370 HD3P)

[Pink Jazz]

I bought an SK Hynix Gold P31 SSD for my desktop, and it appears there is an issue installing it in my motherboard when using a heatsink (Gigabyte Z370 HD3P). My cooler is a a Cooler Master Hyper 212. Apparently there is a capacitor sticking out from the motherboard next to the M.2 slots. Apparently my heatsink (Sabrent SB-HTSK) was too wide due to the capacitor. Are there any heatsinks that are narrow enough to fit?

EDIT: I just ordered a Micro Connectors low profile heatsink; hopefully it fits. It appears to be narrower than the Sabrent heatsink since it simply goes on top of the SSD instead of around it.

 

[Barty1884]

The P31 does not need a heatsink.... you could just run it in the top slot without the headsink?

Even if you wanted to use it merely for aesthetics, there is that secondary M.2 slot on your motherboard near the bottom, which doesn't have a capacitor blocking.

 

[Pink Jazz]

Got it installed on the lower M.2 slot with the Sabrent heatsink; cancelled the order for the Micro Connectors heatsink. Thanks. However, my HDD is now throwing S.M.A.R.T. warnings ever since I cloned to my SSD. I wanted to keep my HDD as a secondary storage since my HDD is 4TB vs. 1TB for the SSD.

 

[Barty1884]

Hmmmm, I would highly recommend a clean install to the SSD over a 'clone'.
Clone take the good/bad/ugly.

As for S.M.A.R.T warnings, on a 4TB HDD that may not be too terrible, you could partition in out of being too much concern for day to day storage - but don't use it as the only backup of any critical data.

 

[Pink Jazz]

Looking at Seagate's SeaTools, the HDD passes the test, so it might not be a critical warning. It was KillDisk that was reporting the warnings.