Question New M2 drive - sketchy heatsink

[vlad-kzm]

Hey,

I got a new M2 drive, a 2TB Acer Predator GM7. Anyway right away I messed up by removing the sticker that was facing the heatsink, that voids the warranty.
This is only my 2nd M2 drive ever and since I have a heatsink included with the motherboard, I thought that the sticker would just get in the way between the chips and the heatsink. Turns out it's a heat spreader sticker and I wasn't supposed to remove it, my bad!
Wish that info was on the box though, not online.

So the thing is, as I removed the previous M2 there was some sticky oily stuff on the heatsink from the heat I guess. I cleaned that with some 96 alcohol and a paper towel. But now the heatsink doesn't look the same anymore. Here's what I mean.

Before it had this shiny texture, after cleaning it looks different

https://imgur.com/a/C810yS3

View: https://imgur.com/a/C810yS3


Sorry, it wouldn't let me insert the images.

I ran a benchmark on the drive and it wouldn't go past 47°C. On the box it says the working temperatures are 0-70°C.
Should I buy a new heatsink for this? Or just keep an eye on the temperatures and pray for the best in regards of the warranty?

Cheers.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Should I buy a new heatsink for this?

There is supposed to be a thermal pad between heatsink and M.2 drive.
Since you cleaned it off, then get a new thermal pad.

Thermal pads @ amazon

 

[vlad-kzm]

There is supposed to be a thermal pad between heatsink and M.2 drive.
Since you cleaned it off, then get a new thermal pad.

Thermal pads @ amazon

There's still a thermal pad stuck to the heatsink, it just doesn't look shiny like before.
Do I have to buy one anyway?

 

[SkyNetRising]

There's still a thermal pad stuck to the heatsink, it just doesn't look shiny like before.
Do I have to buy one anyway?

You have cleaned it off completely.
It was more like a thin layer of dried thermal paste before.
But thermal pad is recommended for this type of application.
Get a new thermal pad.

It's clearly visible in 2nd photo - there is no thermal pad/paste left.

 

[vlad-kzm]

You have cleaned it off completely. Get a new thermal pad.

It's clearly visible in 2nd photo - there is no thermal pad left.

Sorry, I appreciate the help. Maybe I'm not understanding things right?
Isn't a thermal pad a piece of rubber-ey stuff that you can hold with your hands? It's not a layer that you can just wipe off? I remember changing them in my old GPU.
On this heatsink I didn't remove anything like that, I just carefully wiped off the oily remains.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Isn't a thermal pad a piece of rubber-ey stuff that you can hold with your hands? It's not a layer that you can just wipe off? I remember changing them in my old GPU.

Yes - that is thermal paste vs thermal pad.
Thermal pads can be reused and have more thickness. They serve the same purpose.

 

[vlad-kzm]

Yes - that is thermal paste vs thermal pad.
Thermal pads can be reused and have more thickness. They serve the same purpose.

Well rather than buying thermal pads I just ordered 2 M2 heatsinks, one for each drive. Be Quiet MC1 is the model. That will ease my worries about the temperatures.
Sucks about the warranty though! In this case I probably would have been better off leaving the sticker on and leaving the heatsink alone...
Thanks for your help!

 

[Satan-IR]

Some of these heatsinks with themal pads have some thin transparent plastic film/sticker on the thermal pads.

Check the instructions if any but you have to peel that off before attaching the sink with the pads to the drive.

 

[vlad-kzm]

Some of these heatsinks with themal pads have some thin transparent plastic film/sticker on the thermal pads.

Check the instructions if any but you have to peel that off before attaching the sink with the pads to the drive.

Yeah I did that with the heatsink that came with the motherboard. Had to remove a little plastic.
I've been using the computer and monitoring the temps and it's fine. I don't really push the drive hard, just record music and play games. Even with the benchmark where it was reading 7500MBs and writing 6500MBs it didn't go past 47°C.
Wish I knew before about the sticker being heat conductive though, would've saved me a headache.

 

[Satan-IR]

Even with the benchmark where it was reading 7500MBs and writing 6500MBs it didn't go past 47°C.
Wish I knew before about the sticker being heat conductive though, would've saved me a headache.

The temps look OK and the 47C is under load (benchmark) so most probably it won't even reach that temp during normal everyday use.

Wish I knew before about the sticker being heat conductive though, would've saved me a headache.

What sticker do you mean? The plastic protection? Or you mean the thermal pads that are stuck to the sink? Or the sticked on the drive chips?

Thermal pads are heat conductive and should remain (between sink and drive), the protection film/plastic should be removed.

I'm sure you'd find plenty of how-to videos online for that particualr heatsink model you ordered.

 

[vlad-kzm]

The temps look OK and the 47C is under load (benchmark) so most probably it won't even reach that temp during normal everyday use.


What sticker do you mean? The plastic protection? Or you mean the thermal pads that are stuck to the sink? Or the sticked on the drive chips?

Thermal pads are heat conductive and should remain (between sink and drive), the protection film/plastic should be removed.

I'm sure you'd find plenty of how-to videos online for that particualr heatsink model you ordered.

No, I meant the sticker on the M2 itself. I didn't know that it was a heat spreader, I thought it was just a piece of plastic that you're meant to remove if you're using a heatsink. I was coming from the CPU cooler mentality, where you want the chip and the cooler to make contact with nothing in between (except thermal paste)

The plastic film on the heatsinks I already know that I have to remove it.

 

[vlad-kzm]

A little update. I know it probably doesn't matter but I'm bored so I'll write it anyway.

I got the heatsinks. When I removed the M2s they had some dark marks on them from the previous motherboard heatsink I guess. I did my best carefully cleaning them with alcohol. The picture is before cleaning, not after.

https://imgur.com/a/ktmKo7f

View: https://imgur.com/a/ktmKo7f


I was a bit afraid that they wouldn't fit with my GPU since one slot is right on top of the PCI-e and second one is behind the GPU. But they fit in fine.

https://imgur.com/a/RAo72wc

View: https://imgur.com/a/RAo72wc

You have cleaned it off completely.
It's clearly visible in 2nd photo - there is no thermal pad/paste left.

Then the picture was misleading. The thermal pad was on, just didn't look the same. After I was finished with the installation I removed thermal pad from the heatsink that came with the MB, since I wasn't going to use it anymore.

https://imgur.com/a/zK98eBp

View: https://imgur.com/a/zK98eBp


Anyway the performance is fine. The top M2 which was under the reused thermal pads didn't get a lot of improvement, but it gives me some peace of mind at least.
The bottom M2 which was naked with no heatsink did get a big improvement though. Before the new heatsink the benchmark temp was around 65°C? And now it's 49°C. So that's nice..