Question NVMe SSD running at 62C. Do i need a heatsink?

[NightShade_7]

I had an intel stock cooler when I first built my PC and turns out my SSD ran pretty hot, it's been a while so i dont remember the temps. But it was bad, CPU temps hit 90s during games and I assumed there may have been the hot air spreading out to the SSD since the stock cooler pushes air down so I picked up a Deepcool AK620 and it keeps my i5 11400 impressively cool even at max load. But my SSD, a WD Blue SN 550 hits 62C after a 1 hour run of Witcher 3. But i dont think my ssd hit 60 even with the intel cooler in. So how bad is this temperature? I've read that SSDs are generally safe upto 70C. Do I need to get an enclosure or can I just roll without one?

 

[Lafong]

You should be able to find out if it has ever throttled using the WD Dashboard or something like HWInfo64.

HWInfo64 may also show you 3 different sensors on the SSD. It does on my WD SN770.

The controller temp is likely the warmest area. It can be 10 or more degrees higher than elsewhere on the SSD.

I pounded an NVMe deliberately with over 3 TB writes within 6 hours; max temp was 73. It never throttled. Warning temp is 78 and throttle temp is 80, for that drive (Intel 660p).

If you are anxious by nature, use a heatsink. I'm not using them on my 2 NVMes and neither has ever throttled. They do run a bit hotter than 2.5 inch SSDs.

 

[Bob.B]

I had an intel stock cooler when I first built my PC and turns out my SSD ran pretty hot, it's been a while so i dont remember the temps. But it was bad, CPU temps hit 90s during games and I assumed there may have been the hot air spreading out to the SSD since the stock cooler pushes air down so I picked up a Deepcool AK620 and it keeps my i5 11400 impressively cool even at max load. But my SSD, a WD Blue SN 550 hits 62C after a 1 hour run of Witcher 3. But i dont think my ssd hit 60 even with the intel cooler in. So how bad is this temperature? I've read that SSDs are generally safe upto 70C. Do I need to get an enclosure or can I just roll without one?

Remove the side panel from the case.
See if it makes a diff with the temps.

 

[NightShade_7]

You should be able to find out if it has ever throttled using the WD Dashboard or something like HWInfo64.

HWInfo64 may also show you 3 different sensors on the SSD. It does on my WD SN770.

The controller temp is likely the warmest area. It can be 10 or more degrees higher than elsewhere on the SSD.

I pounded an NVMe deliberately with over 3 TB writes within 6 hours; max temp was 73. It never throttled. Warning temp is 78 and throttle temp is 80, for that drive (Intel 660p).

If you are anxious by nature, use a heatsink. I'm not using them on my 2 NVMes and neither has ever throttled. They do run a bit hotter than 2.5 inch SSDs.

I used hwinfo to note the temps, and also found that it's remaining life readout is 98%, and it's seen one year of use. It's my OS drive and also my game/video editing drive for the most part. Only one temp is listed for the SN550 it seems. How do I check for throttling? I feel like it's never happened for me so far. I wouldnt even have noticed if I hadnt checked out hwinfo.

 

[Lafong]

How do I check for throttling? I feel like it's never happened for me so far. I wouldnt even have noticed if I hadnt checked out hwinfo.

Install the WD Dashboard if you haven't already.

Looking at mine, I see a "Tools" area. Poke it.

Then "Open SMART data".

Do you see "Warning composite temperature time" and "Critical composite temperature time"...along with a bunch of other readings?

I think "Critical composite temperature time" is the total number of minutes at the throttling point. Mine says zero for both Warning composite and Critical composite.

I'm not sure what those temps are on my SN 770, but they have never been reached. I found a spec sheet for the 770 that says "operating temperature" is 0 to 85 C, so the critical temp might be 85?? You should be able to find a similar spec sheet for the SN 550.