[SOLVED] SSD seems to be running hot and slowing down a LOT (Crucial BX500 240GB)

[pitychee]

Hello everyone, I seem to be having a problem with my new SSD.
I noticed that when installing games from steam to the SSD windows slowed down quite a bit and that made me wonder if anything was wrong so I checked the SSD temperatures and it was running at 74C.
After that I began testing some things and found out that while trying to copy an 8GB ISO file the copying speed started at around 400MB/s, then after a couple seconds dropped down to about 200MB/s (pretty normal so far), but then as soon as the SSD hit 55C it slowed down to a crawl, I mean less than 10MB/s, then spiked up to about 120MB/s, then down again, and so on until it finished copying the file.

Does it make sense that and SSD slows down so much when it reaches around 55C?
Please help!


First few seconds of the copying process (you can see the SSD temps on the left, S.M.A.R.T.: CT240...)

Then after a few seconds it slows down (see temperatures)

Here you can see the spikes in the graph

 

[jay32267]

Does it make sense that and SSD slows down so much when it reaches around 55C?
I think it might. I think I have read that SSDs should be kept under 50C.
Regardless....can you relocate the SSD?
I would think that where it's currently located may have a lot to do with why it's hot.
I don't think SSDs get that hot by themselves.

 

[pitychee]

Does it make sense that and SSD slows down so much when it reaches around 55C?
I think it might. I think I have read that SSDs should be kept under 50C.
Regardless....can you relocate the SSD?
I would think that where it's currently located may have a lot to do with why it's hot.
I don't think SSDs get that hot by themselves.

I actually have relocated it multiple times, even putting it in front of a fan, not touching anything, and still no change. It's weird.

 

[pitychee]

What's weird too is that CrystalDiskMark runs just fine, benchmark results are totally normal, no SSD 'throttling'

 

[jay32267]

Does it feel hot?
74C is going to feel hot.

 

[pitychee]

Does it feel hot?
74C is going to feel hot.

No, it did not feel hot at all now that you mention it, maybe a little warm, but not 74C warm or even 60C warm.

 

[jay32267]

No, it did not feel hot at all now that you mention it, maybe a little warm, but not 74C warm or even 60C warm.

I understand how it might slow down at 55C....but I don't understand how it's even getting to 55C.
Can you move it outside the case? Maybe set it on something cool/cold and try it?

 

[pitychee]

I understand how it might slow down at 55C....but I don't understand how it's even getting to 55C.
Can you move it outside the case? Maybe set it on something cool/cold and try it?

Tried it outside the case and still the same results. Room temp is around 24C. According to Crucial's website the operating temperature for this SSD is 0-70C so I'm lost as to what to think.

 

[Gadhar]

That sounds like a defective SSD. I know that some of the RGB SSD's were having an issue with throttling due to high temps from the lights. 74c would physically burn you if you touched it because that is 165 f. It might be a bad temp sensor on the SSD.

 

[pitychee]

That sounds like a defective SSD. I know that some of the RGB SSD's were having an issue with throttling due to high temps from the lights. 74c would physically burn you if you touched it because that is 165 f. It might be a bad temp sensor on the SSD.

Well, that sucks. I feared it could be defective. I'll try to get it replaced. Thanks!

 

[fzabkar]

ISTM that this SSD senses the die temperature of the flash controller (SM2258XT). Other SSDs have a discrete temperature sensor IC which senses the air temperature.

https://goughlui.com/2019/08/10/experiment-examining-solid-state-drive-temperature-reporting/

Kingston's A400 SSD uses the same SM2258XT controller. Users also report temperature problems with that model.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/kingston-a400-240gb-temperatures.3504051/

 

[pitychee]

ISTM that this SSD senses the die temperature of the flash controller (SM2258XT). Other SSDs have a discrete temperature sensor IC which senses the air temperature.

https://goughlui.com/2019/08/10/experiment-examining-solid-state-drive-temperature-reporting/

Kingston's A400 SSD uses the same SM2258XT controller. Users also report temperature problems with that model.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/kingston-a400-240gb-temperatures.3504051/

Huh, interesting, so that could actually be why I'm getting such high temp readings, but what about the transfer speeds tanking so much?
Any idea what could be causing this if it's not tempterature related?

 

[fzabkar]

I would have thought that the SSD was throttling itself, but your CrystalDiskMark results seem to cast doubt on that. ???

I can't see how you could test the SSD without opening the case and voiding your warranty.

 

[pitychee]

I would have thought that the SSD was throttling itself, but your CrystalDiskMark results seem to cast doubt on that. ???

I can't see how you could test the SSD without opening the case and voiding your warranty.

Right!? It's so weird, I'm actually lost.

I emailed the company that sold the SSD to me to see if I can get a replacement. If I do I'll update this thread with the results when I test the new one.

 

[prophet51]

I have the same drive with the same problem sometimes. I thought it was just the slc cache running out and then writing straight to qlc which uses more power than slc. That's why the temps seem to spike when it throttles. And i'm pretty sure that temp sensor is the flash chip not the controller, it would be the controller causing all the heat.
Either way I fixed the temp problems with a thermal pad, and throttling doesn't happen enough to worry about, I see you were restoring steam folders that's the only thing that's caused mine to throttle and overheat too.

 

[pitychee]

I have the same drive with the same problem sometimes. I thought it was just the slc cache running out and then writing straight to qlc which uses more power than slc. That's why the temps seem to spike when it throttles. And i'm pretty sure that temp sensor is the flash chip not the controller, it would be the controller causing all the heat.
Either way I fixed the temp problems with a thermal pad, and throttling doesn't happen enough to worry about, I see you were restoring steam folders that's the only thing that's caused mine to throttle and overheat too.

Ah ok, it's comforting to see that i'm not the only one with the same problem. Then I shouldn't worry too much about the temps, although i'm really tempted now to open it and apply a thermal pad since the throttling is actually pretty bad. Where exactly do the thermal pads go and could I get away with a little bit of thermal paste instead?

 

[prophet51]

I just made sure the thermal pad was making contact with the controller chip(it's only on one side of the pcb unlike the flash chips. The other side of the thermal pad should make contact with the outer plastic case once you put it back on, though I also put a 10c coin there as well I don't think that part's necessary.
The highest temp I got after applying the heatpad is only 59c while throttling when I installed gta5.

 

[pitychee]

I just made sure the thermal pad was making contact with the controller chip(it's only on one side of the pcb unlike the flash chips. The other side of the thermal pad should make contact with the outer plastic case once you put it back on, though I also put a 10c coin there as well I don't think that part's necessary.
The highest temp I got after applying the heatpad is only 59c while throttling when I installed gta5.

That's quite the drop in temps, I might try to get my hands on some pads in the coming days and maybe try it if I feel like voiding my warranty lol. Were you getting temps like mine before you applied the pad? (70C+)

 

[prophet51]

Yes peak smart temp of 85c, though I never saw it higher than 75c. I just used some spare thermal pads that came with my m.2 optane, resized.

 

[fzabkar]

I wonder why reviewers aren't seeing these high temperatures?!

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/crucial-bx500-480-gb-ssd-review,19.html

During our test benchmarks stress tests with a high-stress workload, we monitor the SSD temperature. The controller reaches a max of 53 Degrees, which is fine.

 

[pitychee]

I wonder why reviewers aren't seeing these high temperatures?!

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/crucial-bx500-480-gb-ssd-review,19.html

That's not even close to the temps i'm getting, damn.

Also, downloaded HD Tune and got some really erratic speeds. Started at 300MB/s or so, then dipped to 0MB/s, it did that a couple times and then it kinda stabilized. I'll upload a picture of the graph once I get home.

 

[prophet51]

I wonder why reviewers aren't seeing these high temperatures?!

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/crucial-bx500-480-gb-ssd-review,19.html

That's the 480Gb model, the temps aren't a problem until you run out of slc cache then the temp starts spiking which is easier to do on a 240Gb drive. The 480Gb pcb might be bigger to hold more flash chips which means bigger heatsink for the controller(pcb is the only real heatsink for the controller without mods).

 

[pitychee]

That's the 480Gb model, the temps aren't a problem until you run out of slc cache then the temp starts spiking which is easier to do on a 240Gb drive. The 480Gb pcb might be bigger to hold more flash chips which means bigger heatsink for the controller(pcb is the only real heatsink for the controller without mods).

I wonder why reviewers aren't seeing these high temperatures?!

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/crucial-bx500-480-gb-ssd-review,19.html

HD Tune graph, tell me what you think. Those dips to 0MB/s can't be normal right?

HD Tune health, any idea why it says 'failed' on temperature? Could it indicate something?

 

[prophet51]

Looks like normal throttling qlc write mode, meant to be around 100Mb/s, and that program might not be reading the smart data correctly. Try crucial storage executive to read the smart data correctly.
https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/support-storage-executive

 

[captaincharisma]

Right!? It's so weird, I'm actually lost.

I emailed the company that sold the SSD to me to see if I can get a replacement. If I do I'll update this thread with the results when I test the new one.

how old is the SSD? Crucial SSD's come with a limited 3 year factory warrenty