NVMe Optimal Cooling?

[ShafeDogg]

I purchased an Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB for the computer I'm currently building, and I was wondering what you guys think about cooling it or not. It comes with a heat sink, and the motherboard I bought also comes with a heat shield (the Gigabyte X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming). Would you guys use the drive's heat sink, the motherboard's heat shield, both, or none at all? The M.2 slot is also located under the graphics card. What do you all think? Thanks!

[F___M]

I wouldn't do anything more than install it.

[Jurrunio]

which heatsink has more surface area? Only use one heatsink at a time.

[ShafeDogg]

@Jurrunio Probably the one that came with the motherboard? Do you mean how much comes into contact with the drive, or how large it is? Sorry for noob questions. I've read that these things are just sales gimmicks and a lot of the time do more harm than good.

 

I'd love to hear more opinions on the matter, and thanks!

[Jurrunio]

58 minutes ago, ShafeDogg said:

Do you mean how much comes into contact with the drive, or how large it is?

how much contact area it has with the air. This determines heat dissipation.

[Guest]

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[ShafeDogg]

@Jurrunio Could you explain more about it? Do you personally suggest using any type of M.2 cooling?

 

I'm still on the fence about it honestly, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Jurrunio]

14 minutes ago, ShafeDogg said:

@Jurrunio Could you explain more about it? Do you personally suggest using any type of M.2 cooling?

 

I'm still on the fence about it honestly, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Basically, to get more cooling, you increase surface area. Deep cuts on an aluminium block, fins, do the best. In this case neither are present but you should still use the one with more cuts on it.

[ShafeDogg]

@Jurrunio I see, thanks

[jinzaburou]

Here is a question along those lines.  The heat sink that came with my MP600 bumps up against the shroud on the ASUS ROG X570-E mobo.  So my options are to modify the shroud, or use the heat sink that came with the mobo.  Is there any data for which heat sink is more effective, or are they essentially equivalent?  The MP600 stock heat sink has the deep cuts that Jurrinio mentioned, but the mobo heat sink sink is larger, and heavier.  Does anyone actually have any real world data?

 

[Dedayog]

This is a lot of overthinking for a M.2 SSD.  Just install it and be done.

 

 

[jinzaburou]

3 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

This is a lot of overthinking for a M.2 SSD.  Just install it and be done.

 

 

As I said, I can't just install it because the shroud is in the way.  I either cut the shroud and keep the MP600 heatsink, or I remove it and use the mobo stock heat sink.  So i was wondering if anyone already had data on which was a better option.  

[Dedayog]

Just now, jinzaburou said:

As I said, I can't just install it because the shroud is in the way.  I either cut the shroud and keep the MP600 heatsink, or I remove it and use the mobo stock heat sink.  So i was wondering if anyone already had data on which was a better option.  

Use the motherboard shroud, it'll look better.   Either one is fine, it's your call 100%.  

[cluelessgenius]

i wouldnt say those things absolutly need any cooling at all. mobo manufacturer cover them to not have a potential competing brand name visible on the board and obviously for marketing purposes. 

so if youre asking functional difference only i would say it doesnt matter and you could probably even run it without any cooling.

and the rest .. well thats just personal preference and taste on what looks better to you.

id use the mobo piece just so it looks cleaner.

but then again i wouldnt have purchased an ssd from a brand that markets it with a "cooler" but that just me

[jinzaburou]

All the pcie gen 4 nvmes are coming with coolers attached to them right now, so it would be the same problem with any of the currently available gen 4s. So I am guessing cooling is more important than it was with gen 3.  Maybe i'll just have to test it myself, if nobody has any data already

[ShafeDogg]

@jinzaburou Honestly it's going to be a long time before I even think about using PCIe 4.0. Until the technology is able to be used without a fan on the motherboard at a minimum. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to use this technology, but it's still generating too much heat, and enough parts need cooling or fans as-is. Not to mention video cards can't even utilize so much speed. It's just another expensive thing to go wrong, and this time it's attached to your motherboard. I would guess that's why the new NVMe drives are needing more cooling as well, as they are near the PCIe lanes.