Can NVMe SSD placement affect GPU temperature?

[ProtoflareX]

I recently purchased an ASUS X570-Pro motherboard to use with a Ryzen 3900x rig that I will be assembling tomorrow. However, before I assemble the rig, I have a question about NVMe SSD placement on the motherboard and its effects on GPU temperature. As shown in the linked picture, the X570-Pro has two M.2 slots in which NVMe drives can be placed. One directly below where the heatsink would go and another beneath the second PCIe slot. I've heard that NVMe drives have a tendency to run hot, so my concern is that if I place it in the slot beneath the second PCIe slot, the fans of my GPU will be pulling in heated air generated by the NVMe drive. Is that concern valid, or is it just me being pessimistic? Additionally, I've heard that NVMe performance can be hindered when they run very hot. If I were to place it in the slot beneath the CPU heatsink (I'll be using the Thermalright Le Grand Macho RT), wouldn't it run even hotter due to being in close proximity to the heated GPU backplate and CPU heatsink which both continually release heat?

[brandishwar]

Yes they do tend to run hot, which is why mainboard manufacturers have placed the slots alongside the PCI-E slots. That way it can be cooled by your GPU's fans if you get a GPU that doesn't use a fully shrouded blower-style cooler. Similar to how a CPU cooler aids in cooling the VRMs and memory chips.

[ProtoflareX]

1 minute ago, brandishwar said:

Yes they do tend to run hot, which is why mainboard manufacturers have placed the slots alongside the PCI-E slots. That way it can be cooled by your GPU's fans if you get a GPU that doesn't use a fully shrouded blower-style cooler. Similar to how a CPU cooler aids in cooling the VRMs and memory chips.

My GPU isn't a blower style, so based on what you said just now, its fans should contribute to cooling the NVMe, but what about the heated air being drawn in toward the GPU? 

[brandishwar]

6 minutes ago, ProtoflareX said:

My GPU isn't a blower style, so based on what you said just now, its fans should contribute to cooling the NVMe, but what about the heated air being drawn in toward the GPU? 

Since you aren't using a blower-style cooler, you'll need to ensure the hot air that is produced by your GPU's cooler is evacuated away with good airflow. If you have good airflow across your system in your chassis, this should only be a marginal concern.

[ProtoflareX]

10 minutes ago, brandishwar said:

Since you aren't using a blower-style cooler, you'll need to ensure the hot air that is produced by your GPU's cooler is evacuated away with good airflow. If you have good airflow across your system in your chassis, this should only be a marginal concern.

As I fear liquid cooling, I took great care to ensure that my build will have good airflow. That being the case, you can say with certainty that the ideal slot for my NVMe drive is the slot beneath the second PCIe slot and that the GPU drawing in the NVMe's heated air will be of little concern?

[brandishwar]

How much heat do you think an SSD creates? Yes, that is the more ideal spot since it should be actively cooled by your GPU. The heat that airflow will wash off the SSD shouldn't be of concern to cooling your GPU. I doubt mainboard manufacturers would've started placing the slots there if the opposite were true.

[ProtoflareX]

1 minute ago, brandishwar said:

How much heat do you think an SSD creates? Yes, that is the more ideal spot since it should be actively cooled by your GPU. The heat that airflow will wash off the SSD shouldn't be of concern to cooling your GPU. I doubt mainboard manufacturers would've started placing the slots there if the opposite were true.

Alright, the drive will be going there then. Thanks for answering my questions.

[.Apex.]

48 minutes ago, ProtoflareX said:

My GPU isn't a blower style, so based on what you said just now, its fans should contribute to cooling the NVMe, but what about the heated air being drawn in toward the GPU?

What heated air? something being hot does not mean it will have the ability to heat up the air around it by that degree, it just means that it's inefficient at dissipating the heat, and since an NVME SSD only consumes 5W at full load, it won't affect the air temperature by much, most likely immeasurable with standard equipment when considering all of the air volume in a case and how fast the case dissipates it