Do M.2. Heatsinks Matter?

[Beat_my_Laptop]

Seems like most new MBDs have 1 or more M.2. heatsinks integrated into their weird looking heatsink array & there's novelty M.2. cards with frilly, colorful, argb heatsinks but there's also solid aluminum heatsinks available online, so I'm here to ask, does this matter?

I assume colder is better like usual, but, is it even noticeable heatsink vs. no heatsink, I mean, sata ssd & HDD don't have heatsinks (that I know of) and definitely not on the proportionality (storage vs. heatsink mass & size vs. heatsink mass) that an M.2.  ssd has. Are they aesthetic mods? Do they throw that much heat? Should I just overkill it and add every single component to the water loop and stop asking questions?

[Vishera]

NAND flash likes to run hot and cooling the NAND will reduce it's lifespan,

but the controller doesn't like to run hot, and it will throttle if it's hot enough.

 

Conclusion:

Cool the controller but not the NAND flash.

Just make sure that nothing touches the NAND,not the thermal pads and not the heatsink.

[Beat_my_Laptop]

5 minutes ago, Beat_my_Laptop said:

Seems like most new MBDs have 1 or more M.2. heatsinks integrated into their weird looking heatsink array & there's novelty M.2. cards with frilly, colorful, argb heatsinks but there's also solid aluminum heatsinks available online, so I'm here to ask, does this matter?

I assume colder is better like usual, but, is it even noticeable heatsink vs. no heatsink, I mean, sata ssd & HDD don't have heatsinks (that I know of) and definitely not on the proportionality (storage vs. heatsink mass & size vs. heatsink mass) that an M.2.  ssd has. Are they aesthetic mods? Do they throw that much heat? Should I just overkill it and add every single component to the water loop and stop asking questions?

Adding to my own post, if the mbd doesn't come with M.2. heatsinks Amazon has these  Heatsinks for 10$ or these Waterblocks for 19$. If it really benefits performance I'd probably just add it to the water loop so I don't have to think about it.

[Beat_my_Laptop]

4 minutes ago, Vishera said:

NAND flash likes to run hot and cooling the NAND will reduce it's lifespan,

but the controller doesn't like to run hot, and it will throttle if it's hot enough.

 

Conclusion:

Cool the controller but not the NAND flash.

Just make sure that nothing touches the NAND,not the thermal pads and not the heatsink.

At risk of sounding clueless, where exactly is the NAND on an M.2?

[Vishera]

Just now, Beat_my_Laptop said:

At risk of sounding clueless, where exactly is the NAND on an M.2?

Post a picture and i will tell you.

[Beat_my_Laptop]

5 minutes ago, Vishera said:

Post a picture and i will tell you.

 

[Quackers101]

not too cold or too warm.

heatsinks, depends on the placement and case, and if you are able to fit it onto it anyways.

can work without heatsink, so if you think it got the space and no space for it, it should be good.

[-rascal-]

25 minutes ago, Beat_my_Laptop said:

At risk of sounding clueless, where exactly is the NAND on an M.2?

 

Arrangement will vary from brand to brand, and from one model to the other (i.e. 500GB vs 2TB)

 

 

Intel 660p M.2 SSD