What is M.2 heatsink? Do your NVMe SSDs need heatsinks? How to install the M.2 heatsink? If you are looking for the answers to the above questions, you can refer to this post. This post provides detailed information about M.2 heatsink.
While solid-state drives or SSDs have gotten pretty cheap over the past few years, these 2.5-inch SSDs are now being replaced by PCI Express-based NVMe SSDs. The new SSD is more compact (8 x 2.2 cm) and plugs directly into the motherboard via the M.2 slot.
What Is M.2 Heatsink?
First of all, what is a radiator? Also spelled as a radiator, it is a passive heat exchanger that transfers heat generated by electronic or mechanical equipment to a fluid medium (usually air or liquid coolant) and then dissipates it from the equipment, thereby regulating the equipment’s temperature.
In computers, heat sinks are used to cool the CPU, GPU, certain chipsets, and RAM modules. Heat sinks are used in high-power semiconductor devices (such as power transistors) and optoelectronic devices (such as lasers and LEDs), where the cooling capability of the component itself is not sufficient to regulate its temperature.
M.2 heatsink is a kind of heatsink for M.2 SSD.
Do NVMe SSDs Need Heatsinks
Do NVMe SSDs need heatsinks? The answer is Yes. M.2 drives are not only faster and more compact but also eliminate the need for bulky power and data cables. However, their enormous storage density leads to overheating. Few realize that NVMe SSDs can quickly and easily reach temperatures over 80°C (most NVMe SSDs are expected to operate between 0°C and 70°C).
Degraded performance isn’t the only consequence of overheating. Facebook’s comprehensive study of its data centers concluded that overheating adversely affects the data integrity and longevity of SSDs. Your drive will last longer if the temperature stays below 50°C.
Most motherboards, and almost all Ryzen 2nd Gen motherboards, come with at least one M.2 cooler to cool your main M.2 drive. Unfortunately, most of these heatsinks don’t have enough metal or surface area. Also, motherboards that offer only one of these will force you to place the NVMe SSD in awkward locations, like the M.2 slot hidden under the GPU. Not an ideal situation in terms of airflow.
How to Install M.2 Heatsink?
How to install the M.2 heatsink? The steps are a little complicated. It’s recommended to install M.2heatsink with the processional’s guide.
Step 1: Prepare the first thermal pad. Use a pair of tweezers to peel one side of the protective film away from one of the thermal pads.
Step 2: Install the first thermal pad. Align the exposed side of the thermal pad with the bottom tray section of the heatsink assembly. Lay the thermal pad down so it covers the tray evenly and uses your finger to lightly press down on the thermal pad to adhere it to the surface.
Step 3: Prepare the second thermal pad. Use a pair of tweezers to peel one side of the protective film away from the remaining thermal pad.
Step 4: Install the second thermal pad. Align the exposed side of the thermal pad with the top section of the heatsink. Lay the thermal pad down so it covers the top section evenly and use your finger to lightly press down on the thermal pad to adhere it to the surface.
Step 5: Remove the bottom thermal pad liner. Use a pair of tweezers to remove the plastic liner from the thermal pad in the tray.
Step 6: Lay the SSD in the tray and remove the top thermal pad liner.
Step 7: Snap the heatsink in place and check the alignment.
Final Words
Here is all information about the M.2 heatsink. I hope that this post can be helpful to you.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Having been an editor at MiniTool since graduating college as an English major, Daisy specializes in writing about data backups, disk cloning, and file syncing as well as general computer knowledge and issues. In her free time, Daisy enjoys running and going with friends to the amusement park.