Lowering SSD temperatures

[Valantar]

I just discovered that my main SSD (Samsung 960 Evo) is running a bit hotter than I'd like. It's sitting on the back of my motherboard, and with the system at idle (no load on the drive) it sits around 58C. Ideally, I'd want that number 15-20 degrees lower - that's where my SATA SSDs sit, at least. My system is in an NZXT H200i, with a custom loop water cooling setup. There are two 120mm Be Quiet Silent Wings 3s on a front radiator serving as intakes, a 120mm Gentle Typhoon rear exhaust also on a radiator, and a slim 120mm Noctua in the top that kicks in when the system gets hot, to keep the motherboard area supplied with cool air. The area where the drive sits has pretty much zero airflow, being trapped behind the motherboard.

This is how it looks:

I considered getting a heatsink for it, but with no airflow, that won't help much once it reaches heat soak. So I wondered about simply mounting a 40x40x10mm fan to the SSD bracket covering the drive, slowing it down as much as possible, and seeing if that does the job. At the very least that'd ensure the air is moving rather than static, even if there's no clear airflow path.

What do you think - would this be worth the hassle?

 

[tinyitx]

I do not think a 40x40x10mm fan fixed on the SSD mount will help much because the fan provides airflow perpendicular to the SSD but there is no distinct inflow and outflow air paths. Hot air will still be more or less trapped in that area.

Instead, I think having four 20x20 fans (which are perpendicular to the SSD) to provide airflow parallel to the SSD, thus creating an air draft to channel the warmed air upward (to coincide with warmer air rises by convection).
The gap between the motherboard and the side panel is reported to be 0.82 inch (=20.8mm). So, this appears to allow a tiny space to fix the fans in place (say, by some heavy duty double sided tapes and/or zip ties to the SSD bracket? or other methods you see fit).

See diagram below.


An alternative is to remove the SSD bracket and use a fanned heatsink like this one:-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077BPPFN8/?tag=theminutiae-20

I do not think either method will drop the temp by as much as 15-20C.
My guess is, say, 10C at best.
Whether it is worth it, you have to decide.

PS Which software are you using to check the SSD temp?

 

[Valantar]

t

I do not think a 40x40x10mm fan fixed on the SSD mount will help much because the fan provides airflow perpendicular to the SSD but there is no distinct inflow and outflow air paths. Hot air will still be more or less trapped in that area.

Instead, I think having four 20x20 fans (which are perpendicular to the SSD) to provide airflow parallel to the SSD, thus creating an air draft to channel the warmed air upward (to coincide with warmer air rises by convection).
The gap between the motherboard and the side panel is reported to be 0.82 inch (=20.8mm). So, this appears to allow a tiny space to fix the fans in place (say, by some heavy duty double sided tapes and/or zip ties to the SSD bracket? or other methods you see fit).

See diagram below.


An alternative is to remove the SSD bracket and use a fanned heatsink like this one:-
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077BPPFN8/?tag=theminutiae-20

I do not think either method will drop the temp by as much as 15-20C.
My guess is, say, 10C at best.
Whether it is worth it, you have to decide.

PS Which software are you using to check the SSD temp?

Thanks for the reply

I'm using HWMonitor to check temperatures. AIDA64 reports the same temps.

I agree that my desired temperatures might be on the optimistic side, but at least getting the drive out of the fifties and sixties ought to be doable IMO. I found an old 50x10mm fan I had lying around, so I'll test that out first to see if it makes a difference (though I'm skeptical of my ability to make it bearably quiet - it's a 5200rpm fan :/ - and I'm not willing to make much of a sacrifice in that area). Your idea of creating airflow across rather than onto the drive is good, though. I have at least one old radial fan from a laptop lying around, so I'll try that before ordering anything else though. This might even let me stick a cheap heatsink on the drive for good measure.

I looked at those fan-equipped heatsinks myself, but the prospect of an >8000rpm radial fan in my case scares me. Don't want my PC to sound like an angry wasp

 

[step83]

Random idea, would you be able to fit a low profile like an EK or a Gelid, then mount a small blower style fan? You could slap it with a speed reducer to tame it

 

[Valantar]

Random idea, would you be able to fit a low profile like an EK or a Gelid, then mount a small blower style fan? You could slap it with a speed reducer to tame it

Pretty much what I'm thinking. Once I have some time to spare I'll look into what difference either my spare 50mm fan or the salvaged blower will make alone, and if I'm not happy I'll buy a cheapo heatsink somewhere.

 

[Valantar]

This might be a trivial question, but what kind of screws should I use for mounting small fans like this? Trying a standard fan screw in my salvaged 50mm fan confirmed my eyeball assessment of it being too big - the fan frame cracked along the length of the screw hole. Only three to go now

 

[step83]

Can you get away with something like a rubber fan mount? Like the Noctua ones you get. Would be that or a longer threaded bolt with a nut on the end.

To be fair if its just for testing I would just use a Ziptie for now if you can.

 

[Valantar]

Can you get away with something like a rubber fan mount? Like the Noctua ones you get. Would be that or a longer threaded bolt with a nut on the end.

To be fair if its just for testing I would just use a Ziptie for now if you can.

Seems we think along similar paths. I had to look around a bit for zip ties thin enough to pass through the mounting holes, but it worked just fine.

After around 20 minutes of desktop use, I'm very happy with the results. Temps are down 10-13 degrees, sitting in the mid-to-high 40s. That's with the fan (or at least the zip ties) abutting the side panel, so removing the bracket and coming up with a better mount would likely improve this. Noise is tolerable too, thanks to daisy-chaining two Noctua low-noise adaptors. Fan speed is reported as ~2800rpm. Still, I've ordered a 40mm Gelid fan to see if it's a bit more quiet (the double ball bearing rotor of this Delta has a buzz to it). If need be, I might spring for a Noctua, though that seems like overkill. I'm tempted to stick a cheap heatsink on there just to see if it makes a difference, though. Should fit.

 

[step83]

Heatsink in theory should only help as your increasing the surface area. I would give it a go the on I have on mine gets a bit of passive airflow but seems to do the job wel.

 

[Valantar]

I got my 40mm Gelid fan yesterday, and I'm very happy with the reduction in noise. I ditched one of the daisy-chained low-noise adaptors (it ran at 800rpm with both ), but even at 3400rpm it's barely audible alongside the other fans and pump in my case - despite being on the side facing me, very close to the side panel, and maybe half a meter away from my head. Temps are slightly higher, but still don't hit the 50s until the entire case heats up, which alleviates any fears I might have had about long-term data retention and drive longevity. I was kind of surprised to see just how big the size difference between a 40mm and a 50mm fan is, though I guess I shouldn't really be - it's a 20% shrinkage, after all, so a bigger difference than 120mm vs 140mm. In hindsight I could probably have gotten a 50mm Gelid fan instead, but now I can't be bothered - this is definitely doing its job.

As for getting a heatsink, I'm a bit on the fence. Given that the SSD mounts a few mm behind the edge of the motherboard cutout (#@%&!!), I'd have to loosen my motherboard to mount anything requiring the SSD to be free - which might not require me to drain my water loop, but it's definitely not a small operation. Given that the cheapo ebay options either look slightly tall or really janky, I'd be tempted to give the EKWB m.2 heatsink a try (it's surprisingly cheap), but it looks like it'd require me to remove the drive. We'll see. Doesn't seem worth the hassle.

 

[Beardedswede]

Isn't it m.2 ssd that work better in a higher temp ? And actually bad for them to be "to cool" .

 

[tinyitx]

Isn't it m.2 ssd that work better in a higher temp ? And actually bad for them to be "to cool" .

IIRC, a report or two says the RAM does work slightly better when the temp is higher. But it is just a very small performance increase.
However, the memory controller is the main concern for a M.2 SSD. It will get hot when the SSD is under load for a longer period. To prevent damage, it will throttle and performance will decrease.
So, M.2 SSD cooling (actively by fan or passively by adding a heatsink) is mainly for the sake of the controller.

 

[Valantar]

IIRC, a report or two says the RAM does work slightly better when the temp is higher. But it is just a very small performance increase.
However, the memory controller is the main concern for a M.2 SSD. It will get hot when the SSD is under load for a longer period. To prevent damage, it will throttle and performance will decrease.
So, M.2 SSD cooling (actively by fan or passively by adding a heatsink) is mainly for the sake of the controller.

Yep. Also, the flash retains data better between 30-45 degrees, and significantly worse above 45 than below 30. Of course, the controller is what really gets hot (and where the temp sensor is), and flash and DRAM temps are likely to be noticeably lower. Still, none of this is really of any concern, I just didn't like seeing my SSD run above 60 degrees when not under load - it speaks of a sub-optimal cooling setup, and makes me worried about what temperatures it would reach under heavy load. Hence trying to improve on it.

This makes me all the more impressed with people running systems as power hungry as mine in <15l cases with decent temps and noise. That's an achievement.

 

[parlinone]

There are really thin copper heatsinks available as thin as 2mm. Judging from the picture a 2 or 4mm copper heatsink should be no problem?

Also: remove that sticker! That should be the #1 thing to do right away. It prevents the air from the fan to get in direct contact with the chips.

 

[tinyitx]

There are really thin copper heatsinks available as thin as 2mm. Judging from the picture a 2 or 4mm copper heatsink should be no problem?

Also: remove that sticker! That should be the #1 thing to do right away. It prevents the air from the fan to get in direct contact with the chips.

That Samsung 960 Evo sticker has a thin copper layer built in to help removing heat from the controller. I have not seen someone doing a test on the effectiveness of this thin layer. Maybe it is just Samsung's marketing gimmick. But, maybe it is not. In lack of a comparison, I would rather have the sticker on. Also, removing the sticker is likely to void the warranty unless the sticker is removed carefully without damage and to be put back later if warranty service is needed.

 

[parlinone]

if there is copper inside then yes it's maybe better to keep it there. But still, a copper heatsink will much better dissipate the heat as the surface area will increase significantly.

 

[robbee]

Removing the sticker will void warranty for some models.

Most SSD's have about 5 year warranty and won't throttle under 70C. I've recently heard someone say they have a server for a high load database application packed with flash memory that has been running continuously for about 2 years. According to him, heat wasn't so much of a issue and the performance didn't decrease, but fluctuating temperatures could potentially be more dangerous.

In the end I wouldn't worry too much. With such a generous warranty and high throttle temperature, manufacturers don't seem to worry much either.

 

[Valantar]

There are really thin copper heatsinks available as thin as 2mm. Judging from the picture a 2 or 4mm copper heatsink should be no problem?

Also: remove that sticker! That should be the #1 thing to do right away. It prevents the air from the fan to get in direct contact with the chips.

As @tinyitx said, the sticker has a layer of copper in it, and thus serves as a """heatsink""". At the very least, it should spread the heat from the controller out over the DRAM and flash chips to a certain extent. Removing it definitely doesn't seem worth it, what with losing my warranty and all.

I've seen heatsinks like these in 2-5mm thickness, though I'm wondering what the effect of adding a barely-contoured copper shim like that would actually be - after all, the thinner the heatsink, the worse it'll be at moving heat laterally, in which case the surface area will barely increase at all. Still, they cost next to nothing and have free shipping, so I might give one a try.