For the longest time, people have paid little attention to storage device temperatures. However, as current PCs become ever smaller and M.2 SSD (solid state drive) transmission interfaces advance into the next generation, the question arises: Do M.2 SSDs require heat dissipation? If so, what type? Are cooling mechanism really effective? Recently, it seems like these topics are constantly on everyone’s lips. So, let us talk about the essentials of heat dissipation.

An M.2 SSD is composed of a controller, NAND Flash memory, and DRAM. The power consumption of these chips during operation will generate heat with heat generated by the controller being the highest. If this heat cannot be dissipated in a timely manner, the overall temperature of the SSD will rise over time and high temperatures will cause the threshold voltage of the flash memory to change which will affect the read and write speed of data. Users may notice a noticeable decrease in transmission speed (speed reduction to protect data). At worst, the SSD will crash. At the same time, high temperatures will also increase the number of bad blocks in the SSD’s flash chip, thereby shortening the service life of the SSD.

SSD is composed of a controller, NAND Flash memory, and DRAM

What cooling methods are available on the market now? The two mainstream methods of cooling are air cooling and water cooling. Air cooling can be divided into: thin heatsinks, thermal pads, 3D radiator fins, fans, etc. Thin heat sinks are usually made of materials with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum or copper, which can effectively conduct the SSD’s heat energy to maintain normal operating temperatures. Thermal pads are usually made of heat-conducting materials. Taking graphene as an example, by taking advantage of its higher horizontal heat conductivity compared to its vertical heat conductivity, it can both radiate heat and evenly distribute heat to the entire heat sink to achieve heat dissipation. Of course, different materials have different working principles.

Higher-end SSDs are high speed and generate more heat. Aluminum alloy will be extruded or cut to produce dense fins to expand contact surface area and then thermal radiation is used to significantly cool the SSD. The aforementioned are all passive heat dissipation methods, only relying on natural airflow to remove heat energy from cooling fins. Next generation PCIe Gen5 SSDs are considerably faster and the temperatures generated have increased accordingly. Traditional passive heat dissipation is inefficient and is unable to meet performance-based heat dissipation demands. An "active heat dissipation" mechanism is required such as airflow generated by a rotating fan removing heat from metal heatsink fins. This in turn accelerates heat dissipation, allowing the SSD to maintain high-speed performance. Water-cooling can absorb a larger volume of heat through a liquid and then conduct it to a metal radiator for heat dissipation. Compared with air cooling, water cooling delivers improved and more stable heat dissipation. Therefore, water cooling has become increasingly popular among high-performance computer and overclocking enthusiasts.

ADATA's Gen4 and Gen5 series SSDs utilize corresponding heat dissipation methods to differentiate product positioning

In addition to the aforementioned heat dissipation methods, some brands will also combine applications to create further cooling effects. Taking ADATA's two patented PCIe Gen5 SSDs as examples, the LEGEND 970 combines the passive cooling of three-dimensional cooling fins with the active cooling of fans to maximize the effects of air cooling. Moreover, the surface of the 3D radiator fins is coated with "superconducting thermal surface crystallization." Through the high heat dissipation and high temperature uniformity conveyed by these crystals, the LEGEND 970 SSD’s overall heat dissipation is 18% better than SSD heatsinks without a fan component. Project NeonStorm is the first M.2 SSD in the industry to introduce water cooling and fans. After the coolant absorbs heat, it transfers the heat to aluminum alloy tubes, which then discharges heat through fans at both ends of the radiator, creating a complete convection system.

ADATA's Gen5 SSD and patented water cooling design with all in one air cooling and nano heat dissipation coating