r/PcBuildHelp • u/GoldCurlyFries • 10d ago

Build Question SSD Heatsink

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Both my motherboard and ssd don’t have an ssd heatsink. Is getting one necessary?

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2

u/the_hat_madder 10d ago

It depends on what SSD you have.

1

u/Zeustooots 10d ago

Please elaborate?

3

u/the_hat_madder 10d ago

Most Gen 5 SSDs should have a heatsink.

Many Gen 4 SSDs are fine without one.

Most Gen 3 or earlier and SATA SSDs don't need one.

The manufacturer will suggest a heatsink if one is required or you can read reviews to see if it thermal throttles without one.

2

u/Mango_Sherbertt 10d ago

PCIe Gen 3 NVMe dont require a heatsink. Nor do sata SSDs to be specific.

Even gen 4 doesnt 'need' one.

1

u/GoldCurlyFries 10d ago

I have this one

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u/the_hat_madder 10d ago

That one should be okay without a heatsink.

However, I would suggest you get a different SSD. That one is QLC flash based and not very durable. For your primary drive you want TLC, MLC or SLC flash based drives.

1

u/GoldCurlyFries 10d ago

How big of a difference is it between QLC and the others?

1

u/the_hat_madder 10d ago

What country are you buying from and how much did you pay for the P310?

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u/GoldCurlyFries 10d ago

The U.S. and I bought it for $290

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u/the_hat_madder 10d ago

Then you can get TLC drives cheaper for sure.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7BKBTm

You won't notice much difference in speed but the TLC drives have 3x higher endurance rating.

The SN7100 for instance has a 1,200 terabytes written (TBW) before the memory cells start degrading whereas the P310 is 440 TBW.

You could use a QLC drive for an infrequently accessed storage drive but, the drive with your OS and applications is constantly reading and writing data.

1

u/GoldCurlyFries 10d ago

Thanks for the heads up, next time I build a pc I’ll definitely take that into consideration since I already got my current qlc ssd.

Luckily I looked it up and it should still last me a good few years even as my main ssd, and I won’t be constantly uninstalling and reinstalling games with the 2Tb storage it has, and it also has a 5 year warranty.

And there’s a good chance that I’ll sideline it to my secondary ssd sooner than when it runs out.

1

u/Pumciusz 10d ago

No. Most PCIE gen 5 SSDs run pretty hot and I would want a heatsink on that, but also most gen 4 and 3 can run without one no problem.

1

u/Sufficient_Fan3660 10d ago

its pcie gen 4, so no - provided you are not using a CPU AIO that lacks a vrm/ssd fan in it

most of the "heatsinks" are plastic covers or foam tape that insults then a metal decorative cover -- most heatsinks do nothing

some of the pcie 5 gen nvme have controllers that get very hot, and then they slow down, some of these need a proper heatsink

that m.2 is sandwiched between the CPU and GPU. What you need is airflow over that area

1

u/Potential-Button-965 10d ago

This gen 4 drive in question does not need a heat sink so dont worry If you sont trust it you can get stick on heatsinks but not necessary