Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1 - Installing NvMe m.2 Drive

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tomsjim

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Apr 4, 2007
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I am ordering one of those new Samsung 960 m.2 drives for a Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1 board, and I plan to install in the single onboard m.2 slot. But I'm concerned that, because it's installed in a deep slot, it will overheat (apparently, they get very hot under load).

Has anyone installed a 960 (or 950) m.2 in the slot and had it overheat? Are you supposed to leave that cover off after it's installed, so that it's open to the ambient air in the case? I can't imagine the air from those little 35mm "assist" fans will make it's way all the way to the m.2 slot, although Asus marketing materials and videos say that the air is "shunted" to the m.2 slot to help cool it.

Any insight?

Thanks,
Jim
 
Solution
Dark Lord of Tech
It shouldn't overheat , but has protections built in:

Samsung states:

Long Lifespan and Reliable Protection

The 960 PRO offers exceptional lifespan and data security, boasting an endurance of up to 400 TBW (terabytes written). It also features Dynamic Thermal Guard, a technology that automatically throttles the drive's temperature when it approaches dangerous levels to reduce the risk of overheating. The 960 PRO is backed by a 5-year limited warranty.
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Dark Lord of Tech

Dark Lord of Tech

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Aug 18, 2009
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It shouldn't overheat , but has protections built in:

Samsung states:

Long Lifespan and Reliable Protection

The 960 PRO offers exceptional lifespan and data security, boasting an endurance of up to 400 TBW (terabytes written). It also features Dynamic Thermal Guard, a technology that automatically throttles the drive's temperature when it approaches dangerous levels to reduce the risk of overheating. The 960 PRO is backed by a 5-year limited warranty.
 
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Solution
COLGeek

COLGeek

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I would trust the engineers from Asus on the thermal design and capabilities of the motherboard. In addition, if your case supports a side fan, I would use one of those to provide additional airflow to that area of the motherboard, just as a means to provide optimal heat dissipation and airflow.
 
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mcnumpty23

mcnumpty23

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though would guess that means if it gets too hot it will slow it down to get it cooler

not sure i would like my m2 in that enclosed space--though it does seem to have some openings to let heat out

or could leave the cover off the m2 slot as long as that doesnt visually annoy you

another possible annoyance may be those little 35mm fans small fans tend to give off a buzzing noise since they usually have to spin fast to do much
 
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tomsjim

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I was aware that, if the heat reached a critical level, the drive performance would be "throttled" but I was trying to see if that was likely, or whether anyone had any experience with that. Are people with that motherboard, running m.2 drives in that slot, generally leaving the cover off, or putting it back on once the drive is installed?
 
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mcnumpty23

mcnumpty23

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guess you could test with the slot cover on and off to find out

though really a single m2 wont seem noticeably any faster than a good 2.5 ssd any way

its only when you have more than one m2 or 1 m2 and ssds in raid to read/write/copy to/from that m2 drives really shine

i have

single 2.5ssd

raid 2.5 ssds

sm951 m2

you couldnt tell which i had booted from by doing real life stuff a single good ssd is just so fast any way

only give away would be when you started copying stuff between them
 
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