SilverStone Technology, best known for its PC cases, PSUs and coolers, has launched a new M.2 SSD heatsink for PlayStation 5 users. The new TP06 approaches the issue of SSD heat dissipation from the restricted space inside the PS5, by unifying the M.2 2280 form factor heatsink with the SSD slot cover from Sony. With the SilverStone TP06, the heatsink is also the cover, completely replacing the need for a separate slot cover. It even includes the little screw hole for a neat and secure fit.
Before the SilverStone TP06 came along, PS5 users were steered away from naked M.2 SSDs toward designs that featured particularly crafted heatsinks. According to Sony's specs, a drive must be able to sustain a sequential read speed of 5.5GB/s or better, and to prevent throttling hampering performance a heatsink is recommended (needed). Other strict considerations are imposed by the height and width of the PS5 M.2 slot. In brief, the installed PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD can't be more than 11.25mm thick, and you don't really have any latitude for anything wider than a few mm either side of the standard M.2 width of 22mm.
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SilverStone TP06 (SST-TP06S) Specifications
Material
Aluminum alloy white metal finish with ridges
Weight
67.5g
Dimensions
33.1 x 125.2 x 12.3mm / 1.3 x 4.93 x 0.48 inches
In the box
Thermal pad, screws, screw collar, screwdriver
As you can see in the specifications and photos, the design of the SilverStone TP06 relies on a simple block of ridged aluminum cut to the shape of the PS5 M.2 slot with enough bulk below the slot to make good contact to your naked SSD, cushioned by the included thermal pad. SilverStone says the heatsink is precision designed and it should be to be of best effect, fitting the M.2 cover while providing a nice amount of even pressure over the SSD NAND and controller chips.
This isn't SilverStone's first M.2 cover for PS5. October last year, it launched the TP05 with a ridged rectangular block design and multiple sheet materials to make a comfortable SSD sandwich. However, the new integrated approach is undeniably more elegant, and we hope it works as well or better than the TP05.
We don't have pricing or availability details for the SilverStone TP06 yet. The previous iteration, the TP05, came with an MSRP of $21, but was more complicated. We would expect the TP06 to come with a similar price, perhaps a bit less.
SSDs are going to get a lot hotter with PCIe 5.0 devices on the way. Phison recently indicated that active cooling is going to be a necessity rather than an option when the next gen NVMe PCIe drives start to emerge. Perhaps even lofty finned passive coolers like the new ThermalTake HR-09 2280 won't cut it when that time comes.
Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
