Akasa Gecko SSD Heatsink Review: A blower cooler for an SSD

They call it the Gecko, but it looks like a snail

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Akasa Gecko SSD Heatsink
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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Thermal Results

The thermal results from Akasa’s Gecko Cooler were very strong — some of the best results we’ve seen from an SSD cooler. During our stress tests, the SSD only peaked at 47 degrees Celsius, taking the number four spot on our chart as one of the strongest coolers for your SSD. This level of cooling capacity will ensure your SSD’s storage is consistent and your cooler is ready for any workload thrown at your NVMe drive – no matter how intensive it is.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Noise Levels

When I’ve tested NVMe heatsinks with fans I always tested them with my motherboard’s default setting, shown below. I never bothered to adjust this setting, because none of the units I’ve tested ran louder than my system fans at idle – and I like a nice, quietly running system.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

It would be pretty pointless to run any of these heatsink’s fans at full speed. You won’t gain any performance, and this heatsink performs rather well even without a fan. If you are so inclined to run this cooler’s fan at full speed, it will reach up to 39.6 dBA. This is comparable to the maximum noise levels of quiet CPU coolers.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Conclusion

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Akasa’s Gecko Cooler features a blower-style fan, and it certainly doesn’t suck. Its thermal capacity is strong (among the best we've tested), ensuring your PCI-e 5 SSD will sustain peak performance even during intensive workloads.

Albert Thomas
Albert Thomas
Freelancer, CPU Cooling Reviewer

Albert Thomas is a contributor for Tom’s Hardware, primarily covering CPU cooling reviews.

22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jordanbuilds1
    alright this is just overkill, especially for an ssd.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    jordanbuilds1 said:
    alright this is just overkill, especially for an ssd.
    wait for water cooling block xD
    Reply
  • dwd999
    This is probably irrelevant but since its a blower cooler I'm curious as to whether the blower output is towards the rear of the case or towards the front of the case. I'm guessing its towards the rear where most warmer air is exhausted. And I really appreciate the chart!
    Reply
  • Albert.Thomas
    jordanbuilds1 said:
    alright this is just overkill, especially for an ssd.
    Let's be honest - most of the heatsinks I'm testing will be overkill for common users.

    You only really "need" something like this if you have storage and IO intensive workloads, or perhaps if you're in an environment with very hot ambient temperatures.
    Reply
  • Albert.Thomas
    dwd999 said:
    This is probably irrelevant but since its a blower cooler I'm curious as to whether the blower output is towards the rear of the case or towards the front of the case. I'm guessing its towards the rear where most warmer air is exhausted. And I really appreciate the chart!
    It can be used in either direction
    Reply
  • beyondlogic
    jordanbuilds1 said:
    alright this is just overkill, especially for an ssd.

    yes it is and i love it akasa always come up with some bizarre stuff that no one asked for lol.
    Reply
  • bill001g
    Amdlova said:
    wait for water cooling block xD
    You must not have watched much of the coverage from the latest computex. A number of the youtube channels that covered it were laughing about water cooling SSD. Not sure if they were prototype things or you could actually buy them but there were multiple vendors that had them on display.
    Reply
  • Albert.Thomas
    bill001g said:
    You must not have watched much of the coverage from the latest computex. A number of the youtube channels that covered it were laughing about water cooling SSD. Not sure if they were prototype things or you could actually buy them but there were multiple vendors that had them on display.
    I'm expecting to receive TeamGroup's SSD AIO in the near future
    Reply
  • razor512
    For a m.2 heatsink that will handle passive and active cooling, they should consider making something similar to a older air cooler such as the Scythe Orochi which was a moderately sized cooler designed to strike a balance between passive and active cooling. If they could give it a longer cold plate, along with more of an offset design to space closer to the front of the case, it may work decently for some of the PCIe 5.0 SSDs. Furthermore, it would also allow for more fan options for an SSD.

    https://i.imgur.com/OLtLc5U.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/Ta0dXM6.jpeg
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    What a beautiful cooler... love C shaped heat sinks
    Reply