Thermalright's new pair of M.2 heatsink models, which resemble a scaled down kitchen gadget, promise to funnel heat from even the Best SSDs through their vertical design. The HR-09 2280 is available in a plain and Pro version, with the Pro version essentially doubling the available aluminium surface area that could make a difference between your SSD throttling - or leisurely facing whatever workloads you can throw at it in what should be the hardware equivalent of a poolside summer day.
The Thermalright HR-09 Pro is a blast from the past for hardware enthusiasts, and keep the company's distinct visual style. A pair of 6mm heatpipes conduct heat away from the nickel-plated copper base that attaches to your M.2 SSD, dispersing the heat through thematically-coherent, fire-shaped aluminium fins (33 per heatpipe) that are all jagged edges and protrusions. With dimensions of 74 x 24 x 86mm and weighing in at 90 grams, the HR-09 Pro is taller than some low-profile CPU heatsinks the company has already delivered.
The non-Pro HR-09, on the other hand, is likely to appeal to users that like a cleaner top view of their SSD heatsink, sporting a single 6 mm heatpipe and 32-piece aluminium fin array. The reduced footprint results in smaller dimensions overall, standing at 48 x 24 x 79mm and weighing in at 80 grams. It still keeps the flame aesthetic of the Pro version, albeit only in a side-view; the unit's top features the Thermalright branding and a much cleaner aesthetic.
While current top-end SSDs don't tend to struggle with overheating - which results in throttling and lowered performance in order to keep temperatures in check - PCIe 5.0 SSDs are expected to land in a cooling requirement territory of their own. Phison, one of the industry-leading controller manufacturers for SSDs, has indicated that PCIe 5.0 SSDs would likely require active cooling in order to keep their tremendous performance characteristics in check. While the controllers themselves can reach 120 Celsius, NAND chips work best - and last the most - while operating under 70 Celsius - but would ideally operate between 35 Celsius and 50 Celsius.
None of Thermalright's current solutions feature active cooling of any kind, but ingenious users could fashion fan clips for a 60 mm cooling solution on the HR-09 Pro. We've seen some outlandish SSD cooler designs already - and the number of those is sure to go up as PCIe 5.0 SSDs hit the market with their increased cooling requirements.
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Over-engineered indeed. Just the controller needs the cooling, and the nand does best warm; one can reduce its lifespan if it runs too cool... but I guess that's unlikely, except under custom liquid.
