I've got a Crucial T700 SSD installed in the PCIe 5 slot of my MSI VECTOR 16 HXAI laptop. When I'm downloading games at speeds of 100-200 MB/s, it sometimes overheats and shuts down. Could having it in a Gen 5 slot be the cause? I mean, it's not even hitting 11,000 MB/s, yet it still gets really hot. I'm considering switching it to a PCIe 4 slot, but I'm not sure if that would help or if I should just replace the SSD altogether.
3 Answers
You really need to get something on that SSD to cool it down, whether it’s a low-profile heatsink or maybe even just some thermal pads. It won’t be a perfect solution, but it’s definitely better than nothing!
Is there a heatsink on your SSD? It’s important for managing temperatures, especially under heavy load like downloading games. Without one, the drive will likely run hotter than it should. If your other SSD doesn’t overheat, maybe adding a heatsink to this one could help.
No, it doesn’t have a heatsink. The original SSD tops at 50 degrees, but the Crucial is hitting around 86-88 before shutting down.
It sounds like the Gen 5 drive is running hot. Typically, these drives can heat up quite a bit, especially when they're not efficiently cooled. I would definitely recommend getting a heatsink, or maybe you could move it to the PCIe 4 slot. But I'd bet a heatsink will make a bigger difference than just switching slots.
I understand Gen 5 drives can get hot, but mine only peaks at about 600 MB/s. Would switching to the PCIe 4 slot actually help?
What if I switch to the PCIe 4 slot instead? Would that change anything?