I recently upgraded my gaming laptop by replacing the old SSD. When I removed the old SSD, I found a thermal pad that was glued to both the motherboard and the SSD itself. The old SSD (a Samsung model) had a completely flat surface on the side facing the motherboard, but the new SSD has some chips on that side. It's a bit tight fitting the new SSD in with the thermal pad still there, and I'm wondering if it's safe to do so.
1 Answer
It would help if you could share some pictures of everything, like the SSD with and without the thermal pad. You definitely don’t want too much pressure bending the SSD or stressing the m.2 socket. If your new SSD is resting directly on the motherboard, that can lead to issues. You might want to consider getting a thinner thermal pad to avoid any unnecessary pressure, especially if there’s nothing supporting the drive above the board. Plus, keeping the thermal pad can protect the SSD and absorb some shock.
Here’s a link to some images I took: https://i.imgur.com/nfDIGQv.jpeg. The thermal pad is kind of soft and jelly-like, so it compresses nicely, but it does create a bit of pressure where the chips are. I've got pictures of the SSD and pad, both on and off the motherboard for reference!