I'm putting together a new PC and I'm trying to choose an SSD. I found a discounted Crucial T700 PCIe 5.0 drive without a heatsink, but I'm concerned about its temperatures. The motherboard will be an ASUS TUF Gaming B850, and I'll need to rely on the motherboard's built-in M.2 heatsink because a larger aftermarket heatsink will not fit in my case. A safer alternative is a PCIe 4.0 drive such as the WD SN7100, although it costs about €30 more. Would the T700 run safely with the motherboard heatsink, or would choosing a Gen 4 SSD be wiser?
2 Answers
The ASUS TUF B850 board has dedicated M.2 heatsinks, including a PCIe 5.0 x4 slot, so the motherboard heatsink should generally be enough for the T700 in a desktop system. The T700 is also a much faster, higher-end drive than the typical Gen 4 alternatives. Make sure the heatsink makes proper contact and keep some airflow moving through the case.
If your workload does not involve large, sustained file transfers, a Gen 4 SSD may be the more practical option. Gen 4 drives usually run cooler and can be cheaper, although pricing is currently strange and some are more expensive than the T700. Brands like Seagate, Samsung, and Crucial all have solid options.
Most of the Gen 4 models I found are actually more expensive than the T700, apart from some budget options like the Kingston NV3.
That’s reassuring. I was mainly worried that the T700 would immediately overheat without its own heatsink, but the built-in motherboard one sounds like it should be sufficient.