Computer confusion

Archibald wrote in post #19079064
It was weird.

Just had an sd card failing that I was using as a data storage unit. It took me ages to figure out that this was the culprit for all the different troubles I had. This solid state storage is great when it works - but when they fail then it's a pain.

drmaxx wrote in post #19079684
Just had an sd card failing that I was using as a data storage unit. It took me ages to figure out that this was the culprit for all the different troubles I had. This solid state storage is great when it works - but when they fail then it's a pain.

Most sources are emphatic that SD cards are not intended for long-term storage.

RDKirk wrote in post #19040192
Well, using an M.2 NVMe as a boot drive when you know you're going to keep everything else on another drive, the question is: How large do you really need it to be? I've got many major imaging programs on my C: and it's still only 250 gigs of data. If you don't have one or two terabytes on your C: now, you don't need a boot drive that large.

I have a 1 TB NVME as my boot drive that I partitioned into 750GB for my OS and 250 GB for LR previews and catalog. I also have 4 1 TB NVME in a RAID 0 just for sh!#s and giggles

Archibald wrote in post #19078928
A second followup note, for those who might be interested.

After 6 weeks or so, the 2TB SSD boot drive of the new computer failed. I don't know the reason. I learned from online sources that SSD drives can fail from overheating. They are not as robust as spinning drives. I don't know if that was the problem, but I have a totally dead 2TB drive on my hands. I'm dealing with the supplier to get a replacement. The computer is running on its old 512GB SSD.

When you installed the NVME drive was there a plate that covers the nvme drive when you secure it? If so, some of those will have a thermal pad covered in a thin film covering and the film should be removed from the pad before installing the plate.

Bcaps wrote in post #19079832
When you installed the NVME drive was there a plate that covers the nvme drive when you secure it? If so, some of those will have a thermal pad covered in a thin film covering and the film should be removed from the pad before installing the plate.

Yes. The drive came with a thin plate with the manufacturer's logo on it. I did not install it. The 512GB OEM drive did not have one. The plate is pretty thin and I doubt it would have made a material difference to the temperature. Big coolers with fins that you can get for NVMe drives seem to be effective but online info suggests that they only cool around 5 deg C.

Would a 2TB drive generate more heat than a 512GB drive? The heat generated is probably proportional to read-write activity, and that would be independent of drive capacity. But I am just assuming and don't actually know.

Archibald wrote in post #19079956
Yes. The drive came with a thin plate with the manufacturer's logo on it. I did not install it. The 512GB OEM drive did not have one. The plate is pretty thin and I doubt it would have made a material difference to the temperature. Big coolers with fins that you can get for NVMe drives seem to be effective but online info suggests that they only cool around 5 deg C.

Would a 2TB drive generate more heat than a 512GB drive? The heat generated is probably proportional to read-write activity, and that would be independent of drive capacity. But I am just assuming and don't actually know.

What brand of drive?

That thin plate you mention may very well look like a glorified label but is often made of copper to help dissipate the heat. Did the instructions say to put it in place?

I subscribe to the infant mortality put forth earlier by RDKirk but if you don’t use a heat sink as the drive OEM intended, the drive is designed to throttle back on throughput to limit temperature.

John from PA wrote in post #19079979
What brand of drive?

That thin plate you mention may very well look like a glorified label but is often made of copper to help dissipate the heat. Did the instructions say to put it in place?

I subscribe to the infant mortality put forth earlier by RDKirk but if you don’t use a heat sink as the drive OEM intended, the drive is designed to throttle back on throughput to limit temperature.

There were no instructions with the device. It is an ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 2TB. Yes, the plate looked a bit like a colorful label with the company logo.

Archibald wrote in post #19080012
There were no instructions with the device. It is an ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 2TB. Yes, the plate looked a bit like a colorful label with the company logo.

There are some instruction in the thread at https://www.reddit.com …sx8200_provided​_heatsink/. Seems like it may have a 3M adhesive, something peels off and you mount it while aligning a hole with the lock down screw.

The drive review mentions the heatsink (and shows it) at https://thinkcomputers​.org …solid-state-drive-review/. Very specifically the reviewer feels the reason the heatsink isn’t premounted is it sometimes isn’t necessary but in your case it likely is.

John from PA wrote in post #19079979
What brand of drive?

That thin plate you mention may very well look like a glorified label but is often made of copper to help dissipate the heat. Did the instructions say to put it in place?

I subscribe to the infant mortality put forth earlier by RDKirk but if you don’t use a heat sink as the drive OEM intended, the drive is designed to throttle back on throughput to limit temperature.

Important to not, yes, that the drive should throttle itself down long before it's overheated to damage. Heating may have hastened infant mortality, but I'd say the drive was defective, in that case.

John from PA wrote in post #19080033
There are some instruction in the thread at https://www.reddit.com …sx8200_provided​_heatsink/. Seems like it may have a 3M adhesive, something peels off and you mount it while aligning a hole with the lock down screw.

The drive review mentions the heatsink (and shows it) at https://thinkcomputers​.org …solid-state-drive-review/. Very specifically the reviewer feels the reason the heatsink isn’t premounted is it sometimes isn’t necessary but in your case it likely is.

Yep, that's the one.

I weighed it and it's 1.8 grams including the backing paper. Won't hurt, but not much of a sink.

As I said, the one that came with the computer did not have any heat sink. Next time I would use one, and I'm considering getting a good after-market one to protect the OEM one which is now in the computer.

Archibald wrote in post #19080103
Yep, that's the one.

I weighed it and it's 1.8 grams including the backing paper. Won't hurt, but not much of a sink.

It may surprise you but copper is about 20 times better than stainless steel in conducting heat. Some others, copper is about twice as good as aluminum and about 15 times better than regular steel.

As an engineer, if I see something like a glorified band-aid with company name I consider it marketing. If I see something that is powder metal coated, relatively thick and made of metal, I feel there is likely some technical reason for its existence.

John from PA wrote in post #19080107
It may surprise you but copper is about 20 times better than stainless steel in conducting heat. Some others, copper is about twice as good as aluminum and about 15 times better than regular steel.

As an engineer, if I see something like a glorified band-aid with company name I consider it marketing. If I see something that is powder metal coated, relatively thick and made of metal, I feel there is likely some technical reason for its existence.

From what I've been reading, heat sinking NVMe drives is something in question. The processor is helped by heatsinking, but the memory chips do better running hot. The processors still run quite well hot, and as mentioned, the processor will throttle down when it gets too hot.

Bottom line, if a thin film of metal merely transfers heat from the processor to the memory chips, it's doing its job.

John from PA wrote in post #19080107
It may surprise you but copper is about 20 times better than stainless steel in conducting heat. Some others, copper is about twice as good as aluminum and about 15 times better than regular steel.

As an engineer, if I see something like a glorified band-aid with company name I consider it marketing. If I see something that is powder metal coated, relatively thick and made of metal, I feel there is likely some technical reason for its existence.

This one is mostly marketing, I think!

These things are really heat transfer devices. So apart from conductivity, it needs surface area so the heat can be shed to the environment. I doubt the ADATA coupon would reduce temps by much.

RDKirk wrote in post #19080120
From what I've been reading, heat sinking NVMe drives is something in question. The processor is helped by heatsinking, but the memory chips do better running hot. The processors still run quite well hot, and as mentioned, the processor will throttle down when it gets too hot.

Bottom line, if a thin film of metal merely transfers heat from the processor to the memory chips, it's doing its job.

Do you mean the processor on the NVMe drive? The ADATA strip does thermally connect the three big chips on the board.

Archibald wrote in post #19080125
Do you mean the processor on the NVMe drive? The ADATA strip does thermally connect the three big chips on the board.

Is this what you have? The lower part of the image is the heat sink. Take note as well the area where the screws go seems to be copper, and excellent heat conduction.