Ssd pci

Heat is a major enemy of our computer components, despite the fact that processors and graphics cards are designed to work at very high temperatures, there are many other components that are not intended to withstand heat. One of the most heat-sensitive components is the memory chips in the PCI-Express SSD hard drives.

Heat affects the performance of PCI-Express SSDs by causing thermal throttling

Heat can cause many of the components of our computers to suffer from thermal throttling, lowering their performance as the heat generated by the equipment increases. The guys from the Puget System have set to work to clarify how heat can affect PCI-Express SSD hard drives, for which they have done some very simple tests but the results are overwhelming. Several M.2-type SSDs have been used in the experiment and have been screwed onto the motherboard in various positions: at the top of the PCIe slots, at the bottom of the PCIe slots, at the rear of the board, and perpendicular to the plate.

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The last position is the most favorable as it allows better air circulation around the PCI-Express SSD hard drive, which facilitates heat dissipation and allows less heating of the same. Despite being the most favorable position, the performance drop with the heat is clear: after a time of 65 to 75 seconds the PCI-Express SSD loses approximately 42% of its performance.

Although the results obtained are very conclusive, it must be borne in mind that the tests have been carried out with very intensive use and trying to recreate a scenario that is very detrimental to the performance of PCI-Express SSDs, in more common use such as Web browsing or playing should not cause such a sharp drop in performance. Of course one of the solutions to alleviate or even eliminate this problem is to have good cooling in our PC, a 120mm 12V fan pointing at the area where the unit is seems to be a good solution to the thermal throttling of PCI SSDs -Express.

Source: pugetsystems