The arrival of M.2 NVMe SSDs has allowed a huge leap in performance. Current fourth-generation models offer speeds of over 7,000 MB/s, compared to less than 600 MB/s for the old Sata technology. The fifth generation of PCI Express SSD should exceed 10 GB / s.
But this increase in power also results in a rise in temperature which can be fatal to the storage medium. This is explained by the manufacturer Phison, specializing in SSD controllers.
Sebastien Jean, technical director at Phison, specifies that a temperature must be maintained below 50 degrees for an SSD to operate in optimal conditions. Because, if the temperature exceeds 80 degrees, the NAND flash memory does not support it and it may lead to data loss. That’s why SSDs come with safety features that reduce speed if they heat up too much (throttling), or even shut down the device if a critical temperature is reached. Thus, a very fast 7000 MB/s model can see its performance drop to 500 MB/s if it gets too hot, a lower score than the old Sata SSDs!
Beware of overheating!
The problem is that each additional GB/s requires an increase in the power required of about 1 watt, which leads to a rise in temperature. This is why cooling has become increasingly important.
In 2019, Western Digital launched its WD Black SN750 (3,500 MB/s) model, offering it in a classic version or a version with a heatsink. This is also the case of the FireCuda 530, from Seagate, which goes up to 7,300 MB/s.
Other manufacturers opt for a simple plate to ensure heat dissipation, when possible. It is then necessary that the case of the PC has a very good circulation of the air so that the charleur is evacuated in an effective way.
But, with future generations of SSDs (PCIe Gen5 and above), the heatsinks may not be enough to prevent overheating. Sebastien Jean explains that it is possible to limit the power requirements in two ways: either by reducing the number of NAND channels, or by using a finer burning process.
Heat removal can also be done through the M.2 connector and through the screw that holds the SSD in place, provided the motherboard is sufficiently cooled. But this may not be enough, and the only solution will then be to use large radiators and use active cooling, that is to say with a fan.
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If this solution is perfectly possible in office machines, it could pose a serious problem in laptops, in particular ultra-thin machines where manufacturers are already obliged to redouble their inventiveness to cool the central processor. At a time when ARM machines manage to get rid of the fan for the SoC that drives them, it is fun to imagine the need for a fan for the storages of tomorrow. Even if we imagine that our ultraportables of the future will not necessarily need such high-performance storage.
Source : Phison Blog