Area51m - Aftermarket SSD heatsinks that fit?

Looking for feedback from people that have tried to put some aftermarket SSD heatsinks in the A51m.
While the Dell one is OK, its also flimsy and can flex while installing, thus lifting on some chips. One that is more rigid is more ideal. I am going to be testing some but figured I would ask around on here as well.

Plus I wanted to get in the habit of creating threads with different topics instead of putting everything in the lounge.

 

The universal ones with the fins work well. Especially in SSD slot 2, however, it also fits well in SSD slot #1 since there is enough clearance.

Pretty much any heat sink that fits will get the job done. The key is making sure there is good contact between the chips on the SSD to the heat sink and try using a thinner thermal pad over using a thicker one.

I'm running my primary SSD (OS drive) in SSD slot #1.

 

Got some links to add to my collection? Bout to test a few.

 

I got this one in:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074Y5DZ4N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Works amazing! It also fits well into Slot 2. I have not tried Slot 1 yet but will edit the post when I try that.
On my EVO Plus before I was getting Temp 2 (controller temp) hitting 70-80C something when testing with CrystalDiskMark.
After the sink install the max temp of Temperature 2 was 55C, WOW!
Again that's the controller temp (temperature 2), which is usually the hottest.
Temp 1, which is the temp normally people look at, I got a max temp of 47c.
I do not recall what it was prior as it never really went crazy high, but I believe it was in the 60C range.
Idle temps with the sink on are 37C for Temp 1 and 33C for Temp 2.

The sink is a bit tricky to install because it has thermal pads on both sizes but I got it going.
I'm happy. I ordered two more.

 

A bit pricey (my SSD was $23 sooo yeah LOL) but might get one for slot 2 if the ssd runs hot.

 

Hello. I just odered this one:
https://www.amazon.com/HS-M2-SSD-BK...=gelid+m2+ssd&qid=1565333033&s=gateway&sr=8-2
I called slot 1 for ssd near the wifi card, and slot 2 for ssd near the battery for easy to distinguish. First I think the gelid kit will not fit the slot 1, and slot 2 is easily but I'm wrong. The slot 1 is fitted perfectly even I applied the silicon rubbers. But in slot 2, the heatsink hit the plastic part of the bottom cover so I cannot close the cover (it will bend the ssd or break it into 2 pieces if I try to push the cover).
FYI, the ssd brand I'm using is Samsung 970 pro. There is no copper inside the front sticker (but it has very thin copper layer in the back sticker) so I peel it off the front sticker. By that, I figured out the height of the controller is less than NAND around 0.5mm so I put 0.5mm thermal pad into NAND, and 1mm into controller and apply the gelid heatsink. Based on the Gelid's website, the heatsink height is 3mm. With a simple calculation, the thickness after implement the heatsink is around 3.5mm.
With the Dell's genuine heatsink (0.5mm thickness) + 0.5mm thermal pad, we don't have any issue on the slot 2. So for now I need to find a way to measure the height between the ssd and the plastic part of the bottom cover. And I ordered a 2mm copper for testing purpose. More information I will put in here, sorry for no image because I'm still working at the office.

 

@DeeX any updates on this one mate?

 

Holy Moly $29????
The last one I linked is amazing. (20-30C Drop)
Also, they fit perfectly in both slots and does not use rubber bands. (bands deteriorate eventually).
No complaints at all...
Well, they are tricky to install because there are sticky pads on both sides, but I now got it down.

 

Wow, I can't believed your heatsink fit well in slot 2 without hitting the bottom cover. I just ordered two of it and test it. Very exciting!

 

Indeed and both the bottom and top sink are attached. Works great!

 

Not sure if you have the previous Alienware laptop but wanted to ask. Would this fit on the Alienware 15 r3 and Alienware 17 r3?
Also did you use the provided thermal pads? Would a 0.5mm thermal pads be better as thinner is better? Thanks in advance.

 

I used the provided pads and I'm happy with the temp drop. I personally do not have another AW but I do have a family member that has an R4.
I could try that but not sure if that is the same as either of those systems.

 

Well, my stuffs was came one week ago but today I have time to do this. I ordered 2 Advancing Gene (AG) ssd heatsink kits to replace the old ones with rubber band.



First, about the kit, we got two pieces of heatsinks, two pieces of thermal pad, two cleaning papers and one little manual page.



The heatsink is well made and high quality (but not better than Gelid heatsink). The thermal pad is soft, with the thickness is around 1mm. Based on the description page, the upper heatsink (black color) thickness is 2.5mm, lower heatsink (white) is 0.75mm.



Before that, I applied the gelid heatsink in the ssd near wifi card (slot 1) and chinese no-name copper heatsink in ssd near battery (slot 2). I can't apply the Gelid on the slot 2 due to the gap between the heatsink and the base cover is not enough, but the slot 1 can (why Dell?). So I hope the AG will fit well in slot 2.

I follow the manual by apply the AG thermal pad in the white heatsink, then place the ssd above. Instead of placing another AG thermal pad, I replace it by Gelid thermal pad with 0.5mm for the NAND and 1mm for the controller. By doing that, I can easily put the black heatsink on top of ssd.

When I put it back to ssd slot, I just figure out one thing. For the slot 1 is okay as expected, but the slot 2, it feel like the bottom cover is contact with the heatsink. You can see the bottom cover close perfectly on the side without ssd, but not on the other...





I guess if I can grind the plastic part around 0.5~1mm, the cover will absolutely close. Anyway, as least I can barely close the cover (in the past I can't close it properly if I'm using Gelid, and the difference between Gelid and AG is only 0.5mm). And the bright side on this situation is the thermal performance is better because Dell cover a huge area by aluminium thin paper on the bottom cover and the heatsink is touch directly to the cover.

 

When idle (upper is slot 1, the other is slot 2)



Benchmark by using CrystalDiskMark, slot 1



And slot 2



Pros:
- Good thermal performance due to two heatsinks on both sides of ssd
- Easy to use and no rubber needed
- Cheap
Cons:
- Not fit 100% with the bottom cover if you put it on the slot 2

A small advice:
Based on my experience with Gelid and Dell heatsink, the slot 1 is hotter than the slot 2 in all situations (even with my current heatsink). So if you are using one ssd, put it into the slot 2. In case of using two ssd (no raid), put the installed OS ssd (or high usage) to the slot 2. I hope my post can help people a good insight on their choice.

 

Nice improvement. Could you run ATTO Disk Benchmark 2 times in a row for slot 1. Make a screenshoot of the results and temps after 1th and 2nd run. Thanks

 

Here is the result you are looking for. My ssd is Samsung 970 pro, the ambient temperature is around 30*C and the thermal profile in AWCC is "Full speed". I highlighted the SSD name to mark the ssd information, the temperature columns from the left to right are current, minimum, maximun and average.

Before running the test (status idle):



Finished the first test:



Finished the second test:



SSD cooling down after one minute from the second test:



5 minutes later...



Enjoy!

EDIT: Add the highlight on the first and second test results.

 

You have to put the SSD in the heatsink at a perfect spot.
Like I said in my previous post, putting the sink on is kind of tricky but once you get it its on point.
My bottom cover closes perfect. I will take some photos of the sink and how far its choked up on the sink once I finish doing some stuff.
I am so happy with these sinks.

ALSO: The stock thermal pads are fine, theres no need to waste high end pads for this.

 

Do you have a link for the Gelid heatsink?

 

Sorry, I bought from my local store. But you can check it on Ebay (don't buy in Amazon because it's overpriced).
Here is the description page.

 

I just apply the high-end pad just for the upper side of SSD for maximum performance. Btw, I can't wait to see your images to tweak my bottom cover for best fit. Sorry for double replies...