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Keeping external hot SSDs on a desk

Astrohunter

Astrohunter

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 16, 2021
486
322
Hi,

I have a few external TB4 SSD disks which can get very hot, on M1 Mini I would keep them on top of the computer, my new M4 Mini is too small.

I don't want to put the disks on the desk to not damage the paint, it's a wooden desk.

I thought about getting a piece of aluminium sheet, but perhaps someone has a better idea? :D

Thanks
 
It's out of sight on a table under my desk but I put mine in a wire mesh file organizer along with the hub they're connected through. Sort of keeps them cooler…I like to think.

Screenshot 2025-05-15 at 8.17.00 PM.png
 
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I put mine on essentially a giant coaster. I took a leftover ceramic tile and put protective feet on the underside of the tile. I then put the drives on top of that. It has the added benefit of acting as a heatsink to help heat dissipation a bit, whereas wood would act as an insulator.

IMG_9286.jpeg
 
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As I never move mine, I strapped it to one of the metal legs of my desk with a thermal pad and zip ties, it is at least 30°C cooler than on top of the desk.
 

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What graphs the temp?
That would be cool to have for external devices.
 
mikeszf said:
As I never move mine, I strapped it to one of the metal legs of my desk with a thermal pad and zip ties, it is at least 30°C cooler than on top of the desk.
Click to expand...
I thought most external cases don't have temp sensors.
 
For years I have used Ikea Lamplig Trivets under my external drives -- both desktop size and portable -- HDDs and SSDs -- when in use. They're 7x7", an ideal size, and elevate the drive off the surface of one's desk or workstation about an inch, maybe an inch-and-a-half or so. They are lightweight but well-balanced and can also support heavier items than a small external SSD. Years ago I had one under my Mac Mini back when those were larger than they are now.

The openness of these trivets' construction provides plenty of air underneath and all around them. I also have one under my cable modem and another under my separate router as well.

I don't keep my external drives attached to my computer all the time, but always have a trivet readily at hand to use under whichever drive I'm about to plug into the computer. These trivets are small enough, though, to (IMHO) not really take up much space even when one does keep their external drives always connected to their machine.

I bought mine some years ago at Amazon (US), but I just looked and still reasonably priced, they are still available now as well:

Ikea Trivets.jpg
 
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Clix Pix said:
For years I have used Ikea Lamplig Trivets under my external drives -- both desktop size and portable -- HDDs and SSDs) when in use. They're 7x7", an ideal size, and elevate the drive off the surface of one's desk or workstation about an inch, maybe an inch-and-a-half or so. They are lightweight but well-balanced and can also support heavier items than a small external SSD. Years ago I had one under my Mac Mini back when those were larger than they are now.

The openness of these trivets' construction provides plenty of air underneath and all around them. I also have one under my cable modem and another under my separate router as well.

I don't keep my external drives attached to my computer all the time, but always have a trivet readily at hand to use under whichever drive I'm about to plug into the computer. These trivets are small enough, though, to (IMHO) not really take up much space even when one does keep their external drives always connected to their machine.

I bought mine some years ago at Amazon (US), but I just looked and still reasonably priced, they are still available now as well:

View attachment 2513460
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Would be cool to have something like that with quiet fans underneath. 😁
 
Astrohunter said:
Would be cool to have something like that with quiet fans underneath. 😁
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Years ago I had a laptop cooler which had fans underneath, and indeed that was really nice. Something like that would be much too large for external drives, especially SSDs...... I can see how it would be useful for someone to design something the size of a trivet with (they'd have to be pretty small) fans underneath. Not sure how effective those would be. In general, these open-air trivets really do keep things a bit cooler, but as I mentioned I don't use my external drives connected to my computer all the time. During the times I do use them, yes, they do get rather warm, especially when transferring large amounts of data from computer to drive or between drives, and that is why I appreciate having a trivet underneath them.
 
Astrohunter said:
Would be cool to have something like that with quiet fans underneath. 😁
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I have all my external SSDs [8] on a wire mesh and am in the process of changing all the containers to this

Acasis 80Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure Compatible with Thunderbolt 5​

They have their own built-in fan and run very cool. Expensive but great.
 
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haddy said:
I have all my external SSDs [8]
Click to expand...
How many do you connect at one time?
From my reading the forums here, M4 mini pro suffers from a bad port design problem with supplying enough power to keep 3 alive?
 
buggz said:
How many do you connect at one time?
From my reading the forums here, M4 mini pro suffers from a bad port design problem with supplying enough power to keep 3 alive?
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3 connected to an OWC TB3 hub and 4 connected to my M1 Studio ultra....one [crucial 2TB] as my startup disk. That leaves 1 USBC port free on the Studio.
 
This reminds me of a question to ask the OP: is it really necessary to keep all of your external drives connected to your computer 24/7? Why do you need that? Also, a separate question: are these external drives all ones which are independent from housing and with you have put together the SSD unit with separate, DYI housing for the drive, as opposed to external drives purchased from the manufacturer in which the drive is already enclosed within its own structure?
 
Clix Pix said:
This reminds me of a question to ask the OP: is it really necessary to keep all of your external drives connected to your computer 24/7? Why do you need that? Also, a separate question: are these external drives all ones which are independent from housing and with you have put together the SSD unit with separate, DYI housing for the drive, as opposed to external drives purchased from the manufacturer in which the drive is already enclosed within its own structure?
Click to expand...
Separate question: both

First question and my answer: Only the screen and keyboard and mouse are visible on my desk. The Studio and external SSDs are all in the desk drawers to reduce clutter. And yes it is a mission to connect and disconnect these drives. This arrangement I find to be aesthetically pleasing:cool:
 
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I use a SWITCH (USB-C) (check the speed of the USB connection) to control (turn off when not needed) for my drives. Also some "Rubber Feet" the stick on type for cabinet doors.
 
After reading thru this thread, no one has mentioned, what I don't want everyone to think is a stupid comment. Do the SSD drives have enough thermal silicon tape on them in the external enclosures? I don't want you to have to open them up, but it may be contributing to the heat issues. I have 2 OWC express 1-M-2 with 2 4TB Samsung SSD drives in the enclosures and they have never gotten above just barely warm. I tried 3 different thicknesses of silicon thermal tape and finalized the 1mm, top and bottom of the SSD. Just a thought.
 
ScanPro said:
After reading thru this thread, no one has mentioned, what I don't want everyone to think is a stupid comment. Do the SSD drives have enough thermal silicon tape on them in the external enclosures? I don't want you to have to open them up, but it may be contributing to the heat issues. I have 2 OWC express 1-M-2 with 2 4TB Samsung SSD drives in the enclosures and they have never gotten above just barely warm. I tried 3 different thicknesses of silicon thermal tape and finalized the 1mm, top and bottom of the SSD. Just a thought.
Click to expand...
Yes with the Acasis enclosures they come with two 1mm thermal tapes for top and bottom.....plus a little fan......and you are right they are just warm.
 
ScanPro said:
After reading thru this thread, no one has mentioned, what I don't want everyone to think is a stupid comment. Do the SSD drives have enough thermal silicon tape on them in the external enclosures? I don't want you to have to open them up, but it may be contributing to the heat issues. I have 2 OWC express 1-M-2 with 2 4TB Samsung SSD drives in the enclosures and they have never gotten above just barely warm. I tried 3 different thicknesses of silicon thermal tape and finalized the 1mm, top and bottom of the SSD. Just a thought.
Click to expand...
My two Acasis TB4 cases don't have a fan.
Also if your drives don't get hot under load (and you have no fan) it might mean the drive is simply cooking inside the case.
 
Astrohunter said:
My two Acasis TB4 cases don't have a fan.
Also if your drives don't get hot under load (and you have no fan) it might mean the drive is simply cooking inside the case.
Click to expand...
I would think that if my drives were "cooking" the cases would be much hotter than they are at any given time. Maybe I just have good heat dissipation.
 
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