Keeping external hot SSDs on a desk

[Astrohunter]

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.

All the cheap SSD enclosures are not getting very warm, because the SSD/thermal paste isn't transferring the heat to the aluminium case. So they are basically cooking inside.

So if your case isn't getting hot under heavy load then something is wrong, IMO. Unless you have a fan.

 

[Clix Pix]

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.

In an earlier post here I briefly alluded to DIY external exclosures with independently purchased and installed SSDs.....

I have never used those and never will; for as long (many years now) as I've been using external drives I have always purchased and used already-put-together factory-compiled external drives by companies who know a whole lot more about what they are doing when assembling these things than I do. Provides me with peace of mind and the things....just work and have done so reliably -- some for many years.

It does seem to me that with a DIY kind of setup that yes, there is probably more likelihood of overheating, especially if the person putting the combination together doesn't use a really good external enclosure and/or enough thermal tape (if that is the same as a heat sink) or other way of preventing/reducing buildup of heat and possible overload, causing failure of the drive.

 

[Astrohunter]

drives by companies who know a whole lot more about what they are doing when assembling these things than I do. Provides me with peace of mind and the things....

Companies are also cutting costs, so I don't really trust them.
Like Apple sacrificing airflow in new Minis, and now the M4 Pro sounds like a vacuum cleaner under heavy load.

It's only important to use a thermal paste which will "connect" the SSD to the enclosure metal, to not cook the drive.
Having a fan would be nice though.

 

[dmccloud]

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?

Thanks

I have multiple drives connected to my CalDigit TB4 dock. While they are a mix of SSDs and HDDs, I use this to hold the drives. It is lower profile, and you can adjust the vertical dividers based on the size of the drives you're storing there. I have an L-shaped glass desk, so for me this is more about saving desk space than it is helping cool the drives down.

I have two Crucial 4TB external SSDs I use with my MBP (X9 and x10 Pro), but the SSDs connected to my Mac Mini are Samsung 980 Pros in third-party enclosures. The media drive is in a passively cooled enclosure, but the gaming drive has a fan in its enclosure.

 

[dmccloud]

In an earlier post here I briefly alluded to DIY external exclosures with independently purchased and installed SSDs.....

I have never used those and never will; for as long (many years now) as I've been using external drives I have always purchased and used already-put-together factory-compiled external drives by companies who know a whole lot more about what they are doing when assembling these things than I do. Provides me with peace of mind and the things....just work and have done so reliably -- some for many years.

It does seem to me that with a DIY kind of setup that yes, there is probably more likelihood of overheating, especially if the person putting the combination together doesn't use a really good external enclosure and/or enough thermal tape (if that is the same as a heat sink) or other way of preventing/reducing buildup of heat and possible overload, causing failure of the drive.

Both of my enclosures work without any issues and do a great job of drawing the heat out of the SSD. They do get noticeably warm to the touch, but that means the heat is being transferred from the SSD to the case, which is what I want.

 

[Astrohunter]

I have multiple drives connected to my CalDigit TB4 dock. While they are a mix of SSDs and HDDs, I use this to hold the drives. It is lower profile, and you can adjust the vertical dividers based on the size of the drives you're storing there. I have an L-shaped glass desk, so for me this is more about saving desk space than it is helping cool the drives down.

I have two Crucial 4TB external SSDs I use with my MBP (X9 and x10 Pro), but the SSDs connected to my Mac Mini are Samsung 980 Pros in third-party enclosures. The media drive is in a passively cooled enclosure, but the gaming drive has a fan in its enclosure.

View attachment 2514289

Something like that but made out of metal would be cool, can't find anything so far on Amazon UK or Aliexpress.

 

[Astrohunter]

Found one stand that looks like it should work with 3 drives.

Vertical Laptop Stand, Triple Slot Laptop Riser, Adjustable Laptop Stand for Desk, Aluminum Desktop Stand Fits All MacBook and Laptop

Specification: Material: Aluminium alloy Size: 150*174*58.5MM Features: sturdy, non-slip, protective Universal Compatibility: Compatible with MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Microsoft Surface, gaming laptops and other laptops up to 15.6 inches Product List: 1 * Vertical Laptop Stand

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[adonis3k]

Different type

sciuU Universal Wall Mount for 4 Devices – for Tablet/Slim Laptop/Smartphones/eReader – Holder with Non-Slip Padding - compatible with iPad iPhone Samsung Surface Huawei Xiaomi Lenovo - Black

Durable ABS plastic with SILICONE padding. 14cm (L) x 9.3cm (W) x 5.7cm (H).

www.amazon.co.uk

That UDOLI one looks like it has some holes in it so you could stick a small fan underneath to blow upwards

 

[Astrohunter]

Ok so I've received the tablet stand and modified it a bit, added 2 external SSD cases.
The stand is made out of carbon steel, which isn't as good as aluminium or copper.

I'm going to also buy a desk fan and point it at the drives and my Mini.

I wonder what else I could do to improve it.
Not sure if adding thermal paste on both sides of the enclosures would help, or perhaps adding copper plate underneath them. 🤔

 

[adonis3k]

Are they throttling or something you need all this stuff?

 

[Astrohunter]

Are they throttling or something you need all this stuff?

Don't think so, but I guess they might have longer lives if I keep them cool.