Installing M.2 SSD in ASUS B650i flexing & not touching bottom thermal pad

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

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I finally decided on this board and when installing the M.2 ssd (Crucial P510 2tb) I'm seeing some flex when screwing the heat sink down. I can also see that the bottom of the ssd is not in contact with the board's bottom thermal pad.

Checking online there seems to be an understanding that such flex shouldn't be a problem. I'm also seeing some people saying to use the board's included spare thermal pad to 'double up' the bottom pad, so it's thicker, so that contact is made. Something to do with some ssds not having components on their underside?

Does anyone here know anything about this? What's the forums opinion on what I've found out?
 
I have an Asus board which advised I should swap the bumper pad beneath the SSD for the thicker included one (there was a spare) if the SSD only had chips on one side. Otherwise it would flex and bow as you have seen.

My suggestion would be to double up if the stacked pads are able to do so without flexing the SSD the other way. Or see if there is a taller bumper pad supplied which you can swap with the shorter one.

Having some support beneath the SSD should eliminate any bowing caused by the heatsink.

Bowing can cause damage to the m.2 PCB, poor contact with the motherboard due to stress on the m.2 slot, and limit the effectiveness of the heatsink.

However, as you pointed out, many people install and forget, or don't even notice the bow. So it's entirely up to you.
 
Distracted said:
I have an Asus board which advised I should swap the bumper pad beneath the SSD for the thicker included one (there was a spare) if the SSD only had chips on one side. Otherwise it would flex and bow as you have seen.

My suggestion would be to double up if the stacked pads are able to do so without flexing the SSD the other way. Or see if there is a taller bumper pad supplied which you can swap with the shorter one.
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Ahh, I've just spotted my manual saying that too! However I'm unsure about removing the pad already there? The clearance looks too big. Hmm bit of a tough decision. The additional bumper pad does look thicker than the one presently there but I'm not sure it's thick 'enough'. Are there any downsides to doubling up? I'm presuming that once I marry both pads together, that's it and they can't be unstuck?
 
gizmo1990 said:
Ahh, I've just spotted my manual saying that too! However I'm unsure about removing the pad already there? The clearance looks too big. Hmm bit of a tough decision. The additional bumper pad does look thicker than the one presently there but I'm not sure it's thick 'enough'. Are there any downsides to doubling up? I'm presuming that once I marry both pads together, that's it and they can't be unstuck?
Click to expand...

If the size of the larger pad is only a bit too small, see if adding some of the thermal pad from the heat spreader will bridge the gap. The thermal pad is probably too large for the SSD anyway, and if it isn't, it almost certainly isn't needed for the entire SSD.

Otherwise I swapped mine by getting a fingernail under the very corner of the block and shifting it carefully. The tape came away with the block, but it's only held on by double sided tape, so if I botched it it was an easy fix.

Stacking two, the only downside I can think of is if the tape adhered really strongly and it gets messy if you ever need to take them apart. Otherwise I don't see any issue - assuming of course it doesn't make them too tall. You don't want it bowing the opposite way.

Chopping a small bit of the thermal pad and adding that to the larger one would be what I would do if there's a slight gap still.
 
I noticed the M.2 bending with the OEM pad on my ASUS B650E-I motherboard. So I replaced the OEM pad with a thinner pad and problem solved, less bending of the M.2.

It’s the OEM pad on the top metal cover I am talking about.
 
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