m.2 drives behind gpus - how do they fare?

Soldato
Joined
26 Jan 2007
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Asking because in 2017 I had a naked Samsung 960 Pro stuck behind a 1060, and that poor drive peaked at 90 degrees under gaming load. I changed motherboard to save it's life.

However, that drive has now passed it's 5 year warranty so it's probably time to get a newer one anyway. Since I'm planning a general system upgrade, my question is:

If I picked up something like this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...am5-ddr5-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-5be-gi.html how would a modern m.2 drive cope being behind the GPU but under that heatsink? Are drive temps even a worry anymore in 2022? Currently running an undervolted 3060, but might be tempted by a 4060Ti as and when they come around. I have no idea what sort of heat that will generate.

Appreciate any thoughts :)
 
Here's mine IDLE then playing Dyinglight 2 for 16minutes.

This is as hot as my GPU ever gets
ra3OQZm.jpg
wow 980 pro is only rated for 70c max, no idea about the WD
0U8TFrN.jpg
Probably about time motherboard layouts changed so the graphics card is at the top of the case

Even below my card gets to 45c when gaming. 2 photos I took some weeks back
BHqcAT4.jpg
ak0U13b.jpg

The air blowing off a 4090 is really warm though the heatsink seems to literally get almost as warm as the core temp and the heat coming from it is like an electric heater
 
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My old X370 board's m.2 slot had no heatsink and was under the GPU. It did thermal throttle during gaming with intense GPU bound games. I got a m.2 heatsink and it was enough to solve the issue. Seeing the board you linked comes with a heatsink I would imagine it'll be fine.
 
This is as hot as my GPU ever gets

Oh, that seems fine then. 59 degrees is not a problem, it was seeing mine close to boiling point that made me take drastic action :D My problem before was probably a combination of a hot running drive (960 pro, even above the GPU it can be in the upper 60s to low 70s) and no heatsink. Since I'll swap that drive out with the next build, I can look for something a little cooler running in general. Which should be easy to do with a new drive, and I'll probably double the data speeds at the same time.

It did thermal throttle during gaming with intense GPU bound games. I got a m.2 heatsink and it was enough to solve the issue.

That's good to know, I really should have thought about that 4 years ago :cry:
 
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