Cooler Master M.2 NVMe SSD Thermal Pad

Unboxing:

Installation :

Test Setup:

• Intel Core i7 11700K (8Cores/16Threads)

• ASRock Z590 OC Formula

• HyperX Predator RGB 4000MHz CL19 8GBx2 Kit

• Astra KD350X 512GB PCIe Gen3 X4 M.2 NVMe SSD

• Custom Water Cooling for CPU

• SuperFlower Leadex Gold 1600W PSU

Testing Methodology:

• CrystalDiskMark Benchmarking utility was used for testing

• 3 different situations were simulated – No Thermal Pad/No Active Cooling, CM Thermal Pad/No Active Cooling, CM Thermal Pad/Active Cooling.

• Latest Windows 10 X64 Pro with updates installed.

• Latest platform drivers, BIOS, etc.

• High speed 120mm case fan was placed over the SSD for Active Cooling.

• CPU was left at Auto Turbo/Boost Settings.

• RAM was set to work at XMP Settings.

• K-Type Probe was attached to the SSD controller section to monitor real-time temperatures at idle and at full load.

K-Type Probe attached to the Phison controller using Kapton tape. We observed a maximum operating temperature of 91.8C while testing without any thermal pad or active cooling.

With the CM Thermal Pad installed, the maximum temperature we observed while testing was 74c. Yes, the picture mentions 72.2c but during further testing, the temperatures increased slightly. 91.8 to 74c is an impressive improvement with just the pad. This product works and is not just a gimmick.

The most ideal scenario. Thermal pad with active cooling. Although very difficult to achieve in regular systems realistically, we get a reference point as to how good the drive shall perform if the cooling is properly taken care of.

Benchmarking :

Observations & Conclusions :

• The Cooler Master M.2 NVMe SSD Thermal Pad is a meager 0.5mm thick and has adhesive pre-applied.

• Basically, it is like a sticker that you merely paste on the SSD controller, NAND Flash, and DRAM Cache.

• A little bit of googling helped us in figuring out that it is made up of Copper Foil and Graphite.

• We shall update the specs once we get some definite and detailed info from Cooler Master.

• Quite honestly, we had not expected such impressive results. In fact, we were a bit skeptical whether it even does the intended job.

• We are glad to have been proven wrong in our assumption, it does work. A drop of almost 15c in peak temps speaks volumes about the capability of the product.

• Although the exact price is unknown as of now, the MRP is expected to be around INR 499/- in which you get 2 Units. This means roughly INR 249.5 each or lower which is an exceptional value for what it does.

• Extremely cost-effective, easy to install, works as intended, no real complaints as such. Thumbs up from us!