Question 1

is this better than stock motherboard heatsinks?

Accepted Answer

By far, yes. When properly installed, making sure that the thermal tape is on both top and bottom of your SSD chips, this device keeps your SSD drive way cooler than normal heatsinks. It might not be 100% straight, because the chips on your SSD might not run all the way across. Just make sure the metal on both sides is pressed firmly against the SSD/thermal tape, then tighten the screws. I have an ASUS board I used, which has a high performance heatsink from ROG, and I always felt the heatsinks were always very hot to the touch. After I installed this, the drives are cold. If installed in the proper port, the fan will be smart controlled by your motherboard thermal fan utilities. I will never use any other heatsink for my M.2 SSD drives, if I can help it!!!

Question 2

Can you swap out the fan for a Noctua or other same sized fan?

Accepted Answer

Yes you can use a 30mm fan here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0831JM535?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details     (MakerFocus 2pcs Raspberry Pi 4 Fan, Raspberry Pi Cooling Fan DC Brushless CPU Quiet LED Cooling Fan 30mm 30mm Fan Cooler Radiator 3 to 5.8V for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, Raspberry Pi 3B+ 3B 2B+)

Plus an adapter from the fan to motherbaord:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XBGPBY7?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details     (CRJ 2-Pin Male Fan to Standard 3-Pin PC Fan Adapter Cable 2-Pack)
You would re-use 2 original screws from the noise-making fan you remove and the top 2 screws use the narrower screws that come with the new fan.  You gottake them fit between the blades of the heatsync.  It's very easy to do.

Question 3

Will this install on an asus x570 crosshair viii formula motherboard?

Accepted Answer

Likely fine, just realize that unfortunately with many motherboards the first and/or second m.2 slot may end up beneath the extended width of many dedicated / "discrete" mid and upper end video cards.  If that is you situation it is very likely both this and most other SSD coolers (any type other than a simple surface mounted aluminum or copper plate) will be too tall to fit beneath your video card.  Sadly that was my situation with both the first slot on an Asus Z590 Prime-A (m.2 slot 1) as well as the Asus Z590 ROG Strix-E (m.2 slot 2.)  I say "sadly" as both the design and build quality of this cooler are the best I've come across and I was extremely impressed!

Also, you may find it useful to see my answer to another question below regarding the orientation vs efficiency when it is set it up upright w/ the heat pipe going up vertically to the cooling fins above vs any other orientation.  Best of luck - it's a great cooler!

Question 4

Which way does the air flow go? (from the perspective of the M-Key side being on the right)

Accepted Answer

You can put it whichever direction you need.

ASIN	B08FX7JZ7H
Best Sellers Rank	#40,044 in Computers & Accessories ( See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories ) #90 in Heatsinks
Brand	ineo
Brand Name	ineo
Cooler Heatsink Compatibility	Aluminum
Cooler Heatsink Material	Aluminium
Customer Reviews	4.5 out of 5 stars 288 Reviews
Item Dimensions L x W x H	7.5L x 5.2W x 2.4H Centimeters
Item Weight	2.93 Ounces
Manufacturer	ineo
Mounting Type	Tabletop
Product Dimensions	7.5L x 5.2W x 2.4H Centimeters
UPC	797716581809
Unit Count	1.0 Count

M.2 2280 SSD Rocket Heatsink Built-in Cooling Fan [M3]

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